Forecasting college football game outcomes using modern modeling techniques

AbstractDo events irrelevant to politics, such as the weather and sporting events, affect political opinions? A growing experimental literature suggests that such events can matter. However, extant experimental evidence may over-state irrelevant event effects; this could occur if these studies happen to focus on particular scenarios where irrelevant event effects are likely to occur. One way to address this possibility is through replication, which is what we do. Specifically, we replicate an experimental study that showed the outcome of a college football game can influence presidential approval. Our results partially replicate the previous study and suggest the impact is constrained to a limited set of outcome variables. The findings accentuate the need for scholars to identify the conditions under which irrelevant effects occur. While the effects clearly can occur, there relevance to politics remains unclear.

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The Heritage Fallacy: Race, Loyalty, and the First Grambling-Southern Football Game

History of Education Quarterly ◽

10.1111/j.1748-5959.2010.00291.x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 488-512

Author(s):

Thomas Aiello

Keyword(s):

West Coast ◽

College Football ◽

Lost Cause ◽

Tourist Attraction ◽

University Of Mississippi ◽

The West ◽

Southern Culture ◽

Football Game ◽

Related Language ◽

Southern University

The lost cause of the Civil War has never really gotten out of our souls. Football, with all of its battle-related language, has long been an expression of our Southern militarism.—David Sansing, white Southerner, former director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of MississippiIn the East, college football is a cultural exercise … On the West Coast, it is a tourist attraction …In the Midwest, it is cannibalism … But in the South it is religion … And Saturday is the holy day.—Marino Casem, black Southerner, former director of the Department of Athletics, Southern University and A&M College

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Assessment of Sprint and Change-of-Direction Performance in College Football Players

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance ◽

10.1123/ijspp.8.2.211 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 211-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Giancarlo Condello ◽

Kevin Schultz ◽

Antonio Tessitore

Keyword(s):

College Football ◽

Football Players ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Football Game ◽

The Relationship ◽

Split Time

The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between straight-sprint and change-of-direction performance. Total sprinting time and split time at 5 m were collected from 44 college football players during a 15-m straight sprint (SS15m) and a 15-m zigzag sprint with two 60° changes of direction (COD15m). Differences in sprinting time between COD15m and SS15m and between COD5m and SS5m were expressed as percentage of decrement at 5 m and 15 m (Δ%5m and Δ%15m). Significant and high correlations emerged between SS15m and COD15m (r = .86, P < .0001), SS5m and SS15m (r = .92, P < .0001), SS5m and COD5m (r = .92, P < .0001), and COD5m and COD15m (r = .71, P < .0001). Δ%5m and Δ%15m showed a range of 1.2–30.0% and 34.9–59.4%, respectively. These results suggested how straight-sprint and change-of-direction performance are similar abilities in college football players, in particular when a smaller angle of the change of direction is considered. Moreover, it seems necessary to have athletes undergo tests that mimic the demands of football game, which is characterized by sprint on short distances and with changes of direction.

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