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Friday, February 23, 2007

(Named after the (apparently) famous Price Is Right game. Ask Orson.)

Hello! More exploration of the sketchy ethics of college football recruiting. Orson Swindle and I gathered the last six years of classes for every BCS team and found average-sized recruiting classes for each team. For comparison's sake, a team with 100% retention that never redshirts or recruits JUCOs or transfers should average 21.25 scholarships a year. A team with a 100% retention rate that redshirts everyone but still avoids JUCOs and transfers should average 17. If you figure about half of all freshmen redshirt (figure pulled directly from rear), then 100% retention means a class of slightly over 19 kids.

Disclaimers go here: Numbers are from Rivals. Scout has different numbers that are on average a little bit smaller. 100% retention is impossible and there are many completely kosher reasons for kids to leave a college football program before their eligibility expires. JUCOs and transfers were not accounted for in these numbers and obviously have a distorting effect (though transfers don't even show up in the rivals DB, so the net effect of a transfer to your school is to make your school look less like an Indonesian ferryman shoving people off the boat into alligator-infested waters.)

I've got the Big Ten, Pac-10, and Big 12. Check EDSBS around noonish for the ACC, Big East, and (drumroll...) SEC.

Big 12200220032004200520062007Average
Iowa State27262927302527.3
Kansas State30172626303226.8
Texas Tech24252621342626.0
Oklahoma State28311921292325.2
Colorado31252025222725.0
Missouri23232523252724.3
Baylor25222022292724.2
Kansas22272128252224.2
Texas A&M23242825231823.5
Oklahoma24241827282023.5
Nebraska21192032222723.5
Texas28182015252421.7
Total Average24.6

Our Indonesian Ferryman for the Big 12: Iowa State. An unsurprising second and third are Kansas State, Texas Tech, and their insatiable lust for JUCO blood.

And the Big 12 Mr. Chips Award For Academic Integrity goes to big, bad Texas -- though their number would be but middling in the Big Ten.

Pac 10200220032004200520062007Average
Oregon State20223630333529.3
Oregon24233024222925.3
Arizona 29262926251625.2
Washington St.28182721242624.0
Arizona St.29222221242323.5
Cal21281924202522.8
Washington21272313222722.2
USC22281919261822.0
UCLA26192621221020.7
Stanford16261217181918.0
Total Average23.3

Yea, verily the Pac-10 is a conference of extremes.

Our Indonesian Ferryman for the Pac 10 is Oregon State with a staggering 29 scholarships handed out per class and a whopping 134 recruits over the past four years. Oregon State is the national Indonesian Ferryman and the sketchiest program in all the land.

Meanwhile, Stanford is puttering along at 18 scholarships per year. They win the Mr. Chips Award For Academic Integrity for the Pac-10 and the nation.

Big Ten200220032004200520062007Average
Michigan State21213127282124.8
Purdue27262821271824.5
Minnesota27272420222223.7
Illinois23272420272123.7
Indiana21252625211922.8
Wisconsin 25222322231722.0
Iowa22222123212221.8
Michigan21172223192020.3
Penn State22112519242120.3
Ohio State24162418201519.5
Northwestern22221520171919.2
Total Average22.1

Our Indonesian Ferryman for the Big Ten: Michigan State. To be fair to the Spartans, their total would be good for but fourth in the Pac-10 and a piddling sixth in the Big 12.

Raise your hand if you thought Northwestern would win the Mr. Chips Award for the Big Ten. That's all of you, good. Now raise your hand if you thought Ohio State would come in second. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Ohio State is increasingly irritating: first they go and win against us all the time, reducing my ability to make fun of them to critically low levels, then they go and stop getting in trouble altogether -- a third string kicker selling weed just doesn't cut it, even if his last name is a popular synonym for semen. What's a blogger to do?

And there's one relevant team floating out there not in any conference...

That Other Team200220032004200520062007Average
Notre Dame18211615281819.3

To its credit, Notre Dame retains like a mother. Either that or Willingham was so bad at recruiting they left large numbers of scholarships open.

EDSBS will have has the ACC, Big East, and SEC up... how do they stack up? Stay tuned! Spay or neuter your dogs and such!

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