Boyd's World-> ISR's -- 1989 Season

About the author, Boyd Nation

ISR's -- 1989 Season

There are too many cases of unknown dates in the historical records that I used to re-create this data set for me to be able to do weekly updates as I have in later years, so these are end-of-year ratings only.

The score set behind this is incomplete, but it's close enough to justify publication. Teams with incomplete game records are listed at the bottom; in most cases, it's possible to find their D1 records by using "reflected light"; most missing D1 games can be identified through the missing team's opponents. Since most of these are unlikely to have played each other, it's likely that the great bulk of the missing games are against non-D1 competition and wouldn't have an impact on the ratings. However, it's quite likely for this year that there are some conference SWAC games that are missing, and it's quite possible that some of the Northeastern teams with missing games played each other.

On a purely personal level, this is another important season in my mind, especially since there's a decent chance that this was the best-ever Mississippi State team (we'll find out when we get back to 1985). That's somewhat relevant, since the narrative around that points out something that surprised me. I tend to think of those days as being largely inaccurate, in a sense - polls have never been all that accurate, it seems, and the six-team regionals were a lot of fun but didn't tend to produce winners who were the best in the field.

From about mid-March on in 1989, Texas A&M was at #1 in the Baseball America poll and MSU was #2 most weeks. Both teams lost in their home regionals, and that was that, so until now I've never had any idea how much the polls were accurate and how much they just reflected the sizes of the respective fan bases. Well, I don't have any way to separate out for a partial-year rating, such as at selection time, but even with the regional results included, A&M sits at #1 in the ratings and MSU at #3, behind a Texas team that I suspect got hidden in A&M's shadow during the season. As an aside, this was a very good year for the Southwest Conference, as Arkansas comes in at #4.

             Div I     All
Rank  ISR    W   L    W   L   SoS  Team

  1  131.3   58   7   58   7   29  Texas A&M
  2  128.7   39  15   54  18    1  Texas
  3  125.4   41  13   54  14   15  Mississippi State
  4  124.8   40  15   51  16    6  Arkansas
  5  124.2   54  17   55  17   20  Louisiana State
  6  123.5   42  17   45  18   11  Arizona
  7  123.4   43  17   49  18   13  Miami, Florida
  8  122.5   54  18   54  18   34  Florida State
  9  122.3   34  18   42  19    3  Arizona State
 10  121.9   56  15   68  16   63  Wichita State
 11  120.6   42  15   50  15   43  Long Beach State
 12  120.4   40  21   44  22    8  Florida
 13  120.3   49  19   50  20   40  Clemson
 14  119.3   40  18   45  18   25  South Florida
 15  118.9   36  23   41  25    5  Southern California
 16  118.2   29  17   43  17   12  Houston
 17  118.1   41  18   41  18   36  North Carolina
 18  117.8   39  19   42  22   26  Jacksonville
 19  117.8   42  19   44  19   46  Oklahoma
 20  117.5   44  19   48  19   54  Oklahoma State
 21  117.1   40  15   42  16   67  Illinois
 22  117.1   35  20   44  20   19  Auburn
 23  115.8   45  22   45  22   48  South Alabama
 24  115.4   23  17   32  19   10  Baylor
 25  115.3   40  18   44  19   73  Fresno State
 26  115.3   37  15   49  16   90  Michigan
 27  114.3   34  25   37  25   18  Georgia
 28  113.9   27  21   37  22   14  Texas Christian
 29  113.5   31  24   35  24   16  California
 30  113.5   31  16   47  20   75  Brigham Young
 31  113.2   38  16   44  16  107  Nicholls State
 32  113.1   29  21   32  24   24  Alabama
 33  112.9   34  19   42  22   58  Central Florida
 34  112.9   39  18   48  21  101  Indiana State
 35  112.9   23  15   30  15   44  Virginia Commonwealth
 36  112.7   35  16   41  19  105  Pepperdine
 37  112.0   38  25   38  26   49  Georgia Tech
 38  111.9   34  20   40  20   64  Nevada-Las Vegas
 39  111.9   20  15   32  16   31  North Carolina-Charlotte
 40  111.7   35  21   35  21   65  North Carolina State
 41  111.7   19  22   32  22    2  Texas Tech
 42  111.6   28   9   41  10  165  Southwest Missouri State
 43  111.4   34  23   39  24   55  Loyola Marymount
 44  111.3   34  14   39  15  135  Western Michigan
 45  111.3   27  28   30  28    7  Stanford
 46  111.2   28  11   37  11  137  East Carolina
 47  110.6   38  24   40  27   79  Hawaii
 48  110.6   27  24   30  27   23  Cal State Fullerton
 49  110.5   24  19   30  22   41  Minnesota
 50  110.1   30  19   37  20   85  Iowa
 51  110.0   30  13   49  13  145  Louisiana-Lafayette
 52  109.9   25  19   31  21   47  Vanderbilt
 53  109.6   34  11   45  12  186  Wright State
 54  109.5   27  25   28  25   22  Kentucky
 55  109.5   20  17   36  18   38  Oral Roberts
 56  109.4   29  19   38  20   86  Louisiana Tech
 57  109.3   31  22   38  23   66  Stetson
 58  109.2   25  32   27  32    4  UCLA
 59  109.2   30  12   33  13  155  Coastal Carolina
 60  109.1   36  11   42  13  199  Villanova
 61  108.9   36  24   37  25   94  San Diego State
 62  108.7   33  23   34  23   88  South Carolina
 63  108.2   29  20   40  22   97  Santa Clara
 64  108.2   29  14   31  15  128  North Carolina-Wilmington
 65  108.1   25  18   33  20   80  Southeastern Louisiana
 66  107.9   28  19   40  19   98  San Jose State
 67  107.8   36  21   39  21  121  Florida International
 68  107.8   33  23   35  23   95  Wake Forest
 69  107.4   33  34   33  34   33  New Orleans
 70  107.3   31  24   36  26   83  Southern Mississippi
 71  107.0   28  23   31  23   72  Sam Houston State
 72  106.8   31  15   38  19  162  Eastern Kentucky
 73  106.5   35  22   35  22  123  Virginia Tech
 74  106.2   23  27   28  30   21  Rice
 75  106.2   19   6   28   7  206  LeMoyne
 76  105.9   31  22   37  26  113  Creighton
 77  105.7   21  25   36  26   32  Iowa State
 78  105.7   25  17   35  18  125  McNeese State
 79  105.6   25  15   31  19  141  Eastern Illinois
 80  105.2   21  21   34  21   51  Mississippi
 81  104.8   26  26   35  27   59  Missouri
 82  104.7   27  20   38  20  118  Central Michigan
 83  104.6   24  23   25  24   71  Virginia
 84  104.3   27  18   36  21  142  Wyoming
 85  104.0   31  18   34  19  170  Rutgers
 86  103.8   27  27   34  27   77  Ohio State
 87  103.8   24  26   26  26   62  Old Dominion
 88  103.6   20  23   32  23   50  Kansas State
 89  103.6   17  21   25  26   45  Michigan State
 90  103.5   25  26   27  26   74  Tulane
 91  103.4   30  19   33  19  157  Seton Hall
 92  103.3   23  23   34  25   89  Purdue
 93  103.2   20  22   33  23   68  Texas-Arlington
 94  103.0   23  26   28  27   60  Alabama-Birmingham
 95  102.8   25  30   26  30   52  Northwestern
 96  102.8   18  17   32  23  100  Texas State
 97  102.7   28  24   33  27  119  Georgia Southern
 98  102.6   17  24   28  27   30  UC Santa Barbara
 99  102.1   18  12   28  13  169  Appalachian State
100  102.1   20   9   29  11  208  Pennsylvania
101  101.9   24  17   37  20  151  Washington State
102  101.5   27  24   32  26  124  Maine
103  101.4   22  17   25  19  140  Ohio
104  101.4   44  17   48  19  236  Notre Dame
105  101.2   23  22   32  23  109  Memphis
106  100.9   31  21   32  21  179  James Madison
107  100.6   18  18   35  22  114  Bradley
108  100.6   24  16   27  16  181  Connecticut
109  100.6   20  32   24  34   42  Western Kentucky
110  100.4   19  22   26  27   91  Texas-Pan American
111  100.0   19  16   32  25  148  Austin Peay State
112   99.9   17  31   27  31   28  Nebraska
113   99.8   16  32   32  35   17  Kansas
114   99.5   21  24   23  24  112  Richmond
115   99.5   21  19   27  22  150  Middle Tennessee State
116   99.4   21  15   23  16  193  Murray State
117   99.3   19  25   30  28   87  Nevada
118   99.1   12  10   35  18  163  Sacramento State
119   99.0   20  21   27  23  130  Oregon State
120   98.7   21  30   26  31   70  Lamar
121   98.5   25  19   28  27  185  Temple
122   98.3   23  16   26  16  202  Pace
123   98.3   20  10   26  14  223  Princeton
124   98.2   25  16   27  16  201  Providence
125   97.8   17  18   27  19  136  Gonzaga
126   97.7   11  15   34  22   93  New Mexico State
127   97.7   21  26   34  26  117  Indiana
128   97.6   20  23   25  24  126  Liberty
129   97.5   22  24   27  27  131  Ball State
130   97.4   20  19   26  22  166  Toledo
131   97.4   25  24   25  24  156  Kent State
132   97.1   14  24   25  30   69  Hardin-Simmons
133   96.8   19  22   32  24  127  Portland
134   96.7   18  21   31  21  132  Centenary
135   96.6   18  29   23  31   78  Western Carolina
136   96.5   23  25   27  28  152  Eastern Michigan
137   96.2   25  15   27  17  238  Maryland-Baltimore County
138   96.1   18  19   19  19  159  St. John's
139   95.7   22  25   23  25  158  George Mason
140   95.6   12  12   16  14  175  Marshall
141   95.3   16  16   20  17  178  Boston College
142   95.3   18  23   27  27  133  Air Force
143   95.3   28  26   30  26  190  Evansville
144   95.2   15  31   22  37   53  Wisconsin
145   95.2   25  20   32  20  207  Jackson State
146   95.1   15  36   23  36   37  Tennessee
147   94.9   20  30   26  34  116  Illinois State
148   94.9   25  24   30  26  192  Detroit Mercy
149   94.8   12  30   20  35   35  UC Irvine
150   94.7   19  18   27  19  183  Radford
151   94.3   15  17   30  20  164  The Citadel
152   94.3   20  35   26  39   99  Southern Illinois
153   94.2   24  21   25  24  204  Rider
154   94.1    6  23    9  25    9  U. S. International
155   94.0   19  24   36  28  149  Portland State
156   93.9   23  21   23  21  195  Towson
157   93.6   13  23   27  23  104  Louisville
158   93.2   24  18   25  18  237  Grambling State
159   92.8   10  12   20  18  168  Western Illinois
160   92.7   18  12   28  13  244  West Virginia
161   92.6   15  27   21  30  106  Cincinnati
162   92.5   25  22   25  22  214  New York Tech
163   92.2   21  15   21  15  243  Lafayette
164   92.1   17  15   17  15  219  Hartford
165   91.9   11  27   14  29   82  Louisiana-Monroe
166   91.8   10  27   21  28   56  Northwestern State
167   91.8   27  23   30  24  220  George Washington
168   91.7   21  18   23  19  227  Penn State
169   91.7   12  24   17  30  103  Samford
170   91.5   19  17   22  18  222  Army
171   91.1   10  36   12  36   39  Mercer
172   91.1   19  32   25  35  134  Miami, Ohio
173   90.9   22  16   24  20  251  LaSalle
174   90.8   17  18   17  18  209  C. W. Post
175   90.8   16  14   18  19  224  Dartmouth
176   90.7   18  27   23  29  171  Bowling Green State
177   90.5   17  24   27  25  177  Arkansas-Little Rock
178   90.4   12  30   17  32   84  Utah
179   90.2   10  27   14  30   81  San Francisco
180   90.1   20  18   20  21  232  Delaware
181   89.7   11  19   13  20  160  Washington
182   89.7   12  19   18  27  172  North Carolina-Asheville
183   89.6   11  35   15  42   57  Pacific
184   89.5    9  43   12  44   27  Stephen F. Austin State
185   89.5   18  26   33  29  184  Illinois-Chicago
186   89.3   11  25   23  31  108  San Diego
187   89.1   13  16   16  17  203  Harvard
188   89.0   12  22   17  22  146  Maryland
189   89.0   16  14   19  14  253  Siena
190   89.0   17  16   21  20  239  Northeastern
191   88.9   12  21   16  23  167  VMI
192   88.9   20  17   21  17  250  Iona
193   88.7   15  17   18  20  215  Yale
194   88.7   10  17   21  21  161  Augusta
195   88.5   15  15   16  16  226  St. Francis
196   88.3   22  23   24  24  230  Akron
197   88.1   14  17   19  19  211  Columbia
198   88.0    9  22   20  23  122  Duke
199   87.6   18  26   18  26  198  Southern
200   87.3   18  20   24  21  225  Cleveland State
201   87.2   11  17   11  17  194  Howard
202   87.2   18  36   20  37  154  Xavier
203   87.0   11  26   15  26  144  Baptist
204   86.7    8  34   18  39   61  St. Mary's
205   86.7   16  16   17  16  246  Fairfield
206   86.6   10  13   18  14  218  Navy
207   86.5    9  20   13  21  147  Furman
208   85.9   15  15   20  15  255  Central Connecticut State
209   85.8   10  32   10  32  115  Campbell
210   85.7   10  22   24  30  173  Eastern Washington
211   85.3    7  25   12  27  102  Davidson
212   84.9    7  33   10  37   76  New Mexico
213   84.5    9  14   17  20  213  Cornell
214   84.2   12  18   13  22  221  Monmouth
215   84.2    3   8   19  23  138  Chicago State
216   83.9   11  20   11  21  200  West Chester
217   83.8    7  28   14  35  110  Colorado State
218   83.8   14  24   17  27  212  Massachusetts
219   83.8   14  20   15  23  229  Fordham
220   83.7    7  23    7  23  120  Texas Southern
221   83.7    8  25   18  26  139  Morehead State
222   83.3    6  19   17  27  143  Tennessee Tech
223   83.2   17  20   17  21  249  Alcorn State
224   83.1   12  18   19  20  234  Youngstown State
225   82.8    6  12   18  29  191  Northern Colorado
226   82.6   10  12   18  14  259  Wagner
227   82.5    7  11    8  12  233  Florida A&M
228   82.5    6  30   11  34   96  Arkansas State
229   82.2    6  18   10  21  153  East Tennessee State
230   81.8    7  17   14  19  197  Winthrop
231   81.7   11  26   15  26  188  Georgetown
232   81.5    7  18   11  23  189  Tennessee State
233   80.8    8  16   14  16  217  Bucknell
234   80.6   11  24   15  25  210  Rhode Island
235   80.0   12  21   13  22  240  Fairleigh Dickinson
236   79.6    6   6   18   8  266  Delaware State
237   79.2   12  19   12  19  257  Long Island
238   79.1   11  23   11  23  228  Brooklyn
239   78.6    9  21   17  24  216  Brown
240   78.6    3  33   13  37   92  Northern Iowa
241   78.3   10  35   14  37  180  St. Louis
242   77.8    6  23   14  26  176  St. Joseph's
243   77.4    9  18    9  18  241  New Hampshire
244   77.2    5  32    5  32  129  Prairie View A&M
245   76.7    8  16   12  19  254  Niagara
246   76.6    6  16   11  20  231  Vermont
247   76.3   12  23   12  23  252  Canisius
248   76.0    5  22   14  32  187  Valparaiso
249   75.2    8  31   12  32  205  Butler
250   75.1    8  38   14  40  182  Dayton
251   75.0    6  13   11  14  258  Lehigh
252   74.9   10  19   11  19  263  Holy Cross
253   74.6    5  12    9  18  248  Drexel
254   74.0    1  27    9  28  111  William and Mary
255   73.8    7  13    9  20  264  Manhattan
256   73.1    3   7    9  17  260  Mount St. Mary's
257   72.5    3  23    6  25  174  Pittsburgh
258   72.2    4  14    7  24  242  Colgate
259   70.9    6   8   12  16  267  Maryland-Eastern Shore
260   68.2    1  12    6  28  196  Boston University
261   67.8    5  17   12  21  261  St. Peter's
262   67.6    7  22    9  25  265  St. Bonaventure
263   67.3    5  30    5  38  235  Mississippi Valley State
264   66.5    6  28   16  28  256  Alabama State
265   64.8    3  21    4  25  247  Hofstra
266   58.5    2  19    3  23  262  Coppin State
267   57.5    0  18    5  19  245  Duquesne
  

Before we get to the data quality report, let me spend a moment talking about the pluses and minuses of technological advance. I loved newspapers - the big daily dump of information combined with the visceral feel of opening that big broadsheet to your favorite parts each day - and I have strong concerns about the process we're going through as we look for a new way to fund serious reporting, especially locally, the way that the comics page and the classifieds used to. However, I was very much reminded in working on this year that there are some ways in which the Internet Age is much, much better at giving us comprehensive information.

I spend a couple of days on each of these years searching through newspapers.com for scores to try to complete missing score lists. Doing that, I'm reminded that one of the things that used to make such a regional sport was that it was hard to get information outside your region, especially for unranked teams. The AP score report was based on someone official reporting for a given team, in the days where that involved a mildly expensive phone call and someone willing to make it, and then the local paper would fit as much of it as they wanted to into the Scoreboard page, often prioritizing local high school results or whatever over remote scores. Comparing that to having multiple sources online with absolutely full D1 score sets is one way that the good ole days weren't always good.

I want to say a word of thanks to the folks in the NCAA stats office, who have been very responsive to my requests for data that had fallen through the cracks and weren't reachable on their current web site; they've gone above and beyond in supporting this somewhat quixotic search. I'm extremely grateful for their help.

Team	Missing Games
U. S. International	25
Texas Southern	16
Florida A&M	16
Prairie View A&M	11
West Chester	9
New Hampshire	7
Kent State	1

I have no idea what Howard's record actually was, since there's no record of it that I can find. What's listed in the ratings is just the record from the games that I've been able to find.

We've reached the point where we go to tables for a couple of the major problem areas. In the first of these, the two teams both claim the game as a win (or, in a couple of cases, both claim it as a loss), but the records only line up if the team listed as the winner actually won, so that's what I'm going with.

There's also a game between Southwest Texas State and Texas-Arlington where both teams claim to have lost 9-0, with W-L records to match. The 9-0 score is suspicious, being the score of a forfeit, so there could be an interesting story there, but I can't find a newspaper account of the game, so I'm just going to pretend it didn't happen.

The final batch are games where one team lists the game, with matching W-L record, while the other team doesn't list it at all, again with matching W-L record. I'm counting these (a couple of which are supported by newspaper reports) after ruling out any likely non-D1 misidentified substitute opponents, under the theory that someone just creating a game out of the blue is less likely than the other team not listing a game.

Boyd's World-> ISR's -- 1989 Season

About the author, Boyd Nation