This week, many in the college football world have been discussing Sports Illustrated’s list of the 10 greatest programs in college football history. Of course, many had their own two cents to add to the conversation. Enter ESPN’s Bill Connelly. Connelly uses a system call S&P+ to create team rankings. This is a system that uses play data and opponent adjustments to create a deep evaluation. Using S&P+, Connelly’s list had Michigan State as the #17 team in college football history.
The difference between Connelly’s list and SI’s is that Connelly uses an actual formula to calculate the ratings. Another key difference between this list and Connelly’s is that Connelly has both Michigan and Ohio State lower than the SI ranking. On Sports Illustrated, Ohio State and U of M are #2 and #3, respectively. Conversely, Connelly has them ranked #5 and #6.
Of course, the major difference between the two lists is that Connelly’s ranks more than ten teams, leaving room for Michigan State to be included.
