An LSU professor of economics has completed a study that, according to him, proves statistically, the most hated college football teams in the country.
According to the Business Report, Professor Sudipta Sarangi used something called the "Herfindal Index," which is traditionally used as "a business measure of the size of a firm in relation to it's industry and the amount of competition it faces". Now, this is where things get a little comical.
According to the piece, Professor Sarangi's study concludes that the top five most-hated teams are:
- Boise State
- BYU
- West Virginia
- Middle Tennessee
- Fresno State
That is not a joke.
Any casual fan of college football can see that this makes no sense in the real world. I can't think of anyone, I repeat ANYONE, who hates Rick Stockstill and his Middle Tennessee squad, and in certain demographics, WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen is nothing short of a legend.
In short, college football fans almost universally hate a number of programs, and none of them are in that list based on "statistics"
A more accurate list would have to include universally disliked (or envied) programs like Ohio State, Alabama, or USC. And, as further proof of the ridiculousness, the Prof's list also had LSU at #32. In all reality, if Les' team were ranked anywhere outside of the top ten in a list based on the feelings of actual college football fans, I'd voluntarily eat my shoe.
I guess this is what you get when an economics professor uses "statistics" meant for the economy, and decides to apply them to the world of college football.