"I'm sorry, Ted. It's not that I wish to subject you to ridicule for your opinions, I just look at it more as a learning opportunity for someone who lives in Scottsdale to get a closer look at the Beavers. I'm talking about what we'll agree to call your 'reasons' for ranking OSU 6th in the conference."

--ESPN's Ted Miller quoting CV3000 [Miller didn't attribute it, but...obviously, how could it not be CV3000?--ed.] in Beavers want a perception promotion

Miller then went on to say:

Now, my opinion wasn't completely cracked. This week's media poll also ranked the Beavers sixth. ...

The larger issue here, though, is a phenomenon called "Fan Expectation and Emotional Transformation." Or FEET.

It may well be the case that the rest of the Pac-10 media were equally misguided. HOWEVER, if I didn't  include these quotes, then how would I have taken advantage of the opportunity for such an excellent headline??  See what I mean?

Exactly.

While Miller continues his hardline, anti-Beaver stance by even suggesting the unlikely possibility that the Beaver's may not make a bowl game, it appears his  list of  "reasons" is shrinking.

If Miller's right--and the Beavers finish in 6th this year--CV3000 will be sporting a Benny the Beaver tattoo on his left butt cheek.  And Ted may post photos of it on his blog.  We'll consider a hearty approbation and lengthy article recounting Beaver greatness following the 2008 season as a fair trade.

But, none of that is the main point of this post.  Today, we're here to talk about Miller's Pac-10 Coaching Rankings and how they might benefit from being examined in the context of relevant, out of context statistic.

Here is an interesting chart from a Rivals.com article (edited for EMphaSIS and clarity):

--Revolving Door--

Three Pac-10 coaches, including Rick Neuheisel, are on their second stints in the league. Dennis Erickson is on his third. Most current Pac-10 coaches have faced each other in previous stops. Here is each Pac-10 coach's career record against the other nine currently in the league:

	Coach	Career vs. Current Pac10 Coaches	winning %
1	Pete Carroll, USC	26-7	.788
2	Rick Neuheisel, UCLA	11-4	.733
3	Mike Riley, OSU	18-11	.621
4	Dennis Erickson, Arizona State	10-11	.476
5	Jeff Tedford, California	13-15	.464
6	Jim Harbaugh, Stanford	3-4	.429
7	Mike Bellotti, 5th Place u.	17-23	.425
8	Tyrone Willingham, Washington	11-23	.324
9	Mike Stoops, Arizona	5-16	.238
10	*Paul Wulff, Washington State	0-0  (*lost to Erickson while coach of 1-aa team)	.000

Interesting.

What do you think?