[Hoot Gibson]

I would to know how Ohio does their “computer ratings” they go by. I’m sure it’s a form of RPI. I’m still not sure why some don’t like our RPI? Could it be a little better? Yes. But it’s the start to an avenue they can broaden. The past few years the title game has been the top 2 or 3 teams playing. What else could you ask for.

The system discourages teams from playing tough schedules and actually penalizes them for doing so. No offense, but Corbin's schedule has been pretty weak, yet they are rewarded with the top 4A seed. Johnson Central's schedule has been even weaker but they have always had a tough time scheduling strong competition for non-district play. The strongest teams within a reasonable drive for JC are located in Ohio and West Virginia. They were playing a couple of teams from Charleston, Capital and South Charleston, but those teams have been way down the past few seasons. The big schools in Huntington play a similar style as JC, so JC has sought out stronger passing teams to better prepare for the playoffs.

RPI considerations should not drive scheduling, IMO, but look at the schedules that Madison Central and George Rogers Clark have played. Neither team is very good this season, but they have pretty good records because they have avoided playing good 5A and 6A teams during the regular season. Teams in Kentucky that are weaker than the strong teams in southern Ohio but accumulate a lot of wins against weak opponents are sometimes referred to as "Harbin cows" because Buckeye teams can rack up Harbin points by playing them. (Harbin being the name of the Ohio equivalent of the RPI.)

It is probably going to be rare for Johnson Central to get a third round home playoff win because of their out of state games. Trinity is a much better example. They have the most quality wins of any Kentucky team by far and will be on the road in the second round. I am sure that Trinity will not be watering down their schedule to earn a better RPI and I hope that JC will not either. Hopefully, JC will be able to put together a stronger schedule next season because they will return a lot of talent.

The RPI system sucks.