When drafting my BlogPoll ballot this week, I started with a clean white piece of paper.
I didn't look at any ballots, whether my previous ones or anyone else's current or former ones, and I didn't look at any rankings, whether by coaches, sportswriters, or webloggers. Instead, I started from two sets of data: a list of the undefeated teams in Division I-A and a list of the college football teams with one loss. I ranked them separately, putting all the unbeatens in order in one column and all the once-beatens in order in the other, then I merged the two lists.
Here are the results at which I arrived:
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Oregon |
 3 |
| 3 | Michigan |
1 |
| 4 | Texas |
3 |
| 5 | Auburn |
 3 |
| 6 | Louisville | -- |
| 7 | Louisiana State |
1 |
| 8 | Clemson |
1 |
| 9 | Southern Cal |
6 |
| 10 | Tennessee |
5 |
| 11 | West Virginia |
3 |
| 12 | Florida |
2 |
| 13 | Cal |
7 |
| 14 | Notre Dame |
4 |
| 15 | Georgia |
1 |
| 16 | Georgia Tech |
10 |
| 17 | Wisconsin |
9 |
| 18 | Nebraska |
1 |
| 19 | Boise State |
7 |
| 20 | Iowa |
7 |
| 21 | Rutgers | -- |
| 22 | Florida State |
3 |
| 23 | Washington |
2 |
| 24 | Wake Forest | -- |
| 25 | Missouri |
2 |
Dropped Out: TCU (#11), Virginia Tech (#12), Oklahoma (#22).
My explanation will follow later, but, for now, feel free to offer your constructive criticisms in the comments below.
Go 'Dawgs!