RPI is a joke

[muckboy561]

4 hours ago, Ray Icaza said:

This formula seems to have merit as I like the two automatic qualifiers from each district with minimum of 6-7 teams per district.  The mathematical formula for RPI is there, so apply it to determine the wildcard teams knowing there will always be dissent from those that get left out.  As you rightfully pointed out earlier in this thread, if you can't place first or second in the district then we can live with you pissing and moaning about it.  Outliers can always be pointed out, but overall HWY17 idea I like.  

Didn't they play like a tiebreaker game  to determine the wildcards right? It been so long I forgot lol

[Cat_Scratch]

https://fhsaa.com/rankings.aspx?path=football

[Hwy17]

4 hours ago, muckboy561 said:

Didn't they play like a tiebreaker game  to determine the wildcards right? It been so long I forgot lol

Nope. Best w/l record. In case of 2 teams with identical records the tiebreaker was determined by either head-to-head match up if there was one or total wins of opponents played.  Example: Hardee & Haines City were both 7-3 that year. Since we didn't play each other and the combined wins of Haines City's opponents was more they got in.

[skyway]

11 hours ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

TO SEED THE DISTRICT CHAMPS

 

He's an example of why seeding should be used, 2015 Columbia plays at Lincoln in the regular season in Tallahassee and wins 

 

Both were in same region and won district, Columbia went 9-1 while Lincoln went 4-6. Columbia was sent on the road to Lincoln second round of the playoffs and even though Columbia won again in the playoffs Columbia was clearly the best team in the region so they earned home field advantage but instead of getting an additional playoff game at home which would be very profitable, we had to travel to a team at a site we already beat them at instead of hosting

 

And this is just a personal example there are a lot more of them but I don't see how having seeding is a bad thing considering it's done at every other level of sports 

I wasn't talking about seeding. I was talking about the RPI. That a team could have the highest RPI and not get to host a single game because they're pushed back to a 5th seed automatically presents another set of issues. A team from another district could have a mediocre record against a weak schedule-producing a low RPI- and still host the top ranked RPI team. I get Lakeland having to play at Lake Gibson again. But, them potentially facing some of the other teams in the region on the road may not make sense.

[Hwy17]

9 hours ago, Perspective said:

Just curious, when it came time to pick the wildcard teams, how did they determine whether a 6-3 team from one district was better or worse than a 6-3 team from another district? 

If the 2 teams played one another the winner got the wildcard spot. Otherwise it was done by total wins of opponents. See reply to @muckboy561

[Perspective]

11 hours ago, skyway said:

I wasn't talking about seeding. I was talking about the RPI. That a team could have the highest RPI and not get to host a single game because they're pushed back to a 5th seed automatically presents another set of issues. A team from another district could have a mediocre record against a weak schedule-producing a low RPI- and still host the top ranked RPI team. I get Lakeland having to play at Lake Gibson again. But, them potentially facing some of the other teams in the region on the road may not make sense.

I think the Florida football gods (coaches/principals/FHSAA/whoever) made the decision that District Champions should be rewarded.  If you win a District Championship, you know you'll get a top 4 seed in your region and you know you'll have a home game against any team that is not a district champion.  

Your secondary goal should be to play - and beat - as many good teams as you can.   As I've pointed out several times, depending on which County you're in could very well determine how much control you have over your non-district schedule and, therefore, whether you can do anything to boost your RPI. 

Although I have a few issues with the way the current RPI is calculated, I prefer using an RPI system to determine the last teams in (whether it be four per region, as it is currently done, or two per region if they were to go back to a system where each district champ and each district runner-up makes the playoffs and then two wildcards are added).  But I'll take either one of those systems over the way it was done in the 70's when school athletic directors voted on which team made the playoffs when there was a tie for district champ.

One problem that I have with the old system (the one brought up in this thread) is that it lends itself to too many tiebreakers that have to be decided with one quarter of play the Monday after the regular season is over - and the Monday before the first playoff game - to determine who the champ is and who the runner-up is.  It's possible this could be resolved with RPI instead of tie-breaker "games."

But, all that said, I don't feel the least bit sorry for Lakeland that it may not have the opportunity to drag the big warship out on the field at Bryant Stadium for a home playoff game.  They didn't do the thing that is most important from a playoff seeding standpoint -- they didn't win their district.  If they truly are as good as their RPI suggests, they'll find a way to win on the road.