Have you ever watched a game and thought: "That team is way better than the score suggests." Or the opposite: "Geez, I cannot believe that team is unbeaten."

Of course you have. It's the eternal battle of eye test versus stat sheet, or as we're calling it, man versus metric. ESPN Stats & Information analytics writer Sharon Katz takes a run through some of the more debatable data, and then ESPN senior writer Mark Schlabach offers his take.

Let's just say they agreed to disagree ... but their conversation is worth reading.

The metrics favor Ole Miss' offense against Alabama, based off the production of Chad Kelly. AP Photo/Thomas Graning

Ole Miss over Alabama

Sharon Katz: I was as surprised as anyone to see that Ole Miss was the top team in ESPN's Football Power Index and has a 56 percent chance to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Digging deeper into the numbers, however, it became clear why FPI favors the Rebels. Heading into the season, FPI expected Ole Miss to be one of the top defenses in the nation but had questions about its offense. After scoring 70-plus points in back-to-back games and posting the highest offensive efficiency in the FBS, Ole Miss now has a top-10 offense to go with its top defense. It's important to note that all of ESPN's metrics are opponent-adjusted, so FPI accounts for Ole Miss' weak schedule. This game will likely come down to which team can make more plays on offense, and heading into the game, FPI gives the Rebels and quarterback Chad Kelly (No. 1 in Total QBR) the edge. Ole Miss beat Alabama last season, so it's not inconceivable to think it can do it again in 2015.

Mark Schlabach: I've been as impressed with Ole Miss' offense as anyone during the first two weeks. The Rebels have posted 73 points or more in back-to-back games for the first time in school history, but now, as the kids like to say (or used to like to say), it's about to get real. Metrics might be on the Rebels' side against Alabama, but history isn't. I was surprised that the Rebels upset the Crimson Tide 23-17 at home last season. It's going to be very difficult to beat them two seasons in row. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Ole Miss would be the first team since Notre Dame in 1973 and '74 to defeat top-three Alabama teams in consecutive seasons. In fact, Alabama coach Nick Saban is 9-1 against teams that defeated the Tide in a previous season. The lone loss came against LSU in 2011, and the Tide still beat the Tigers in the game that mattered most that season, a 21-0 win in the BCS National Championship. Plus, Ole Miss is a woeful 1-35-1 in games against the Tide played in the state of Alabama. Beating the Tide at home is one thing, but beating them in their home state is an entirely different animal.

USC better than 50 percent chance to win Pac-12

Sharon Katz: Like Ole Miss, USC has skyrocketed up the Football Power Index after blowout wins against lesser competition. The Trojans now rank fourth in FPI and have better than a 50 percent chance to win the Pac-12. USC has been dominant in its first two games (49.5 PPG margin) and has outperformed FPI and Vegas' expectations in each of those matchups. Even after adjusting for the level of competition faced, quarterback Cody Kessler and USC's offense appear to be elite. Add in the fact that other Pac-12 contenders such as Arizona State, Stanford, Arizona and Oregon have had some weaknesses exposed, and USC's path to a Pac-12 title appears slightly easier than in the preseason. In the past few years, however, USC has dominated lesser competition and struggled against the top teams in the nation, so we will learn more about the Trojans' true strength when they host Stanford this weekend.

Mark Schlabach: I liked USC to win the Pac-12 during the preseason, but backed off that prediction after the off-field issues involving coach Steve Sarkisian. Like Ole Miss, the Trojans have been very impressive against inferior competition. Despite how well Kessler and his receivers have looked, though, I think it's still too early to call them an overwhelming favorite in the Pac-12. Last season, USC struggled on the road, with three of its four losses coming away from the Coliseum. USC is about to get into the meat of its schedule, including road games at Arizona State, much-improved California, Colorado and No. 12 Oregon. I still think USC's depth might be an issue because of the effects of past NCAA probation, so the Trojans' health might be the most important issue moving forward. For now, I'll stick with my preseason pick of Oregon, which is going to be hard to beat if quarterback Vernon Adams stays healthy.

After a loss to Toledo, Bret Bielema and Arkansas still have to face six ranked teams. AP Photo/Danny Johnston

Georgia Tech having the most difficult schedule remaining

Sharon Katz: Say it ain't so -- the toughest remaining schedule does not belong to a team from the SEC. ACC's Georgia Tech has FPI's toughest remaining schedule, with each of its final 10 games against teams ranked in the top half of the FPI. Look closely at the schedule and you will see that there are no easy wins and absolutely no cupcakes. In addition to nonconference games against Notre Dame and Georgia, the Yellow Jackets have the unfortunate luck of facing the top two teams from the ACC Atlantic Division -- Florida State and Clemson -- in their cross-divisional matchups. FPI projects that Georgia Tech's most likely win is against Pittsburgh, and the Panthers are not a team to take lightly. It's worth noting that after factoring in Georgia Tech's first two games against Alcorn State and Tulane, its overall schedule ranks 10th.

Mark Schlabach: There's no question Georgia Tech has a difficult path to navigate the rest of the way. But it's not any more difficult than Arkansas' remaining schedule. Just ask coach Bret Bielema. Arkansas still plays six games against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including road trips at No. 2 Alabama, No. 15 Ole Miss and No. 13 LSU, and a neutral-site game against No. 17 Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On paper, at least, I think the Hogs might be overwhelming favorites in exactly one of their remaining games -- against FCS member Tennessee-Martin on Oct. 31. I'm not quite sure how FPI figures that the Razorbacks have a better than 70 percent chance of defeating Texas Tech, Auburn and Missouri. Did the FPI computers watch the Razorbacks lose to Toledo in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Saturday? There aren't many sure things the rest of the way.