[Husker] Michigan

[Steve Reichenbach]

A nice compilation of college football rankings is at:
  http://www.mratings.com/cf/compare.htm
The rankings (left-to-right) are ordered by their difference from
the average of all rankings in the compilation (with the most
representative ranked higher, to the left).

The approach of combining many estimators or predictors which may
individually be fairly inaccurate to create a combined estimate or
prediction is an area of active research and is gaining acceptance
in many fields.  To some extent, the betting line is something like
this --- when half of a bunch of idiots and a few smart guys think
the outcome will be one thing and the other half of a bunch of idiots
and a few smart guys think the outcome will be the other thing, then
you have a prediction which is difficult to beat.

In this poll, Michigan is ranked #33.  Their highest rank in any
of the rankings is #6 and their lowest is #119.  Not surprisingly,
the ranking which has Michigan #119 is one of the least representative
(i.e., lowest quality) rankings.  The most representative (best)
rankings have Michgan ranked better #33, mostly in the 20s.

This consensus ranking has NU #18, Wake Forest #39, USC #2, and LSU
#1.