Trojans hold the edge in interactive playoff format

Just imagine: A 16-team college football playoff to decide a true national champion for the 2007 season.

A nice thought that’s only a dream for now.

But not for AccuScore.com, which has partnered with ESPN to create an interactive playoff. Users can simulate a playoff using the BCS rankings, as well as create their own rankings. Each round gives each team’s winning probability and projected stats.

USC fans would be glad to know that the Trojans hold a percentage edge over the top teams in the country in games played on a neutral field.

According to AccuScore.com, which simulates every game 10,000 times, USC won 60% of its games against Ohio State; 51% against Louisiana State; 53% against Georgia; 62% against Virginia Tech; and 73% against West Virginia.

The Trojans did not do too well when the entire playoff was simulated 50 times by The Times.

Upsets ruled as USC failed to win any simulated playoff, reaching the championship game twice and the semifinals four times. The Trojans were knocked out of the playoffs by such underdog teams as Hawaii, Connecticut and South Florida.

Like USC, the top four teams in the BCS standings -- Ohio State, LSU, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma -- also struggled in playoff simulations.

The Buckeyes won the title three times, the Hokies finished first twice and the Tigers won it once. Like USC, Oklahoma also failed to win a simulated championship.

Fifteen teams won the 50 simulated playoffs with underdogs leading the way in titles. Arizona State had the most with nine, followed by Illinois’ eight and Kansas and Tennessee with six each.

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The Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday and Florida’s Tim Tebow is a heavy favorite to win at 1-8, according to Sportsbetting.com. Arkansas’ Darren McFadden has the second-best odds at 4-1, followed by Hawaii’s Colt Brennan at 12-1 and Missouri’s Chase Daniel at 30-1.

Baseball

The odds on the Detroit Tigers winning the American League pennant in 2008 moved from 6-1 to 4-1 after they traded for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis this week, according to LasVegasInsider.com.

The Angels, who acquired outfielder Torii Hunter, moved from 4-1 to 7-2. Boston and the New York Yankees remained at 5-2 and 3-1 respectively.

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