Archive

Answer this question...

  • Fly4Fun
    I will post why I'm asking this question after I get so many answers.

    Do you believe that If Team A beats Team B and Team B beats Team C that Team A is better than Team C?

    Just so you don't bother guessing, this has nothing to do with Ohio State or the 3-way Big 10 tie.
  • Leonardo
    Nope

    It's an interesting way to compare teams, but not always true.

    I know you said it had nothing to do with OSU/Big 10, but is Michigan State "without a doubt" better than Ohio State?
  • Sonofanump
    That would mean that James Madison is better than Florida State.
  • krambman
    I'm going to assume that Team A and Team C did not play each other. No, just because A beat B and B beat C that doesn't necessarily mean that A is better than C, although depending on when in the season these game occurred, who was at home in these games, and the margin of victory in each I believe that some inferences can be made about Team A relative to Team C.
  • Con_Alma
    Not necessarily.

    It only means that Team A was better than Team B the day they played and that Team B was better than Team C the day they played.

    There are too many other factors that would come in to play keeping me from saying conclusively that A is better than C
  • killer_ewok
    No.
  • Tiernan
    Its not a guarantee by any stretch but it is at least some kind of barometer for comparison.
  • Con_Alma
    I agree tiernan but by itself it's not enough to make the determination in my opinion.
  • FatHobbit
    no
  • sherm03
    No.

    But now I'm interested to see why this question was asked.
  • Fly4Fun
    sherm03;592323 wrote:No.

    But now I'm interested to see why this question was asked.

    I will post why I asked this either at the end of the day today or tomorrow morning. I want to give a fair amount of people a chance to answer.
  • bigkahuna
    If you think about it mathematically...

    If A=B and B=C than A=C

    If A>B and B>C than A>C.

    I don't think this works though either. There are so many variables when it comes to this, like krambman said.
  • krambman
    Tiernan;592301 wrote:Its not a guarantee by any stretch but it is at least some kind of barometer for comparison.

    Agreed. If Team A destroys Team B at B's place, and Team B destroys Team C at C's place, then yes, A is probably better than C. If they are close games won by a late field goal and if the home team won both times then it's harder to make that assertion.
  • FatHobbit
    bigkahuna;592330 wrote:If you think about it mathematically...

    If A=B and B=C than A=C

    If A>B and B>C than A>C.

    I don't think this works though either. There are so many variables when it comes to this, like krambman said.

    What happens when A beats B, B beats C and then C beats A? There is no transitive property for football.
  • Con_Alma
    Lol. It isn't math. It's football.
  • vball10set
    no...I subscribe to the "on any given day" theory :cool:
  • queencitybuckeye
    Leonardo;592258 wrote:Nope

    It's an interesting way to compare teams, but not always true.

    I know you said it had nothing to do with OSU/Big 10, but is Michigan State "without a doubt" better than Ohio State?
    Depends on whether you use Wisconsin or Iowa as your basis for comparison. Actually this answers the question posed with 100% confidence, as you have both tOSU > MSU and MSU > tOSU. Not possible.
  • karen lotz
    No.
  • Leonardo
    queencitybuckeye;592470 wrote:Depends on whether you use Wisconsin or Iowa as your basis for comparison. Actually this answers the question posed with 100% confidence, as you have both tOSU > MSU and MSU > tOSU. Not possible.

    Michigan State beat Wisconsin; Wisconsin beat Ohio State
  • Fly4Fun
    Leonardo;592780 wrote:Michigan State beat Wisconsin; Wisconsin beat Ohio State

    Leonardo, he agreed with that; he was saying:

    Ohio State > Iowa and Iowa > Michigan state Therefore Ohio State > Michigan State

    AND

    Michigan State > Wisconsin and Wisconsin > Ohio State Therefore Michigan State > Ohio State

    Basically stating that using this theory in my original post it disproves itself as effective.
  • queencitybuckeye
    Leonardo;592780 wrote:Michigan State beat Wisconsin; Wisconsin beat Ohio State

    Ohio State beat Iowa; Iowa beat Michigan State
  • gorocks99
    Well ...

    Minnesota > Iowa

    Iowa > Michigan State
    Michigan State > Wisconsin
    Wisconsin > Ohio State
    Ohio State > Michigan
    Ohio State > Indiana
    Ohio State > Illinois
    Ohio State > Purdue
    Ohio State > Penn State
    Penn State > Northwestern

    Therefore, Minnesota > Big Ten. A winner is me! Transitive property FTW!
  • johngrizzly
    Believe it or not but certain teams match up better or worse against certain teams depending on the day, time, weather and injury situation not to mention coaching game plans
  • krambman
    Fly4Fun;592787 wrote:Leonardo, he agreed with that; he was saying:

    Ohio State > Iowa and Iowa > Michigan state Therefore Ohio State > Michigan State

    AND

    Michigan State > Wisconsin and Wisconsin > Ohio State Therefore Michigan State > Ohio State

    Basically stating that using this theory in my original post it disproves itself as effective.

    Not all wins are equal though. You need to quantify these wins with margin of victory.

    Ohio State > Iowa by 3 and Iowa > Michigan state by 31, therefore Ohio State > Michigan State by 34.

    AND

    Michigan State > Wisconsin by 10 and Wisconsin > Ohio State by 13, therefore Michigan State > Ohio State by 23.

    THEREFORE

    Therefore is Ohio State had played Michigan State the Buckeyes would have been 11 points better winning 34-23.
  • queencitybuckeye
    krambman;592890 wrote:Not all wins are equal though. You need to quantify these wins with margin of victory.

    Ohio State > Iowa by 3 and Iowa > Michigan state by 31, therefore Ohio State > Michigan State by 34.

    AND

    Michigan State > Wisconsin by 10 and Wisconsin > Ohio State by 13, therefore Michigan State > Ohio State by 23.

    THEREFORE

    Therefore is Ohio State had played Michigan State the Buckeyes would have been 11 points better winning 34-23.

    Which again means that the answer to the poll as asked is "false".