STATS’ predictive formula produces a unique rating that ranks the best college football games to watch every Saturday
Sifting through the channel guide to find the most intriguing game can be chore for any college football fan every Saturday. Save for the obvious choice of watching your alma mater – or the school to which you’ve pledged your allegiance – selecting a quality matchup in hopes of providing the most entertainment often can be a guessing game.
Guess no more. STATS’ data experts have developed a proprietary model that gives a watchability score to every college football game in a given week. That rating is a combination of analytics, including the projected score of each game from a model that factors in team production, explosiveness and “cleanliness” of play – a metric that includes turnovers, among other data points.
Team production includes evaluations of run and pass efficiency, explosive plays (20+ yards) and the defensive ratings also involved with the aforementioned metrics. Watchability rating takes that data combined with talent level of each team based on other various STATS models and is adjusted based on the projected final score to produce a value of watchability.
Essentially, the model takes some randomness out of choosing which game to view, making for less channel-flipping while relaxing at home or few maneuvers through a bar crowd to place yourself nearest the television broadcasting a certain contest.
Have a look at Week 10’s watchability ratings for Saturday from most- to least-watchable:
If you’re planning your Saturday around watching the best college football games in each time slot, the list would be as follows, according to STATS:
- 12:00 – No. 7 Penn State at No. 24 Michigan State (8.2 rating)
- 4:00 – No. 8 Oklahoma at No. 11 Oklahoma State (9.8)
- 8:00 – No. 13 Virginia Tech at No. 9 Miami (10.3)
- 10:45 – No. 23 Arizona at No. 17 USC (7.3)
The games get better as the day goes on before hitting a nightcap with rising star quarterback Khalil Tate and the Wildcats looking to knock off the Trojans. Las Vegas has USC favored by seven points, and STATS projects the Trojans to win 40-35.
STATS also projects Michigan State to cover a nine-point spread as an underdog with Penn State escaping East Lansing with a 27-20 victory. STATS has Oklahoma State winning the Bedlam battle 35-32 and Miami surviving 31-30 against the Hokies, based mainly on the Hurricanes being the home team.
Even though you might be tempted at 8 p.m. to turn on No. 19 LSU at No. 1 Alabama – 6.4 watchability rating with ‘Bama projected for a 34-21 victory – you’ll want to stay tuned into The U and VaTech for the better game.
Whatever you do, don’t punish yourself with that Auburn-Texas A&M matchup. You’ve been warned.
