Blogpoll Ballot – Week 13
8 comments so far
November 24, 2008 by
Here again we present the Big Red Network ballot for the college football top 25 poll at M Go Blog. No one can take out Utah who finished 12-0. The Utes won their last BCS bowl (as did Boise State) which gives me at least some comfort given my stubborn “earned� rankings system. Hopefully Western Michigan can take out Ball State to restore some sanity here and give Nebraska a boost in strength of schedule.
In the national debate, I place Texas over OU. The Longhorns won by 10 on a neutral field. That really should be the end of the argument in my mind. The loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock was fluky, and as a road game not comparable to the game we saw by the Red Raiders under the lights in Norman. The rise of Oregon State makes USC and Penn State look a bit better. I give Ohio State a slight edge over Oklahoma State, but the Sooners will probably make that a moot point. Nebraska’s still in “others receiving votes" territory but could make a move with a blowout of CU (which seems very possible). Anyhow, here are the rankings:
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama |  1 |
| 2 | Utah | 1 |
| 3 | Boise State | 1 |
| 4 | Ball State | 1 |
| 5 | Florida | 1 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 7 | Texas | 1 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| 9 | Penn State | -- |
| 10 | Texas Tech |  9 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 1 |
| 13 | Missouri | -- |
| 14 | TCU | -- |
| 15 | Georgia | -- |
| 16 | Cincinnati | 2 |
| 17 | Brigham Young | 1 |
| 18 | Oregon State | 2 |
| 19 | Boston College | 3 |
| 20 | Florida State | 6 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | 5 |
| 22 | Oregon | 2 |
| 23 | Michigan State | 6 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 2 |
| 25 | Connecticut | 1 |
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bnahusker Nov 24 08
I have no problem with this list.
I do know that I have a deep hatred for all things Orange, rational or not, that may taint my opinion but, How can the Texas/OU game be considered a "Neutral Field" game when it is played in Dallass?
If I were OU, I'd put an end to this
Steve Nov 24 08
I appreciate the support BNA. I agree that Dallas doesn't seem neutral, but my sense is that the stadium is. That is, isn't a near 50/50 split in terms of the fans of each school in the stands. Yes, the Sooners travel further, but I don't bet that's much of a hardship.
As for why OU continues to play there, maybe it's all of the great recruiting that builds off of the Red River shootout? Imagine if the Sooners didn't land so many great recruits from Texas. They may view that game as vital for keeping the pipeline flowing.
Denly Nov 24 08
Where would K-State fall into this now that grampa Snyder is back?
ze bop Nov 24 08
Maybe I still don't understand what this poll is supposed to mean, but the order fo the top 10 is complete crap. above OK, FL, TX, USC, PSU, OSU?!
WOW!
Bama is sketchy as #1, OU is a solid #2, TX/FL close behind and SC behind them.
Utah, Smurfs, Ball are not even top 10 material IMO.
Oh, well, I give up..............
ze bop Nov 24 08
oops, messed up and no edit fx. Should read:"...Utah, Smurfs, Ball above OK, FL.." etc.
Dwayne Nov 24 08
As far as who should represent the Big XII out of the south division, this week between OU and Texas is a play-in game where as the better performer gets the nod. OU has higher risk and higher reward than Texas, but I don't care because I can't stand the Longhorns. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if Texas gets beat by A&M. Actually, wouldn't it be ironic if both Texas and OU lost and TT backed in to play Mizzou. Mizzou better capture it this season, because their run is just about done. Based upon Steve's poll, a six team playoff would offer Bama and the Utes a first round bye, USC against Boise State, and Ball State vs. Florida. Is there any way NU can get in the Mountain West to position themselves at the top a bit more? I'd take teams 7-12 over those listed at the top any day.
bnahusker Nov 25 08
Not that Steve needs to be defended....
He has been consistant with keeping undefeated teams at the top. Everything will work itself out.
GBR!
Bob
Steve Nov 26 08
This is for the benefit of the Blogpoll compiler who wants to link to our reasoning:
Anyone putting together a college football ballot has a couple of choices to make. Is our job to handicap who would win on a neutral field, or recognize the performance of each team in college football based on what they've done on the field? As a voter, I've chosen the latter course. In recent years, USC has shown themselves to be arguably the best "big game" team in college football. But they seem to have a habit of losing to teams that they are clearly superior to, in part because they seem disinterested or take these teams lightly. A true handicapper would dismiss these outings because the Trojans would likely by a favorite against anyone on a neutral field. But if instead, you view college football through the lens of "what ranking has a team earned on the field?" your rankings come out quite differently.
No handicapper would put Utah, Boise State or Ball State ahead of USC. But these teams have done everything you can ask of them in 2008 (short of getting style points for margin of victory or beating some big brand names). BCS bowl game victories by Utah and Boise State (which happen to be two of the three undefeated small conference teams this season) in recent years have earned small conferences the benefit of the doubt in my mind. And it's not just these games. It's games like Appalachian State over Michigan, Colorado over Oklahoma and Stanford over USC a year ago. The difference between the top echelon and everyone else has never seemed slimmer in college football. Going undefeated has never seemed harder. It's not a perfect system (see Hawaii a year ago), but it's one that I can rationalize easier than simply handing out style points to the major "brands" in college football and forgiving losses while ignoring teams that can avoid defeat on a weekly basis.
It would be easier to basically join the pack and vote with the masses, but when you stand on principle often you stand alone.