Stats and College Football

Hi all,

I want to start this post with an apology. As odd as it may sound, I have found myself politic-ed out. I know unbelievable and unacceptable. I get it. We're at the height of a Presidential election and I peter out. But that's just it. This month has been exhausting. Not because of this blog, but because of the constant, non-ending controversy, driven by two candidates with little self-awareness and a media desperate for views or clicks.

So from hence forth, I will continue posting election updates, but at a less frequent and less regularly scheduled pace. I apologize for whatever inconvenience, if any, this may cause. Secondly, college football is starting this week! Now I'm not a huge sports fan most of the time, but I have developed a thing for my Alma Mater's football program, as many do. But due to my political background, I have always viewed the spectacle of college football through a relevant lens.

I decided to draft a power index, not based on traditional sports stats, but based on factors in which I have always deemed relevant in judging a football program's success. Below is the power index for Ohio State and their schedule this year. I calculated this through a simple average of their AP ranking, with 1 being ranked 1, 2 0.96, and so on with the retention rate of talent on the team from the previous year (i.e.. what the percentage of players from the previous year are returning). Add in their conference weight on a scale of 0-1, with one being P5 and 0 being FCS, and then the last two factors are the percentage of wins the team has had in the past four years and the percentage of bowl wins they've had in the past 4 years. Enjoy!

To get the strength of schedule you just have to average the values of Ohio State's schedule. Their schedule scores a 0.536

Team/Locale	AP Ranking	Rentention	P5/FBS/FCS	Win %	Bowl Win %	Rank
Ohio State	0.8	0.32	1	0.93	0.67	0.744
Schedule
Bowling Green	0	0.41	0.5	0.65	0.43	0.398
Tulsa	0	0.69	0.5	0.43	0.67	0.458
at Oklahoma	0.92	0.65	1	0.77	0.25	0.718
Rutgers	0	0.86	0.75	0.53	0.34	0.496
Indiana	0	0.6	1	0.39	0	0.398
at Wisconsin	0	0.44	1	0.7	0.5	0.528
at PSU	0	0.55	1	0.58	0.5	0.526
Northwestern	0	0.58	1	0.6	0.5	0.536
Nebraska	0	0.75	1	0.66	0.4	0.562
at Maryland	0	0.66	1	0.42	0	0.416
at MSU	0.56	0.42	1	0.8	0.83	0.722
Michigan	0.76	0.67	1	0.58	0.33	0.668

Senate Map Tuesday 08/30/2016

Hi all,

I know you were all wondering where the Senate map was yesterday and I apologize for that. I will excuse myself by saying I am working on something very interesting that I am hoping to unveil here first! I'm not sure when I will be done with it and it will likely remain a work in progress for awhile, however I will try to get some initial version of it published as soon as possible.

And now let's get on to the main event, this week's Senate map.

Electoral Map Friday 08/26/2016

Hi all,

Long time, no see. I know this is late, but here is my update on the electoral map after this rather odd week.

Changes: 

Ohio- From Neutral to Lean Democratic

Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District- From Lean Republican to Neutral

A moment of nonsense

Hi all,

In these days of political meltdown, when it seems like the world is burning down around us, it can be therapeutic to take a step back and laugh. And that is why there is always time for moment of nonsense!

Senate Map Monday 08/22/2016

Hi all,

This will be our first Senate forecast for the 2016 election. To save time and space, my Senate forecasts will go by the same model as the Electoral College forecasts: projecting individual race outcomes, predicting the partisan makeup of the next Senate, and looking to see how the unconventional nature of the Presidential race impacts the results.

So without further ado, here is my first Senate Projection:

Electoral Map Friday 08/19/2016

Hi all,

I am introducing the first feature of this blog: electoral map Friday. As it sounds, I plan on posting an electoral map of the current standings in the Presidential race every Friday from now to the general election. The map will be based on current polling, electoral history, the news of the week and include my own analysis on the state of the race and key battlegrounds.

 I also plan on making a similar map of Senate races, although that will be in a separate later post.

So without further ado, here is our first electoral map:

Welcome!

Hi all,

I am starting this blog on politics (mainly American and Israeli, with a bit of focus on other miscellaneous topics) to muse on current affairs and craft a platform for practicing political writing. In the past I have written for the British youth magazine Agora, the Medium-based Eastern Project, the Ohio State undergraduate student international affairs magazine The Algerian, as well as a blogging account on the Times of Israel.