Photo courtesy of Western Michigan athletics
Introduction
We’ve created a 130-team bracket using ESPN’s FPI as our ranking system.
“But, anyone can create a bracket, how will the games be simulated?” Great question; NCAA Game Sim was used.
For each game on the bracket, the matchup was simulated once and every day a write-up will be done.
For the matchup, player statistics will be simulated and included in the write-ups.
Finally, thanks to the NCAA Game Sim premium membership, we’ll show the results of doing 100 simulations all at once. This is to see if a given result was more towards the expected side or if a given result was more towards the upset or luckier side.
All of the results have been simulated and tabulated, so at the time of writing the introduction, the results are already in.
This is designed to be fun, so please enjoy.
From Georgia to Massachusetts, here’s the 130-team bracket:
Match 56
(7) Washington State vs. (10) Western Michigan
Western Michigan quarterback Kaleb Eleby really relied on receiver Skyy Moore. Moore had 92 receiving yards on eight receptions — more than 50% of Eleby’s production for each category.
Eleby was 15-for-27 with 165 yards.
Perhaps the Broncos should’ve leaned more on running back Sean Tyler, who had 111 yards on just 15 carries.
Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura was 23-for-37 passing for 261 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
One area where Western Michigan thrived was in stopping Washington State’s running game. Running back Max Borghi only had 59 yards on 15 carries.
Despite that, it was Western Michigan’s lack of explosiveness that cost the Broncos the game. Washington State wins a close one, 20-17.
After 100 simulations, Washington State won 69 of them by an average margin of 29.8-23.1.
Winner’s Next Matchup: (2) Utah
Tomorrow’s Matchup: (7) UCF vs. (10) Utah State
Updated Bracket
Teams Lost, In Order:
PLAY-IN
Massachusetts, Connecticut
ROUND 1
Akron, New Mexico State, Florida International, Temple, New Mexico, Bowling Green, Rice, Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State, Arkansas State, Charlotte, Southern Mississippi, Ohio, Kansas, Duke, UNLV, Georgia Southern, UTEP, South Alabama, San Jose State, South Florida, Arizona, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, Ball State, Minnesota, Navy, Nebraska, Buffalo, Troy, Colorado State, North Texas, Eastern Michigan, Northwestern, Northern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Stanford, Tulane, Colorado, Wyoming, Middle Tennessee, Rutgers, Miami University, Indiana, Louisville, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, West Virginia, Central Michigan, Missouri, Syracuse, Tulsa, Western Michigan
REMAINING TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:
American: 5/11 (highest remaining: 2. Cincinnati)
ACC: 10/14 (highest remaining: 1. Clemson)
Big 12: 8/10 (highest remaining: 1. Oklahoma, 1. Oklahoma State)
Big Ten: 9/14 (highest remaining: 1. Ohio State, 1. Michigan)
Conference USA: 4/14 (highest remaining: 6. Western Kentucky)
Independents: 4/7 (highest remaining: 1. Notre Dame)
MAC: 2/12 (highest remaining: 9. Toledo)
Mountain West: 6/12 (highest remaining: 5. Boise State)
Pac-12: 9/12 (highest remaining: 2. Utah)
SEC: 12/14 (highest remaining: 1. Georgia, 1. Alabama)
Sun Belt: 5/10 (highest remaining: 5. Appalachian State)