2011 College Football Final BlogPoll Top 25: The Top Five
by T Kyle King on Jan 10, 2012 11:45 PM EST
in College Football BlogPoll
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PrintWe’re clear on the ground rules. We’ve identified the also-rans. We’ve counted down from No. 25 to No. 16, and from No. 15 to No. 6. All that now remains, therefore, is for me to unveil the whole poll and explain the top five. Here now, I give you my final 2011 BlogPoll ballot, which has been set down to stand against history:
Dawg Sports Ballot - Week 16
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 2 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys |
 1 |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
1 |
| 4 | Boise St. Broncos |
 -2 |
| 5 | Arkansas Razorbacks |
6 |
| 6 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 7 | South Carolina Gamecocks |
5 |
| 8 | Michigan Wolverines |
9 |
| 9 | TCU Horned Frogs |
-1 |
| 10 | Stanford Cardinal |
-3 |
| 11 | USC Trojans |
-2 |
| 12 | Houston Cougars |
9 |
| 13 | Michigan St. Spartans |
-3 |
| 14 | Wisconsin Badgers |
-9 |
| 15 | Oklahoma Sooners |
4 |
| 16 | Kansas St. Wildcats |
-1 |
| 17 | Baylor Bears |
-1 |
| 18 | West Virginia Mountaineers |
4 |
| 19 | Clemson Tigers |
-6 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech Hokies |
-6 |
| 21 | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
-3 |
| 22 | Georgia Bulldogs |
-2 |
| 23 | Penn St. Nittany Lions |
1 |
| 24 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | -- |
| 25 | Southern Miss. Golden Eagles |
-2 |
| Dropouts: Cincinnati Bearcats | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
Let’s start with No. 5 Arkansas (11-2). It’s pretty obvious why the Hogs are ranked behind the four once-beaten teams at the top of my ballot, particularly since two of those four thumped the Razorbacks. Why, though, is Arkansas ranked ahead of Oregon?
Arkansas and Oregon each had two losses, one of which was to Louisiana State, but the Hogs had the better pair of setbacks, to Alabama and LSU on the road. The Ducks and the Razorbacks both beat five teams that finished with winning records, but Arkansas had the better set of victories. The Hogs’ best victory (over No. 7 South Carolina) was better than the Ducks’ (over No. 10 Stanford), and, although Oregon holds a slight edge in the two teams’ respective second-best wins (No. 14 Wisconsin, as opposed to No. 16 Kansas State), the tiebreaker for the Razorbacks was their victory over Auburn, which trumps whichever one of Oregon’s three wins over 7-6 squads counts as the Ducks’ third-best triumph.
Next up are No. 3 Alabama (12-1) and No. 4 Boise State (12-1), who are much more comparable squads than most Yellowhammer State partisans would have you believe. In addition to sporting identical ledgers, the Broncos and the Crimson Tide each lost to a top ten team by a single-score margin at home and finished behind the eventual conference champion in the standings as a result.
Likewise, ‘Bama and Boise boasted similar resumes in the win column, as well. The Tide defeated six Division I-A teams that finished with winning records, two of whom went 7-6, and five Division I-A teams that finished with losing records. The Broncos defeated seven Division I-A teams that finished with winning records, two of whom went 7-6, and five Division I-A teams that finished with losing records.
Upon closer inspection, though, Alabama earned the edge over Boise State in the race for the No. 3 spot. Of the five sub-.500 Division I-A outfits the Tide bested, four finished with exactly seven losses, whereas the Broncos’ five victims with more setbacks than successes included four clubs with nine or more losses each. Likewise, Alabama has a better set of top-tier victims (No. 1 LSU, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 23 Penn State, and Auburn) than Boise State (No. 22 Georgia, de facto No. 33 Toledo, and a trio of 8-5 teams). Accordingly, the Crimson Tide clearly are the best team in the land not to have captured its conference crown.
This brings us to No. 1 Louisiana State (13-1) and No. 2 Oklahoma State (12-1). Despite Alabama’s impressive victory in Monday night’s game, the designated BCS National Championship Game was but one game out of thirteen or fourteen, and it should not be forgotten, that, while the Tide tamed six teams that finished above .500---the fewest quality victims of any of the one-loss teams ranked in my top four---LSU and OSU each whipped nine opponents who ended the season with winning records. No other team in college football can match that feat by the Big 12 and SEC champions, and Alabama notched only two-thirds as many victories over teams with more wins than losses. That marked contrast in the most important attribute of a champion---namely, victories over legitimate competition---warrants ranking the Tigers and the Cowboys ahead of the Crimson Tide, in spite of the fact that, of the three, Alabama has the least embarrassing lone loss.
The Tide, of course, have the season’s most impressive single victory, a convincing win over the Bayou Bengals which is fresh in all of our minds because it occurred so recently. However, over the course of the entire campaign---which is what I understood us to be considering when crowning a national champion for the 2011 college football season, rather than for a single discrete evening at the end of that season---the Cowboys outdueled a better class of competition overall, besting No. 10 Stanford, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 16 Kansas State, No. 17 Baylor, de facto No. 32 Louisiana-Lafayette, and a trio of 8-5 squads. All told, the Pokes defeated eight teams with records better than 7-6, making Oklahoma State a more accomplished squad than an Alabama outfit that beat only half as many such squads.
As impressive as the Cowboys’ resume undoubtedly is, however, the Pokes are disadvantaged by the fact that the Tigers’ season, irrespective of its ending, represents rather a remarkable record of achievement. In the course of the autumn, the Bayou Bengals beat No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 Oregon, No. 18 West Virginia, and No. 22 Georgia. LSU’s five victims with double-digit win totals included the winners of the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, and BCS National Championship Game; overall, teams tamed by the Tigers went a combined 7-1 in bowl games, with the lone postseason setback by a Louisiana State victim coming in triple overtime; LSU’s sixth-best win (over Auburn) came against the team that gave Alabama its fourth-best victory; the Bayou Bengals beat half the teams ranked in my top six.
I take nothing away from what the Crimson Tide accomplished on Monday night, which was notable enough to earn Nick Saban’s club a top three ranking on my ballot. As a single data point in an entire season, though, it was not enough to elevate the Tide past two teams who clearly have accomplished more since Labor Day weekend. Any Alabama fan who quarrels with my decision to award the No. 1 ranking to a team that lost a supposedly national championship-settling bowl game needs to quit claiming the 1973 UPI title or just hush in the face of his own overwhelming hypocrisy.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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TKK
I like your blog. I’ve stood up for the Dawgs schedule next year. You’ve even given me a rec. But for the life of me, I don’t understand your ranking. Look, it’s yours to rank and this was an interesting year so it’s make it a little tougher. Alabama doesn’t even get a 2nd place vote from you? I understand if you want to reward LSU, because the AP poll didn’t. But 3? You’re basically saying this National Championship game didn’t count. For anything other than to secure the 3 spot over BSU. Your poll, your rules and i’ll atleast respect that. Good luck next year Dawgs you got a bright couple of years for sure.
"There are 40 rules all Schrute boys must learn by age 5. Rule #17- There are 3 things you never turn your back on--- Bears, men you have wronged, and a dominant male turkey during mating season."
"You’re basically saying this National Championship game didn’t count"
I’ll say this one more again, and let the man speak for himself. He’s not saying that in the slightest. What he is saying is that the “National Championship game didn’t count” any more than every other game this season. Based on resumes, and quality wins, both LSU and Oklahoma St registered much, much better than the Tide. They won when it mattered most, and quite impressively, but throughout the season, LSU and Oklahoma St beat significantly more quality opponents than Alabama.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 11, 2012 3:28 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
His poll, his rules.
Again, good luck next season.
"There are 40 rules all Schrute boys must learn by age 5. Rule #17- There are 3 things you never turn your back on--- Bears, men you have wronged, and a dominant male turkey during mating season."
My old bud Kyle,
While you may catch hell, I respect your integrity. It is our tie that binds. You haven’t swaggered in your believes or formulas, and you are only catching hell for people that don’t understand your basis for decisions are based on believes that existed before you cast a ballot.
Chuck
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
This is the craziest thing I have ever read!
I guess a 21-0 game means nothing. Alabama not only out played LSU in the national championship, but they out played LSU in the first matchup. The actual score should have 15-9 in the first game. It is obvious that LSU acutally got out played by Oregon at the beginning of the year. Infact, Ted Miller broke it all down 3 weeks after that game, and showed how Oregon actually out played LSU in the game. He gave a ton of great fact in the article. Like Oregon had 3 drives over 60 yards, and LSU had 1. Oregon had 1 sack, LSU had none on Oregon. Oregon had five tackle for a loss, LSU had 6. Oregon had more offensive yards for the game over LSU, and the only reason LSU won that game was because a true freshman, in his first game fumbled the ball two plays in a row on offense and a kick off return.
My whole point in my rant, is that this crazy top 25 is probably the worst thing I have ever read. It shows that this writer above doesn’t acutally watch games, or look at facts. He is probable letting his dog pick the top 25, which is why it is probably called DAWG SPORTS. His dog is the one picking the polls.
by OregonQuacktion on Jan 11, 2012 2:56 AM EST reply actions
Hey bud
Kyle knows a great deal about football. I’m a Bama fan and although I disagree with the poll, there are certain ways to go about discussing it. TKK has his own set of rules that he basis his polls off of and he hasn’t swayed from day one.
"There are 40 rules all Schrute boys must learn by age 5. Rule #17- There are 3 things you never turn your back on--- Bears, men you have wronged, and a dominant male turkey during mating season."
If this is the worst thing you've ever read...
…you don’t spend nearly enough time on the internet.
You can certainly argue that Oregon and Alabama “outplayed” LSU in the regular season, but there is one very easy retort: scoreboard. In addition, Oregon had 4 turnovers to LSU’s 1 turnover in their match-up; it’s hard to argue that one team outplayed the other when they turn the ball over 400% more often. Similarly, against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, LSU’s special teams did their job, while Alabama’s didn’t do theirs; to say that Alabama outplayed LSU in that game is to ignore a full one-third of each team’s performance.
As he’s explained about a million times, Kyle’s blogpoll ballot is based on résumé ranking. LSU clearly has a better résumé over the course of the 2011-12 season than Alabama. Alabama had one loss to a top 5 team and two impressive victories over two top 5 teams (Arkansas and LSU). LSU had one loss to a top 5 team and two impressive victories over two top 5 teams (Arkansas and Alabama) and LSU also beat two extremely good top 25 teams (Oregon and West Virginia and won its division and won its conference in impressive fashion in an impressive championship victory over another top 25 team (Georgia). You can disagree with Kyle’s methodology, but it’s perfectly rational in context.
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
I am the 99% of Americans who love college football
by Spears on Jan 11, 2012 8:09 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Ugh... pronouns...
For the sake of clarity, my last sentence should read: “You can disagree with Kyle’s methodology, but his ballot is perfectly rational in context.”
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
I am the 99% of Americans who love college football
Are you equating the two losses?
9-6 in OT and 21-0 where you don’t even cross midfield while the game is in doubt?
Wow, y'all just wont stop. Is resume ranknig that hard to understand?
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
It is when you base your entire season on
ONE GAME…Alabama 2011 the truth behind the BCS mantra of “Every Game Counts”
I HATE ORANGE, and DGNBs
Yes. A 9-6 loss in OT is 100% equivalent to a 21-0 win.
No go away.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Jan 12, 2012 6:08 PM EST up reply actions
Kyle has always used the same qualifications for every one of his rankings.
It’s simple – he ranks teams on their resume. That’s it. This is obviously the first time you’ve read one of his rankings and you didn’t even bother to read the ground rules he laid out several posts ago. As always people can disagree, but you won’t receive a warm welcome with your disrespectful jabs throughout your comment.
by Swarles_Barkley on Jan 11, 2012 10:26 AM EST up reply actions
Yep, read the ground rules. Just don't get it. Rankings seem......off.
By the way, Georgia is ….unfortunately about right (yes, I’m a Dawg fan). Alabama is wrong (I read your rules, just a bad premise in my mind).
What the heck is up with Michigan? A non-conference winner is six spots ahead of the winner? So why is Bama behind LSU? Okla St. lost to a bad team. I don’t think it matters whether they won their conference or not. That loss was weaker than any other top ten team suffered. I think Boise and Houston bear a second look themselves. I think we would kick Houston’s butt (then again, I thought we would beat MSU).
I read the earlier posts and started to draft a comment about how the BCS had “helped” the previous bowl structure by at least ensuring that the two top teams faced each other (no undefeated Big Ten running off to the Rose Bowl while an undefeated SEC team played in the Sugar). I didn’t post because I didn’t like the tone that the blog had going at the time. Shades of Joe Paterno. Oh well…….
Anyway, I REALLY enjoy the blog. Being up here in D.C., the only true Dawg fans I find are on-line.
Here’s hoping we kick butt on national signing day! Go Dawgs.
If I understand Kyle's ground rules correctly,
then he assumes that whether a game is called a ‘championship’ or not does not affect the weight of that game. You can essentially take every game played, scrambled in a different order throughout the season (i.e. Bama beats LSU 21-0 to open the season) and you still reach the same conclusion. LSU beat 9 ranked opponents, as Kyle pointed out, regardless of what point in the season they did it. This is the very definition of ranking by resume – not buying into the idea that a game played a whole month after the season ended somehow counts more when evaluating a team’s season. If you compare LSU’s resume to Alabama’s, it is very easy to understand why Kyle thinks LSU’s is stronger.
by Swarles_Barkley on Jan 11, 2012 10:33 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Nice read
Kyle, I have enjoyed reading your posts about these rankings and find it hard to fault any of your rules. I like your ballot and explanations. Mine would be different for sure but I would probably have the same top 5 as you. The only thing I want to add here is this, with the way our schedule is set for ‘12 I truly hope that we can honorably accept the same fate as Alabama. Our team has the potential to be undefeated going into the SEC championship, we have a squad that should compete for the SEC crown and win it. If for some reason we get chosen to play in the BCS Championship game and lose the game, we should expect to be judged harshly for our strength of schedule. College football is truly interesting, one never knows what is going to happen. I’m just throwing this out there for thought. It’s a long time to next September……..
The Case for Alabama at #2
Résumé ranking is a little fuzzy, but I believe you’ve identified about four different bases for comparison: record, quality of wins, best win, and “best” loss. Since Alabama comes out ahead of Oklahoma State on two of four of these measures, with a tie on one, shouldn’t the Tide come ahead of the Pokes on your ballot?
1. Record: Both teams finished 12-1. Lean: Tie
2. Quality of wins: As you pointed out, Oklahoma State finished with more wins over opponents with winning records than Alabama. Lean: Oklahoma State
3. Best win: “The Tide, of course, have the season’s most impressive single victory . . . .” In addition, the Tide beat top 5 Arkansas. The Cowboys’ best win, on the other hand, was over number 10 Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. Lean: Alabama
4. Best loss: Bama lost to your number 1 team in overtime. The Pokes lost to unranked Iowa State (in overtime). Lean: Alabama
In all, while Oklahoma State may have more quality wins, Alabama has the best win of the season — and, in fact, its second best win is better than any of Okie State’s wins — and Bama has a much better loss.
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
I am the 99% of Americans who love college football
by Spears on Jan 11, 2012 9:34 AM EST reply actions 5 recs
I was going to bring up this same point,
if only because Oklahoma State was not required to play in a conference championship game. Both Alabama and OSU lost one conference game during the regular season.
Audemus jura nostra defendere
Every day we make it, we'll make it the best we can.
by animalcracker on Jan 11, 2012 11:47 AM EST up reply actions
Now this...
is a quality retort to his rankings.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 11, 2012 3:31 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Great job, Kyle
This is basically a philosophical discussion and you argue your case very effectively. Only God in Heaven could ever resolve this matter; but, I will say the arguments about how Alabama “shoulda, coulda, woulda” won the first game are laughable.
"Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Thomas J. Jackson
by Dr. Morpheus on Jan 11, 2012 3:27 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
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