Okay, so I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, and today I finally got around to setting up a way to really compare the Kentucky vs. Ohio State football games. I’m a huge college football fan, and this rivalry, while not the biggest, always has some interesting moments.
First, I grabbed my old notebooks. I know, I know, who uses paper anymore? But I’ve got years of scribbled notes from watching these games – scores, key plays, my general rants about bad calls, the whole nine yards. I started by going through them, just to refresh my memory on some of the bigger matchups.
Getting Organized(Kinda)
- Spreadsheets are my friend (sometimes). I fired up a spreadsheet and started inputting the basic data: year, final score, location of the game. Just the bare minimum to get a basic overview.
- YouTube is a goldmine. I then spent a good chunk of time searching for game highlights on YouTube. It’s amazing what you can find! I found full game replays for some of the older ones, which was awesome.
- Stats, stats, stats. Next, I dove into some online sports archives to pull up more detailed stats – things like rushing yards, passing yards, turnovers. This part was a bit tedious, but it’s helpful to see the numbers behind the games.
The Deep Dive
With all the data collected, I started actually comparing the games. I wanted to see if there were any patterns. Like, does Kentucky play better at home? Does Ohio State dominate in certain years? Does the weather ever play a major factor?
I watched some of the key game highlights again, this time with the stats in front of me. It was cool to see, for example, a big rushing game from one team actually correlate with a win, or how a high number of turnovers usually meant a loss.
What I learned
It is clear who has had the upper hand. I was confirmed with what I thought before I started this project. I might refine this more later, adding in things like coaching changes and player stats, but for now, I’ve got a pretty good handle on the Kentucky vs. Ohio State football rivalry.
