The Science of Scheduling a College-Football Season

On November 23rd, the University of Massachusetts football team played the University of Georgia. It was expected to be less of a game than a slaughter: Georgia was favored by bookmakers to win the game by more than seven touchdowns. The team, which is ranked seventh, has won two out of the past three national championships. UMass, which came into the game with a 2–8 record, was without its usual starting quarterback and had just fired its head coach.