Week 6 BlogPoll Ballot

by RPT on Oct 12, 2009 10:30 AM CDT in BlogPoll

Discuss.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Virginia Tech	1
5	Boise State	2
6	Cincinnati
7	TCU	2
8	Iowa	2
9	LSU	5
10	Miami (Florida)	2
11	Penn State	2
12	Southern Cal	1
13	Ohio State	1
14	Oklahoma State
15	Oregon	1
16	Nebraska	1
17	Kansas	3
18	South Florida	6
19	Georgia Tech
20	Houston	1
21	Wisconsin	4
22	Auburn	7
23	South Carolina
24	Utah
25	Brigham Young
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Missouri (#18), Mississippi (#19), Georgia (#22), Oklahoma (#23)

One-loss teams absent: Missouri, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Rutgers, Pitt, Tulsa, Central Michigan, Idaho
Two-loss teams appearing: None

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Comments

OU dropping out? Really?

Can’t really justify that one, especially not with Wisconsin sitting at #21.

Rock M Nation
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on Oct 12, 2009 11:13 AM CDT reply actions

Which win was it that really sold you on them?

Baylor, Tulsa, or Idaho State?

For some reason, I just made it a point to keep two-loss teams off the ballot on this one. After all, we’re reaching the point of the season where we aren’t supposed to be power polling or using “presumed” strength.

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by RPT on Oct 12, 2009 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions

I have no problem with you leaving them out

Pretty solid overall.

by AlaTiger on Oct 12, 2009 12:05 PM CDT up reply actions

Come on...

You mean to tell me anybody between 15th and 25th would have won at Miami? No. They would have all lost by more than 1 point too. And you mean to tell me that OU would have a worse record than Wisconsin if they had played N’ern Illinois (and barely won), Fresno State (and barely won), Wofford, Michigan State, Minnesota and The Ohio State? Or a worse record than Utah after games against Utah State, San Jose State, Oregon, Louisville and Colorado State?

Never mind the fact that OU has lost two one-point games to ranked teams without their starting quarterback (who’s back now)…they beat Baylor and Tulsa by a combined 78-7. There are not 25 other teams in the country that would have done that to those two teams. Plenty who would have beaten them both, but not by 35+ per game. I’m not saying they should be ranked in the Top 15 or anything, but outside of the Top 25 is pretty, uhh, ballsy.

Rock M Nation
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on Oct 12, 2009 2:34 PM CDT up reply actions

I completely agree.

Don’t forget that I’m on record as saying the sky isn’t falling on OU because they lost two games by a total of two points.

The only problem is the directives according to which we’re expected to vote:

Once you have enough information, vote by resume only. What qualifies as “enough information” will vary from voter to voter, but I’m sure most will agree once teams are eight or so games into their schedules there’s plenty of evidence to go on. Personally, by week five I try to excise everything except results. At that point there’s no reason to look at future schedules, no reason to look at preaseason expectations or shiny offensive baubles. Just the facts, m’am.

Here’s the great thing about playing in a power conference: redemption is never more than a few games away. This time next week, Oklahoma could be the greatest .500 team in the history of college football, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they would be .500. Exempting them from my ballot doesn’t mean that I don’t think they’ll finish in the Top 25 — I’m not predicting future results. It just means that, according to the parameters set for this Poll, I can’t give them benefit of the doubt based on the name on their chests or the preseason love they got.

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by RPT on Oct 12, 2009 2:58 PM CDT up reply actions

You're supposed to go on performance to date

That doesn’t mean you have to rely on the W / L line without considering how close those losses were, and against what type of competition. We already talked about this once.

Extreme example: You wouldn’t say that a team that went 5-0 scraping out wins against division 2 teams is better than one that went 2-3 by blowing out two ranked teams, and losing some tough ones against top-5 ranked teams. Even going strictly by the evidence on the field (all you’re allowed for purposes of this poll) you’d still say the second team was better. It’s hard to hang close with a very good team, even if the bottom line ends up being a win.

Shorter: I agree with Bill here.

I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.

by Wan Ihite on Oct 12, 2009 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions

Uh... "if the bottom line ends up being a LOSS"

gack.

I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.

by Wan Ihite on Oct 12, 2009 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions

What C4M said...

…I’m not talking about the name on their chests, and I’m not even remotely giving them the benefit of the doubt. I’m talking about the fact that at least 5-10 of the teams currently in the Top 25 couldn’t have done what OU did with OU’s schedule—losing neutral vs BYU and at Miami by a combined two points, and not only beating Tulsa and Baylor, but do it by a combined 71 points. That sounds like a Top 25 resume to me. Not Top 10, not Top 15, but absolutely Top 25.

Rock M Nation
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on Oct 12, 2009 3:24 PM CDT up reply actions