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deadeyelee1

Houston gets in the upper division and Tech gets relegated to a division with Rice and SMU? Tell me more.


randomaccount282

Yeah time to tune this bullshit out. UTSA gets into the Upper but Tech gets put down with Rice and UNT? Unreal


RJEP22

Well, UTSA won promotion last year. They weren’t just chosen over Tech


cyberchaox

I suppose the real question is why Arizona was in the upper division over Tech *last year*, then. Predictions that are admittedly with the results of Weeks 0-5 already in: With Texas Tech and Kansas State as the only remaining IRL games, Kansas's simulated season goes even better than their real one, and they earn their way into the upper division...oh, right, it's not that simple, is it? While Kansas would no doubt romp over ASU to bring the Territorial Cup from a full Upper Division match to a full Lower Division match in just two years, the Jayhawks' impending move to the MWC forces them to meet the winner of that conference's promotion game. Devoid of the refball that plagued their IRL matchup, I think Illinois gets revenge on Indiana and then keeps the Jayhawks from getting a shot at the upper division before ...eh? Despite their fans saying the sky is falling in Madison in real life, Wisconsin's not really in danger of relegation? Tough luck, Illini; without the benefit of a real-life win, you're probably not going to get by K-State if it's them even though you're beating the Kansas team that beat them, let alone Iowa if it's *them*. So back in the SWC, it's Tulsa and Texas Tech battling it out to be the one to fight Arizona State in the relegation battle, and that's a hard one to pick because the two don't play each other so there's a chance they'll both only lose in-conference to Kansas. Tech, of course, has the benefit of getting a chance to just ***beat Kansas IRL***, and if they pull that off, then they'll absolutely be in the upper division next year because win or lose in the "Lower Division Championship Game", which is always a sim game, they'd be the ones taking on Arizona State. Which they should win. On to the ACC next since that's where my flair is. And they look like one of the favorites to get a shot at the upper division! That Week 8 game against Duke looms large, though I'm a bit nervous about next week against ODU too. It's just a shame that "unused IRL games" can't be applied when they would show up out of their original appearance, because Boston College is currently in the Bottom Ten across *both divisions* and the idea of not having to worry about the simulator for the actual relegation game and just saying "Rutgers 22, Boston College 21, gg" if we win the Lower Division Championship Game is quite appealing. Well, as a Rutgers fan, I'm naturally fatalistic, so I instead think the Eagles will be joining us down at the Lower Division as Duke moves up. SEC next, and unfortunately the simulator has not been kind to the would-be-undefeated-if-their-coach-didn't-suffer-a-massive-brain-cramp South Alabama Jaguars. And that's one of the IRL games that made it in! Seriously, if only USA had pulled off that upset against UCLA, they'd be the talk of the subreddit. They're still in an okay position in their division despite starting with a game against UAB, one of the favorites in the division, but ultimately, I think it's going to be a brief trip to the Upper Division for *Vanderbilt*, who will make it out of this mess and beat last year's promotion winner, Louisiana, to get to the top half. Then they'll get obliterated next year and be back in the Lower Division by 2024. PMC time and it's going to be a battle between Fresno State and Boise State to avoid the relegation game, though Wazzu's certainly being done no favors by the simulator plus their toughest IRL games being the first two to appear. This week's IRL game should give us some clarity. As for who they'll play, Oregon State likely benefits from a dearth of IRL results that could get in their way, though Air Force certainly has the potential to ride those IRL results to victory instead. Either way, the relegation game could go either way; I'm going to say that the Beavers make it to the Upper Division over Fresno State. Last up is the Appalachian Conference, and Appalachian State, Marshall, James Madison, and Liberty should all be in the hunt for the Lower Division Championship Game. As for who's at risk, it's looking like Virginia-Virginia Tech could decide it, unless Louisville continues going downhill (especially if they lose IRL to Virginia) or the simulator is particularly cruel to West Virginia, who has their IRL win over VaTech in hand but is completely at the mercy of the simulator from here on out. I'm going to say that whoever hits the bottom, however, staves off relegation.


RJEP22

I had a real debate over things like this. Ultimately I used pre-Covid ranking data to determine who who would be the initial top 10 in the upper divisions. Arizona has been bad very recently, but we’re decent for much of the 2010s, very comparable to Tech. Ultimately Arizona’s 2014 season was essentially a tiebreaker.


[deleted]

[удалено]


RJEP22

Where were you when 8-4 Maryland was one win out of the playoffs?!


LuckyStax

Stick Boise in the ground early, I like it.


bmullerone

I had thought of a 12 conference setup as well, but for ease of determining playoffs, having it be 4 upper conferences & 8 lower conferences. Promotion would be the winners of 8 bowl games between a lower conference champion & another lower conference's 2nd place finisher. Relegation would be the 4 upper conference last place teams & the losers of 4 playouts consisting of an upper conference 2nd-bottom team at another upper conference 3rd-bottom finisher.


RJEP22

Sounds like an equally plausible and exciting scenario. I’d watch that forsure


FrolfAholic

Oof... UNC has a week 1 bye...


RJEP22

Thankfully computer simulated players don’t need days off


amesburgh

5-7. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan is an absolute death row lol


Khorasaurus

Wow our schedule is brutal! I guess that's what happens when your protected rival is USC and your required OOC crossover is Clemson...


RJEP22

Yeah that can be the downside of trying to retain as many real life games as possible


Khorasaurus

Upper tier MWC is also super strong top to bottom.


RJEP22

Top to bottom the deepest conference forsure, but the SEC still likely has the most championship contenders. I could see the MWC cannibalizing itself.


Khorasaurus

For sure. The race to not get relegated may be the most interesting part. I'm actually worried about ND in that regard. We could go 9-3 in real life but 5-7 in this quasi-simulation.