Comparing Wake Forest to AP Top 25 Teams and Vote Receivers
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There has been a lot of discussion this week about the recent AP Top 25 poll. Wake Forest officially received the fourth-most votes among teams not ranked in the poll.
Today, we want to compare Wake's resume to teams that are either ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. This should give fans a comprehensive breakdown of Wake Forest compared with other teams that may be in a different conference.
The Deacs' Resume
First, before comparing them to other teams, we must look at how Wake's resume is stacking up a third of the way into the season.
FPI: 48
Strength of Record: 17
Strength of Schedule: 13
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 68
Game Control Rank: 39
ESPN's predictive analytics do not seem to be currently favoring the Deacs, as seen in the FPI. A good performance against Stanford may help in this department to boost the efficiency numbers and game-control ranking. This is likely where Wake lacks compared to other Top 25 teams. They do have a high SOR and SOS, reflecting some big road wins thus far, but have a significantly easier schedule for the next two-thirds of the season.
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Duke Blue Devils
Duke received the fourth-most votes among teams not ranked in the poll.
FPI: 30
Strength of Record: 10
Strength of Schedule: 103
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 46
Game Control Rank: 33
Similar to Wake, Duke also picked up an early-season road Big 10 victory with its win over Illinois, which likely helped them in the strength of record category. The starkest difference between Duke and Wake is in the strength of schedule. Duke has faced a significantly easier schedule, and their road will get tougher. However, they have done a good job of being efficient in their victories, judging by their FPI.
Missouri Tigers
Missouri is currently ranked #25 while sitting at 3-1 with the one loss this past weekend to Mississippi State.
FPI: 35
Strength of Record: 42
Strength of Schedule: 62
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 3
Game Control Rank: 38
I think this is the one that is hard to swallow for Deac fans, as to why Missouri is still ranked but not Wake Forest. They do have a higher FPI, but do not measure up to Wake Forest in terms of strength of record or strength of schedule. Their schedule gets significantly tougher from here, though, having the third-hardest remaining schedule. It starts to heat up this week against #8 Florida.
Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats are 3-1, with a home loss to Alabama and a road victory over Texas A&M being notable results. They are ranked #24.
FPI: 36
Strength of Record: 11
Strength of Schedule: 10
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 16
Game Control Rank: 11
A lot of the analytics for Kentucky are likely being propped up by a pretty dominant road win at Texas A&M. However, recent performances by the Aggies have likely lowered the quality of that win. The Wildcats do have an exceptionally high game control ranking, which reflects the chance that an average Top 25 team would control games from start to finish the way this team did.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech is currently right behind Wake with the fifth-most votes among teams not ranked in the poll.
FPI: 38
Strength of Record: 23
Strength of Schedule: 122
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 41
Game Control Rank: 18
Virginia Tech has not had much beef on the schedule so far, aside from a road win over Maryland. The offense was looking highly efficient through the first few weeks, but likely got bumped down after scoring just 21 points in a one-score win over Boston College. Still, the Hokies have a good game-control rank, and the road only gets tougher for them from here.
Pitt Panthers
Pitt currently has the seventh-most votes among teams not ranked in the poll.
FPI: 22
Strength of Record: 22
Strength of Schedule: 119
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 49
Game Control Rank: 16
The analytics seem to favor Pitt so far this season with a pretty good FPI, SOR, and GC. They haven't had much on their schedule so far and will play their first road game this Friday in Blacksburg against the Hokies. Winning this one would be a big boost to their resume and will likely land them in the rankings.
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Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.