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Overview

Every FBS team starts the season with a base allocation of marbles, with bonus marbles awarded based on their schedule strength. This initial distribution determines each team’s starting position in the marble economy.
Only FBS teams receive marbles. FCS teams start with 0 marbles but can acquire them by defeating FBS opponents.

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Initial Allocation Formula

1

Base Allocation

Every FBS team receives 100 marbles as their starting amount.
2

Power Conference Bonus

Teams receive +10 marbles for each power conference opponent on their schedule.Power conferences include:
  • Big Ten
  • Big 12
  • ACC
  • SEC
3

Notre Dame Bonus

Teams receive +10 marbles for each game against Notre Dame (treated as a power opponent).

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Implementation Details

The marble distribution logic is handled in the doleOutInitialMarbles() method:
MarbleOrchestrator.php:72-105
private function doleOutInitialMarbles(Team $team, array $games): void
{
    if ($team->subdivision !== Subdivision::FBS) {
        return;
    }

    $initialMarbles = 100;

    $powerConferences = [
        Conference::BigTen,
        Conference::Big12,
        Conference::ACC,
        Conference::SEC,
    ];

    // Filter out conference championships
    $games = array_filter($games, static function (Game $game): bool {
        return $game->weekNumber !== 15;
    });

    foreach ($this->getOpponents($team, $games) as $opponent) {
        // Add 10 marbles if opponent is a power conference team
        if (in_array($opponent->conference, $powerConferences, true)) {
            $initialMarbles += 10;
        }

        // Add 10 marbles if the opponent is Notre Dame
        if ($opponent->teamName === 'Notre Dame') {
            $initialMarbles += 10;
        }
    }

    $team->receiveMarbles($initialMarbles);
}
Conference championship games (Week 15) are excluded from the initial marble calculation. Only regular season opponents count toward bonus marbles.

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Marble Reception

Teams receive marbles through the receiveMarbles() method in the Team class:
Team.php:23-30
public function receiveMarbles(int $marbles): void
{
    if ($marbles < 0) {
        throw new InvalidArgumentException('Marbles cannot be negative');
    }

    $this->marbles += $marbles;
}

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Example Calculations

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Example 1: Group of 5 Team

A team from the American Athletic Conference with 2 power conference opponents:
  • Base: 100 marbles
  • Power opponent 1: +10 marbles
  • Power opponent 2: +10 marbles
  • Total: 120 marbles

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Example 2: SEC Team

An SEC team playing 8 conference games and 1 non-conference game against Notre Dame:
  • Base: 100 marbles
  • 8 SEC opponents: +80 marbles (8 × 10)
  • Notre Dame: +10 marbles
  • Total: 190 marbles

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Example 3: Independent

Notre Dame playing 10 power conference opponents:
  • Base: 100 marbles
  • 10 power opponents: +100 marbles (10 × 10)
  • Total: 200 marbles

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Key Points

  • Only FBS teams receive initial marbles
  • Schedule strength directly impacts starting marble count
  • Power conference teams typically start with more marbles (160-180 range)
  • Group of 5 teams may start with 100-140 marbles depending on their schedule
  • Notre Dame is treated equivalently to power conference teams for bonus purposes

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