Week Four BlogPoll Ballot Draft Submitted for Review and Comment
by T Kyle King on Sep 26, 2010 7:46 PM EDT
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PrintNotwithstanding the Georgia Bulldogs’ three-game losing streak, life in the college football blogosphere must go on, so I am called upon to fulfill my weekly obligation of assembling my top 25. Using last week’s ballot as a guide, I made appropriate adjustments based on this weekend’s action, and ended up casting the following ballot, which remains open to revision in response to the arguments you make in the comments:
Dawg Sports Ballot - Week 5
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 3 | Florida Gators |  16 |
| 4 | Oregon Ducks |  -1 |
| 5 | Boise St. Broncos | 10 |
| 6 | TCU Horned Frogs | -1 |
| 7 | Stanford Cardinal | 6 |
| 8 | Auburn Tigers | 3 |
| 9 | Utah Utes | 1 |
| 10 | Arizona Wildcats | -1 |
| 11 | Oklahoma Sooners | -7 |
| 12 | Nevada Wolf Pack | -- |
| 13 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 3 |
| 14 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -7 |
| 15 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -9 |
| 16 | Wisconsin Badgers | 4 |
| 17 | Michigan St. Spartans | -- |
| 18 | N.C. State Wolfpack | -- |
| 19 | LSU Tigers | 2 |
| 20 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 4 |
| 21 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -7 |
| 22 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 23 | Missouri Tigers | -- |
| 24 | Miami Hurricanes | -- |
| 25 | Texas Longhorns | -17 |
| Dropouts: Oklahoma St. Cowboys, Fresno St. Bulldogs, Air Force Falcons, Southern Miss. Golden Eagles | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
A few observations warrant making, by way of explanation of the foregoing:
- Alabama, Ohio State, Nevada, and Michigan State did nothing to lead me to believe I had them ranked incorrectly, so they stayed put.
- Close shaves on the road against overmatched Louisiana Tech and Wyoming outfits, a loss to Ole Miss, and a bye week as a member of a conference that underperformed caused Southern Miss, Air Force, Fresno State, and Oklahoma State to drop out of the rankings.
- The Big 12 did itself no favors. Oklahoma and Nebraska won lackluster victories over teams they ought to have beaten handily, while Texas got embarrassed at home by UCLA. Nevertheless, attrition enabled Missouri to creep into the top 25 with its 4-0 record, although I am suspicious of the Tigers.
- Florida finally looked like the team we all expected the Gators to be, and profited accordingly.
- Oregon, Texas Christian, and Arizona all ought to have won more handily against the opponents they faced this weekend, so each dropped a spot in the rankings. Boise State acquitted itself well enough against Oregon State to move ahead of the Horned Frogs.
- Arkansas moved up after a loss because of the closeness of the contest and the quality of the competition. While Auburn and South Carolina both deserved to move in opposite directions, I regret that there is such a large gap between them, and I might be convinced to narrow it.
As always, questions, feedback, constructive criticisms, and persuasive arguments are welcome and invited. This is a draft ballot, so I have both the time and the inclination to improve it if given adequate justification for doing so.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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I completely agree on Arkansas
Most polls get too caught up on wins and losses and not how the team performs on the field. Arkansas should in no way be dinged for yesterday’s performance. They hung with the best team in the country and validated themselves (for the most part) in my mind.
Just wondering, though-what was the basis for moving Stanford up six spots after beating Notre Dame but not giving NC State any love for beating Georgia Tech? Neither Tech or Notre Dame have been particularly impressive this year. I’m pulling resumes off the top of my head, but I don’t see why Stanford should benefit more than NC State for what are pretty comparable additions to their resumes this week.
And also
I think a 16 spot jump for Florida is a bit of an overcorrection. They have more weeks of underperforming than they have of firing on all cylinders. Just because they showed improvement does not mean they are already the team people were expecting them to be. They should move up, but all should not be forgiven from the first three weeks.
Good points.
One unfortunate feature of the SB Nation BlogPoll voting software (which was not the case in the poll’s previous iterations) is that it shows movement via arrows only when a team goes from one ranking to another. For instance, if my week one ballot had Team A ranked 19th, Team B ranked 20th, and Team C unranked, and my week two ballot dropped Team A to 21st, left Team B in the same spot at No. 20, and moved Team C into the rankings at No. 22, there would be an arrow showing Team A’s two-spot drop, but there would be level lines next to Team B (which did not move) and next to Team C (which moved, but which moved from outside the top 25 into the top 25, and therefore could not be measured as having made a specifically quantifiable movement).
So it is with N.C. State, which was not ranked last week and jumped into the poll at No. 18 this week, an upward movement of at least eight spots (from no better than No. 26 to No. 18). Accordingly, the Wolfpack moved up more than the Cardinal did, although there is a case to be made for ranking them nearer to one another. (Frankly, I’m not all that impressed with Georgia Tech, which lost to a Kansas team that lost to a Division I-AA team, but I will confess to an ingrained bias, which I try to overcome but do not always succeed in overcoming.)
I see your point regarding Florida, although we have an unfortunate analogy available to us: Georgia has played one good game and three bad ones; Florida has played one good game and three bad ones. Georgia is 1-3; Florida is 4-0, and has won fairly handily in the end, despite monkeying around for most of the first three games. Still, the Gators haven’t looked their best, so I may have overcorrected. Where, relative to the teams around them, would you recommend placing Florida?
Thanks, as always, for the feedback.
Go 'Dawgs!
Ahhhhh, I see
I didn’t click on last week’s ballot. I hereby retract my first quibble.
As for Florida, I would say that their best scalp is probably Tennessee (sorry, Wildcats and RedHawks). That puts them on equal footing with Oregon, and Oregon crushed the Vols while Florida merely kinda sneaked by. I really don’t see much difference between the other three games (beating UK handily and Miami (OH) and USF sloppily versus creaming New Mexico and Portland State and struggling somewhat with Arizona state). So I think a legitimate argument could be made for Oregon over Florida at this point.
Boise State also has an argument. They have wins over two BCS schools, same as Florida, and one of Boise’s victories came over a team that was ranked #27 in last week’s Blogpoll. Florida has no comparable victory. There is an argument to be made that Virginia Tech (which may be the best team in the ACC, as sad as that is and as little as that means) and Oregon State are a more impressive pair of victories than Tennessee and Kentucky.
That one may be a bit specious, but you can’t argue with this-none of Florida’s wins is anywhere near as impressive as Auburn taking down South Carolina last night. Auburn has three wins over BCS competition and one win over a highly ranked team. Florida can’t compare to that. Auburn should be ranked higher. And yes, writing those past few sentences made me start bleeding from the eyes.
I think UF should be around 8 or 9.
Just below Auburn at this point is about right. We’ll have a much better idea of what we have after this weekend. Hopefully we can play with Bama and not embarrass outselves. My fear is that Steve Addazio will still be coaching our offense on Saturday and he will continue to be scared of his own shadow and play a conservative, crippling offense. Running Moody into the middle of the Bama defense and trying toss sweeps against the speedy Tide isn’t going to cut it this week. He’s got to take some shots.
I am also curious to see whether our young defense can slow down Bama’s running game at all. We had freshmen playing all over the place on Saturday night. The athletes are there, but unfortunately the experience will have to come via blown coverages, being out of position at times. I think we are only a year away from being filthy on defense again.
FWIW...
…the current offensive line is as good as any I have ever seen as an Alabama fan. I have no doubt that Florida has plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball but that is going to be key. Any opinion on how things are jelling with the new DC?
still too early to tell
we’ll see Saturday when they go up against the big boys. We rotate a lot of players up front though, which will be necessary so that we do not become gassed in the second half.
Further detail on Stanford and N.C. State:
After posting my previous comment, I went back over my more specific notes concerning those two teams and compared them head to head.
The Cardinal and the Wolfpack have much in common. Both are 4-0. Both have played two home games and two road games. Each has beaten one Division I-AA team, one 1-3 team, and two 2-2 teams.
Despite the similarities, though, every distinction seems to favor Stanford. The Cardinal has beaten one Pac-10 team (UCLA), one ACC team (Wake Forest), and Notre Dame. The Wolfpack has beaten one ACC team (Georgia Tech), one Big East team (Cincinnati), and Central Florida. Advantage: Stanford.
Excluding games against Division I-AA competition (which I essentially factor out of my calculations, as though the game had not been played), Stanford has won its three games against Division I-A opposition by a combined 140-38 margin, with the closest contest being decided by 23 points. N.C. State has won its three games against Division I-A competition by a combined 103-68 margin, with the closest contest being decided by seven points. Advantage: Stanford.
The Cardinal’s win over a 1-3 team came against Notre Dame on the road. Stanford beat by a 37-14 margin a Fighting Irish club whose other two losses were last-second heartbreakers. The Wolfpack’s win over a 1-3 team came against Cincinnati at home. N.C. State beat by a 30-19 margin a Bearcat squad whose other road loss was a two-touchdown loss to Fresno State, which just lost to an Ole Miss outfit that lost to a Division I-AA opponent. Advantage: Stanford.
One of Stanford’s wins over a 2-2 club came against UCLA on the road. The Cardinal beat by a 35-0 margin a Bruin unit that just demolished Texas in Austin. One of N.C. State’s wins over a 2-2 club came against Georgia Tech on the road. The Wolfpack beat by a 45-28 margin a Yellow Jacket squad that lost to Kansas, which lost to a Division I-AA opponent. Advantage: Stanford.
The Cardinal plays in the Pac-10. The Wolfpack plays in the ACC. The Cardinal beat Wake Forest 68-24. Advantage: Stanford.
As I was typing this, I saw your subsequent comment appear, but I wanted to offer as thorough an explanation as possible for my placement. Thanks for the cogent points on Florida; I will take a look at that, but I may well move the Gators down to No. 8 and bump every team from No. 4 through No. 8 up a notch. Much obliged.
Go 'Dawgs!
I just want to know
if you think a 3 point rise in ranking is sufficient to make up for your previous ranking solely based on your hatred of Auburn. I’m not sure johnnycolorado would think Auburn’s been ranked high enough.
/sarcasm
I can bake like a demon.
by podunkdawg on Sep 26, 2010 8:41 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Explain why USC
Is not ranked. I know you dislike Kiffin, but are you not ranking them because they are ineligible for a bowl or said hatred?
I mean, they are at least as good as Nevada, and you have Nevada way up there. Is that win over a mediocre Cal team that impressive?
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
by Jman781 on Sep 26, 2010 11:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Who has Southern Cal defeated?
Virginia, Minnesota and Washington State are easily the three worst teams in the FBS — and Southern Cal only defeated Virginia by three at home. The win over Hawaii isn’t that great. I’ve got Southern Cal ranked, but I’m also open to dropping them this week. Not every 4-0 record is the same.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
Maybe the three worst BCS teams in the country
But there’s an argument to be made for what I said in the first place
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
Fair enough
But I’d take 4-0 over 1-3 any day; I don’t care how “tough” a schedule is. How did James Madison look to VT? What about that tough South Dakota State team that fought Nebraska hard? You still must win your games, and USC has.
I was just curious how a Nevada schedule that only includes wins over Cal, which is a mediocre team, and BYU, which is 1-3, is deserving of the #12 spot, yet another 4-0 team can’t even crack the top 25…
By ranking the mid-majors so highly, Kyle shows that he doesn’t give a hoot who anyone plays. USC has played a mid-major schedule but isn’t ranked? I think his hatred for various teams skews his rankings…Heck, at least put them at 25. Texas doesn’t deserve to be there after losing to UCLA at home…
It’s all good. USC plays Washington, Stanford, Cal, and Oregon in the next four games…We’ll see how worthy they really are soon enough.
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
I want clarify
I am a USC fan (wife went there, so I’ve been rooting for them for 5+ years). I am still trying to come to grips with Lane Kiffin being head coach. My dislike of Kiffin is really making this difficult for me. Ultimately, I share a house with my wife and not Lane. Thus, I still root for USC to win. I feel the need to defend them as the only Dawg fan on this Blog who doesn’t want USC to fail miserably!
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
C&F got it right.
Southern California has played absolutely no one and has looked bad in three of four games. Nevada destroyed a Cal team that is substantially better than Washington State. If the Trojans beat someone, they’ll be ranked. So far, they haven’t. They’re not ranked now for exactly the same reason Kentucky wasn’t ranked last week.
They’re the cheatingest SOBs in the NCAA and they’re coached by the least likable head coach in football at any level, but that isn’t what’s keeping USC out of the top 25. :)
Go 'Dawgs!
Sadly...
My real team is 1-3 and just lost to Miss. State. Gah.
Thus, I am forced to latch myself to the Trojans, and they can’t even go to a bowl! Maybe I should not root for them, but after 5 years of faking it, I kind of do like them…Heck, I even found myself rooting for the Seahawks yesterday, a team wearing horrid monocrome teal jerseys…
Then the USC offseason happened. My God, why? Between my Dawgs and the Trojans, my college football life has been a drain on my football soul. Thank goodness for the Atlanta Falcons!
No worries. Out of curiosity, where do the Dawgs rank in a 120 team poll? Do they crack the top 100?
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
I don't even want to think about that.
Seriously, putting together a top 25 is hard enough; I don’t even want to think about distinguishing between No. 63 and No. 64.
Go 'Dawgs!
Disagree on Nevada
+21 Cal > +34 Washington State
+45 Colorado State > +13 Hawaii
+14 BYU > +3 Virginia
+25 Eastern Washington > Any margin when playing Minnesota
And, yes, I am aware that Eastern Washington is an FCS team and Minnesota is nominally an FBS team.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
Actually...
Like the recent UGA game, Minny, Virginia and Hawaii all tacked on last second TDs to change the scores of the game. While I would love to claim a 24-12 defeat to Miss. State, we were down 24-6 with under 3 minutes or less to go in the game…
Yes, last-second, meaningless TDs count on the scoreboard, but your margins actually make the games seem closer than they really were. +20 Hawaii, +10 UVA, and Minny +18 aren’t bad scores, in my opinion as that would give USC nearly a 3 TD average over their opponents with three games on the road…
Just ask GT and Fresno State how “easy” it is to win on the road against bad teams…
I honestly think a lot of the ire towards USC comes from their coach (who’s a jerk) and their spotty past (ahem…Bush). But as a UGA fan, it’s hard for me to point fingers at programs in shambles ;-)
All that said, the Pac-10 looks incredibly strong. I have USC as the fourth-best team in that conference at most. That’s crazy good in my opinion. As far as Nevada, I thank them for grooming Mark Fox for the UGA basketball program.
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
And I'll put it on the record now
I will be shocked if Southern Cal is better than 1-3 in those four game you mentioned.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
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