@KyCatFan, I Found The Source of Your Ranking Errors!!!!

[The-Hack]

In a thread where the discussion became buried, you listed Kentucky’s SEC East finishes as follows:

“Actually I did look it up. Says 4th, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 6th, and 7th.”

I highlighted your reference for 2018/19, as “3rd” for further study!!

You did not lift and quote a source . . . as there is no source that can be quoted for these numbers.

Instead, you inferred these numbers based upon a misreading of the information you referenced.

Take 2018/19 for instance. You say the Cats finished 3rd, in your list above.

Here is your linked source for that, quoted:

Standings​

• Glossary

East	W	L	Pct	W	L	Pct	Off	Def	SRS	SOS	AP Pre	AP High	AP Rank	Notes
	Overall	Conference	Points Per Game	SRS	Polls
West	W	L	Pct	W	L	Pct
Georgia	11	3	.786	7	1	.875	37.9	19.2	20.69	6.33	3	2	7
Florida	10	3	.769	5	3	.625	35.0	20.0	13.66	4.04		7	7
Kentucky	10	3	.769	5	3	.625	26.6	16.8	12.06	4.37		11	12
Missouri	8	5	.615	4	4	.500	36.6	25.5	13.14	5.75		24
South Carolina	7	6	.538	4	4	.500	30.1	27.2	7.34	5.88		24
Vanderbilt	6	7	.462	3	5	.375	28.5	26.6	6.25	5.09
Tennessee	5	7	.417	2	6	.250	22.8	27.9	0.39	6.05

Southeastern Conference Index | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Southeastern Conference Index

www.sports-reference.com

You looked at the list, and mistakenly assumed Kentucky is listed as a third place finisher based on being listed third. The problem: Kentucky defeated Florida head-to-head in Gainesville in 2018, and finished with the same record.

The list simply resorts to alphabetical order for the tied second place finishers.

Additionally, the SEC only applies a tiebreaker for determining who goes to Atlanta. It does not officially “unbreak” ties for second place . . . Florida and Kentucky are second place finishers for 2018/19 even though Kentucky beat them head-to-head:
“When two or more teams tie for the best record in their division, each team is recognized as a divisional co-champion. Tiebreakers are used to determine who will represent the division in the championship game.[8]

SEC Championship Game - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

So, your list of finishes . . . “Actually I did look it up. Says 4th, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 6th, and 7th.” is entirely your faulty interpretation . . . . and should you disagree please lift and quote directly any source that says Kentucky finished 3rd in the SEC East in 2018/19.

 

[bthaunert]

This was already addressed in that specific thread to him.

 

[The-Hack]

This was already addressed in that specific thread to him.

Hmmmm.

Not in this much detail.

I for example, thought the SEC broke ties for all teams based upon head-to-head competition.

And I was wrong. (It happens at least once every ten years!).

Instead, if two tie for No. 1, both are considered champions of the division, and tiebreakers are used only to determine who goes to Atlanta.

Hence, ties remain ties, and technically, both UF and UK finished tied for second in the East in 2018/19, and no tiebreakers are applied, although both finished 5-3 and Kentucky beat UF head-to-head, in Gainesville.

The same is true for Kentucky’s second place finishes in 2016 and 2021.

 

[bthaunert]

Hmmmm.

Not in this much detail.

I for example, thought the SEC broke ties for all teams based upon head-to-head competition.

And I was wrong. (It happens at least once every ten years!).

Instead, if two tie for No. 1, both are considered champions of the division, and tiebreakers are used only to determine who goes to Atlanta.

Hence, ties remain ties, and technically, both UF and UK finished tied for second in the East in 2018/19, and no tiebreakers are applied, although both finished 5-3 and Kentucky beat UF head-to-head, in Gainesville.

The same is true for Kentucky’s second place finishes in 2016 and 2021.

Yep...here is what I wrote:

In the SEC, if you finish tied for 2nd, you're tied for 2nd. There is no tie-breaker. The only thing they use the tie-breaker for is to determine who makes the SEC championship game.

UK has finished 2nd place in the SEC Eastin the official standings 3 times since 2016

 

[The-Hack]

Yep...here is what I wrote:

In the SEC, if you finish tied for 2nd, you're tied for 2nd. There is no tie-breaker. The only thing they use the tie-breaker for is to determine who makes the SEC championship game.

UK has finished 2nd place in the SEC Eastin the official standings 3 times since 2016

Sorry, I missed that and a good catch.

Oddly, even if you lose the tie-breaker at number one, you are still “Co-Division Champions!”

That had escaped me since 1992. I assume some hardware is involved for each one tied for number one.

 

[The-Hack]

UK has finished 2nd place in the SEC Eastin the official standings 3 times since 2016

True, and a point I made concurrent to yours.

Depending upon the site you research, most typically list the East 1 thru 6, but for ties, they just put them in alphabetical order . . . and Florida(2018) and Georgia (2016) are earlier in the alphabet than is “Kentucky,” leading to a misreading of rank.

Hence, @KyCatFan’s error in thinking Florida finished 2nd and Kentucky 3rd in 2018.

They both finished second.

And three teams tied for second in 2016.

 

[CB3UK]

Hack has blinded me with science

 

[The-Hack]

Hack has blinded me with science

So I stay off the Board on a busy Friday, go to the QB Club, dose off at 9:30, wake up at 2:30 am, and now I’ll have this song in my head the rest of the night!!

 

[CB3UK]

So I stay off the Board on a busy Friday, go to the QB Club, dose off at 9:30, wake up at 2:30 am, and now I’ll have this song in my head the rest of the night!!