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College Football Transitivity Rankings and Awards - Week 13

In spite of a victory, the Wildcats drop a few spots in this week's rankings.

By jeffp171
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The transitive property is back to once again rank all of FBS. If this is your first time reading one of these posts, you'll want to look here first. This week's full rankings are below:

Combined Transitivity Rankings - Week 13
Rank Team Change Avg Rank Win Rank Loss Rank Num Win Paths Avg Win Path Num Loss Paths Avg Loss Path FBS Wins FBS Losses
1 Florida State - 1.0 1 1 126 3.37 0 NaN 10 0
2 Marshall - 1.5 2 1 126 4.38 0 NaN 10 0
3 Alabama - 5.0 6 4 125 3.13 122 8.14 9 1
4 Mississippi - 5.5 5 6 125 3.10 122 7.16 7 3
5 LSU - 7.5 8 7 125 3.25 122 7.15 6 4
6 Auburn Arrow_up1 8.0 4 12 125 3.08 122 6.23 7 3
7 Georgia Arrow_up1 8.5 3 14 125 3.00 122 6.20 8 2
7 Mississippi State Arrow_down2 8.5 14 3 125 3.33 122 9.11 9 1
9 Arkansas Arrow_up4 10.5 8 13 125 3.25 122 6.20 5 5
10 Oregon Arrow_down1 11.0 12 10 125 3.30 122 6.63 9 1
11 UCLA Arrow_down1 12.5 10 15 125 3.27 122 6.11 9 2
12 Oklahoma Arrow_down1 13.5 19 8 125 3.48 122 6.76 8 3
13 TCU Arrow_down1 15.5 26 5 125 3.58 122 7.23 8 1
14 Texas A&M - 18.5 16 21 125 3.39 122 5.38 6 4
15 Michigan State Arrow_up1 19.0 15 23 125 3.38 122 5.32 8 2
16 Nebraska Arrow_up1 20.5 13 28 125 3.31 122 5.20 7 3
17 Arizona State Arrow_down2 21.5 25 18 125 3.57 122 5.75 8 2
18 South Carolina Arrow_up1 22.5 19 26 125 3.48 122 5.25 5 5
19 Utah Arrow_down1 24.0 17 31 125 3.42 122 5.14 6 4
20 Arizona Arrow_up1 25.5 32 19 125 3.64 122 5.65 9 2
21 Kansas State Arrow_down2 26.5 44 9 125 3.82 122 6.66 7 2
21 Ohio State Arrow_up7 26.5 7 46 125 3.22 122 4.58 10 1
23 Baylor Arrow_up2 27.0 43 11 125 3.81 122 6.25 8 1
23 Wisconsin Arrow_up4 27.0 21 33 125 3.50 122 4.97 8 2
25 Colorado State Arrow_up1 28.0 40 16 125 3.77 122 5.87 9 1
26 Notre Dame Arrow_down3 29.5 11 48 125 3.29 122 4.56 7 4
27 Louisville Arrow_up18 30.0 23 37 125 3.55 122 4.89 7 3
28 Florida Arrow_down4 30.5 37 24 125 3.70 122 5.29 5 4
29 Iowa Arrow_up2 33.0 26 40 125 3.58 122 4.69 6 4
29 Minnesota Arrow_up12 33.0 22 44 125 3.54 122 4.59 7 3
31 Missouri Arrow_down2 33.5 18 49 125 3.44 122 4.55 8 2
32 Clemson Arrow_up6 34.0 46 22 125 3.86 122 5.35 7 3
33 Georgia Tech Arrow_up4 34.5 30 39 125 3.62 122 4.76 8 2
34 Tennessee Arrow_down12 35.0 40 30 125 3.77 122 5.17 4 6
34 Washington Arrow_up5 35.0 53 17 125 3.98 122 5.81 6 5
36 West Virginia Arrow_down2 36.0 47 25 125 3.90 122 5.26 5 5
37 California Arrow_down1 37.0 54 20 125 4.06 122 5.41 4 6
38 Michigan Arrow_down6 38.5 34 43 125 3.65 122 4.60 5 6
39 Boise State Arrow_down9 39.0 42 36 125 3.78 122 4.89 9 2
40 Rutgers Arrow_down6 42.0 35 49 125 3.67 122 4.55 5 5
41 Kentucky Arrow_up1 42.5 58 27 125 4.15 122 5.25 4 6
42 Maryland Arrow_up3 43.0 35 51 125 3.67 122 4.49 6 4
42 Miami (Fl) Arrow_down9 43.0 39 47 125 3.74 122 4.57 5 5
44 Penn State Arrow_down1 43.5 29 58 125 3.61 122 4.23 6 5
45 Northwestern Arrow_up2 46.0 28 64 125 3.60 122 4.15 4 6
46 Stanford Arrow_up4 48.0 61 35 125 4.22 122 4.90 5 5
47 Boston College Arrow_up8 48.5 32 65 125 3.64 122 4.13 5 5
48 Utah State - 49.0 45 53 125 3.83 122 4.40 8 3
49 Illinois Arrow_up14 50.0 31 69 125 3.63 122 4.05 4 6
50 USC Arrow_up4 50.5 60 41 125 4.20 122 4.68 7 4
51 Oregon State - 51.0 64 38 125 4.27 122 4.80 4 6
52 Oklahoma State - 52.5 76 29 125 4.56 122 5.20 4 6
53 Duke Arrow_down5 54.0 52 56 125 3.97 122 4.25 7 3
54 North Carolina State Arrow_up16 55.0 66 44 125 4.32 122 4.59 5 5
54 Nevada Arrow_down10 55.0 50 60 125 3.94 122 4.20 5 5
56 Iowa State Arrow_up2 55.5 69 42 125 4.38 122 4.63 2 7
56 Texas Tech Arrow_up8 55.5 79 32 125 4.64 122 5.00 3 7
58 BYU Arrow_up4 57.5 38 77 125 3.74 122 3.84 6 4
58 Northern Illinois Arrow_up2 57.5 56 59 125 4.10 122 4.21 8 2
58 Texas Arrow_down2 57.5 63 52 125 4.23 122 4.44 6 5
61 Virginia Tech Arrow_down2 58.5 24 93 125 3.56 122 3.61 4 6
62 East Carolina Arrow_up3 61.0 49 73 125 3.93 122 3.97 6 3
63 Cincinnati Arrow_up3 61.5 66 57 125 4.32 122 4.24 7 3
64 Air Force Arrow_down11 62.0 57 67 125 4.12 122 4.07 7 3
64 Washington State Arrow_down7 62.0 62 62 125 4.22 122 4.20 2 8
66 Virginia Arrow_up5 62.5 54 71 125 4.06 122 4.02 4 6
67 Louisiana Tech Arrow_down27 64.0 74 54 125 4.54 122 4.32 7 3
68 North Carolina - 65.0 50 80 125 3.94 122 3.80 5 5
69 Indiana Arrow_down2 73.0 65 81 125 4.29 122 3.80 2 8
69 Memphis Arrow_up4 73.0 78 68 125 4.58 122 4.06 7 3
71 Purdue Arrow_up10 73.5 71 76 125 4.44 122 3.85 2 8
72 Colorado Arrow_down3 74.5 115 34 125 5.74 122 4.94 2 9
72 Pittsburgh Arrow_up3 74.5 48 101 125 3.92 122 3.46 4 6
74 Kansas - 76.0 97 55 125 5.11 122 4.30 2 8
75 Toledo Arrow_up4 76.5 84 69 125 4.79 122 4.05 6 4
76 UL Lafayette Arrow_down15 77.0 94 60 125 5.05 122 4.20 6 4
76 Rice Arrow_up2 77.0 82 72 125 4.76 122 3.98 7 4
78 Bowling Green Arrow_down2 77.5 68 87 125 4.35 122 3.69 6 4
79 Wyoming Arrow_down2 78.0 75 81 125 4.55 122 3.80 3 7
80 Wake Forest Arrow_up26 78.5 70 87 125 4.39 122 3.69 2 8
81 Arkansas State Arrow_down10 81.0 77 85 125 4.57 122 3.75 5 5
81 Western Kentucky Arrow_up1 81.0 59 103 125 4.18 122 3.45 6 5
83 Central Florida Arrow_up2 82.5 72 93 125 4.46 122 3.61 6 3
83 San Diego State Arrow_up15 82.5 88 77 125 4.91 122 3.84 5 5
85 Western Michigan Arrow_down3 84.0 84 84 125 4.79 122 3.79 7 3
86 Syracuse Arrow_down6 84.5 90 79 125 4.95 122 3.81 2 8
87 Temple Arrow_up2 86.5 73 100 125 4.52 122 3.47 4 5
88 Fresno State Arrow_up18 87.5 80 95 125 4.67 122 3.57 4 6
89 UTEP Arrow_down7 88.0 101 75 125 5.28 122 3.96 6 5
90 South Alabama Arrow_down3 88.5 111 66 125 5.62 122 4.08 6 5
91 Akron - 89.5 82 97 125 4.76 122 3.52 4 6
91 Georgia Southern Arrow_up1 89.5 116 63 125 5.76 122 4.16 7 3
93 Vanderbilt Arrow_up1 90.0 107 73 125 5.53 122 3.97 2 8
94 UL Monroe Arrow_up15 90.5 100 81 125 5.25 122 3.80 4 7
95 UAB Arrow_down7 91.0 92 90 125 4.99 122 3.64 4 6
96 Navy Arrow_down10 91.5 86 97 125 4.81 122 3.52 4 5
97 Appalachian State - 92.5 96 89 125 5.09 122 3.66 5 4
97 Central Michigan Arrow_down8 92.5 81 104 125 4.69 122 3.44 6 5
99 Texas State Arrow_up11 94.5 93 96 125 5.01 122 3.53 5 5
100 Hawaii Arrow_down7 95.5 105 86 125 5.50 122 3.70 3 8
101 Ohio Arrow_down5 96.0 102 90 125 5.40 122 3.64 4 6
102 Middle Tennessee State Arrow_down7 96.5 88 105 125 4.91 122 3.43 5 5
103 Old Dominion Arrow_down2 97.0 95 99 125 5.06 122 3.48 4 6
104 Houston Arrow_down6 98.0 87 109 125 4.82 122 3.34 5 4
105 Southern Miss Arrow_down1 99.5 107 92 125 5.53 122 3.63 2 8
106 Florida Atlantic Arrow_down6 102.5 91 114 125 4.96 122 3.20 3 8
107 New Mexico Arrow_down1 105.0 109 101 125 5.54 122 3.46 3 8
107 UTSA Arrow_down4 105.0 99 111 125 5.21 122 3.30 3 8
109 San Jose State Arrow_down7 107.0 106 108 125 5.52 122 3.39 2 8
110 Ball State Arrow_down5 107.5 98 117 125 5.20 122 3.06 3 6
111 Tulane - 110.0 110 110 125 5.56 122 3.31 2 8
112 Connecticut Arrow_up3 111.0 104 118 125 5.45 122 3.04 1 8
112 North Texas - 111.0 117 105 125 5.84 122 3.43 3 7
114 Buffalo Arrow_up1 112.0 112 112 125 5.65 122 3.25 2 6
115 Army Arrow_down1 113.0 103 123 125 5.42 122 2.93 3 6
115 South Florida Arrow_up2 113.0 119 107 125 6.38 122 3.40 3 7
117 Florida International Arrow_down4 114.0 114 114 125 5.72 122 3.20 3 7
118 UNLV Arrow_up5 114.5 113 116 125 5.66 122 3.07 1 10
119 Miami (Oh) - 117.0 122 112 125 6.63 122 3.25 2 8
120 Massachusetts Arrow_down3 118.0 118 118 125 5.86 122 3.04 3 8
121 Eastern Michigan Arrow_down1 120.0 122 118 125 6.63 122 3.04 1 9
122 Kent State Arrow_down1 121.0 120 122 125 6.40 122 2.93 1 9
122 Tulsa Arrow_down1 121.0 121 121 125 6.52 122 3.02 2 9
124 Troy - 124.0 124 124 3 1.00 123 3.54 3 7
125 Idaho - 125.5 125 126 2 1.50 124 3.09 1 9
126 SMU - 126.0 127 125 0 NaN 123 3.16 0 10
127 New Mexico State - 126.5 126 127 1 1.00 125 3.14 1 9
128 Georgia State - 127.5 127 128 0 NaN 126 3.24 0 10

After a lackluster set of games with very few surprises, this week's CTR looks a lot like last week's iteration. The biggest upset of the week was Arkansas over Mississippi, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the CTR. Ole Miss didn't move a bit after taking the loss. Arkansas did move up, however, taking the CTR's SEC love to a whole new level of ridiculousness: Exactly half of the conference now resides in the CTR top ten.

The biggest movers of the week were Wake Forest (in the positive direction) and Louisiana Tech (in the negative direction). The Demon Deacons' 26 spot jump was the result of their ugly 3-6 double overtime victory over Virginia Tech, the Deacs' first conference win of the season. Louisiana Tech's fall was due to a loss to Old Dominion, the Bulldogs' worst (FBS) loss of the season, after previously only falling to Auburn and Oklahoma.

CLUSTER WATCH

Not much to talk about here, as the cluster (our term for the large group of teams in the middle of the rankings with the same numbers of win and loss paths) remains as it was last week. Looking ahead to Turkey week, there are seven games whose results can have an impact on cluster membership. Those games are as follows:

  • Marshall vs. Western Kentucky
  • Florida State vs. Florida
  • SMU vs. Houston
  • New Mexico State at Arkansas State
  • Idaho at Appalachian State
  • Georgia State vs. Texas State
  • Troy vs. UL Lafayette

AWARDS

Jekyll and Hyde Award

Description:
For the team whose performances in the WTR and LTR are most divergent. This one's for the team which has experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows. Or perhaps the highest lows and the lowest highs.

Measure:
Largest difference between WTR and LTR.

Winner:
Colorado

Notes:
The Buffaloes have had a hard time finding wins this season, carrying only early-season victories over Hawaii and UMass. As a result, they rank a putrid 115 in the WTR. On the other hand, their conference schedule has been one of the toughest in the Pac-12, and their other non-conference game was a loss to Colorado State. With none of their losses being truly embarassing, their LTR comes out to a respectable 34. That difference of 81 spots wins them the award, well in front of second place Virginia Tech (WTR 24, LTR 93, difference of 69).

Are We There Yet Award

Description:
Not all shortest paths are created equal. Sometimes, teams have to work very hard to claim a win path, meandering tirelessly among the season's results before the path is earned. This one goes to a pair of teams for whom the shortest win path between them is longer than all other shortest paths.

Measure:
Maximum length shortest win path.

Winners:
South Florida, Mississippi State

Notes:
Kent State, Miami (OH), USF, and Tulsa all have shortest paths to Mississippi State of length 13. The Bulls get the nod, as their path to Mississippi covers 9800 miles, 50% longer than any of the other paths. The full argument is below:

South Florida > Connecticut > Central Florida > BYU > Middle Tennessee State > Western Kentucky > Bowling Green > Indiana > Missouri > Texas A&M > Arkansas > Mississippi > Alabama > Mississippi State

Frequent Flyer Award

Description:
If you took all of one team's shortest win paths, and made them actual travel itineraries, for which team would you be making the most stops? To win this one, you need to have a lot of win paths, but you don't want them to be too short.

Measure:
Largest sum of shortest win path lengths.

Winner:
(Tie) Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH)

Notes:
After a one-week hiatus, Eastern Michigan is back in line for a Frequent Flyer award, their fifth of the year. This week they are joined by Miami-Ohio, both having 125 win paths summming to 829 total games.

Conference Atlas & Coattail-Rider Awards

Description:
There are two awards here, one for the team which does the most to carry its conference's reputation on its shoulders (Atlas), and another for the conference black sheep who most disgraces his comrades (Coattail-Rider).

Measure:
The team whose CTR is highest above/farthest below the average among teams in its conference.

Winner:
Marshall (Atlas), Vanderbilt (Coattails)

Notes:
Both Marshall and Vanderbilt continue to hold sizable leads in their respective reward races. With one game left, the Commodores are this close to wrapping up a season sweep in the Coattail Rider category. You can check the conference-by-conference breakdown below.

Conference Avg Conference Rank Atlas Atlas Rank Atlas Difference Coattail Hanger Coattail Rank Difference
AAC 95.82 East Carolina 62 33.82 SMU 126 30.18
ACC 51.57 Florida State 1 50.57 Syracuse 86 34.43
Big 12 40.10 Oklahoma 12 28.10 Kansas 74 33.90
Big Ten 37.93 Michigan State 15 22.93 Purdue 71 33.07
CUSA 89.38 Marshall 2 87.38 Florida International 117 27.62
MAC 99.31 Northern Illinois 58 41.31 Kent State 122 22.69
MWC 76.17 Colorado State 25 51.17 UNLV 118 41.83
Pac-12 35.92 Oregon 10 25.92 Colorado 72 36.08
SEC 21.43 Alabama 3 18.43 Vanderbilt 93 71.57
Sun Belt 102.91 UL Lafayette 76 26.91 Georgia State 128 25.09
We Are Not Impressed Award

Description:
This award goes to the AP top 25 team whose reputation is most at odds with their transitive resume. Whatever human pollsters see in this team, the CTR is not buying the hype.

Measure:
The AP top 25 team whose ranking drops the most when compared to CTR.

Winner:
Baylor

Notes:
It seems that the CTR just can't unsee the Bears' shaky nonconference schedule. Though they hold a handful of good wins and a not too bad loss to West Virginia, Baylor finds themselves rated just 23 in the CTR, 18 spots off of their AP rank of 5. Nipping on their heels is Georgia Tech, whose CTR of 33 is 17 spots higher than their AP ranking of 16.

Desserpmi Ton Era Ew Award

Description:
Like the We Are Not Impressed Award, but opposite. Indeed, the name of this award is "we are not impressed" backwards.

Measure:
The highest CTR among teams receiving no votes in the AP poll.

Winner:
South Carolina

Notes:
The Gamecocks take this one for the second week running. Though their CTR ranking puts them in the bottom half of their own conference, it's good enough for number 18 in the nation. Their closest competition this week comes from CTR 26 Notre Dame.

KANSAS STATE WIN PATHS

In spite of a solid victory over West Virginia, the Cats actually dropped two spots to number 21 in this week's rankings. This week's tilt with Kansas doesn't have much potential to improve K-State's position, but the closing matchup against Baylor just might. You'll find the customary win path diagram below, along with the accompanying depth list.

Click to embiggen. - jeffp171/Bring on the Cats

  • Level 1: Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, UTEP, West Virginia
  • Level 2: Baylor, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Maryland, New Mexico State, New Mexico, North Texas, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Tulsa, Toledo, UTSA
  • Level 3: Arkansas State, Appalachian State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Georgia State, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Kent State, Kentucky, UL Lafayette, Massachusetts, Michigan, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina, South Florida, SMU, Syracuse, TCU, Tulane, UAB, UNLV, Utah State, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan
  • Level 4: Air Force, Akron, Army, Boston College, BYU, Central Florida, Connecticut, East Carolina, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, UL Monroe, Memphis, Miami (Oh), Minnesota, Missouri, Middle Tennessee State, Navy, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Rutgers, South Alabama, San Jose State, Temple, Troy, Texas State, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Wyoming
  • Level 5: Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Southern, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio State, San Diego State, Stanford, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia, Washington State
  • Level 6: Arizona, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Miami (Fl), Mississippi, Oregon State, Utah, Washington
  • Level 7: Alabama, Arizona State, Oregon, UCLA
  • Level 8: Mississippi State
  • No Path: Florida State, Marshall