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 |
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3 | Michigan |
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4 | Texas |
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5 | Auburn |
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6 | Louisville | -- |
7 | Louisiana State |
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8 | Clemson |
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9 | Southern Cal |
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10 | Tennessee |
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11 | West Virginia |
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12 | Florida |
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13 | Cal |
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14 | Notre Dame |
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15 | Georgia |
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16 | Georgia Tech |
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17 | Wisconsin |
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18 | Nebraska |
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19 | Boise State |
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20 | Iowa |
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21 | Rutgers | -- |
22 | Florida State |
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23 | Washington |
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24 | Wake Forest | -- |
25 | Missouri |
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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!