Harris Poll Unraveled

The Harris Interactive College Football Poll (sm) final results by voter were posted last week.  While our very own Mr. Brain and Mr. Zane provide us with outstanding statistical review of the BCS week-in/week-out, I thought it an interesting exercise to dive into the details of the fringe Harris Poll results.

I'm not sure what was more disappointing.  Learning who voted for whom or  actually viewing 114 consecutive individual rankings.  The emotional roller coaster of seeing each poll was often exciting but left me limping to the finish.  But all that was trumped at the end of viewing the voter's results because it mirrored exactly the events of waiting for the final BCS standings.  The last 3 voters listed alphabetically voted Texas 1...1..."5".   While the alphabetical listing is random, this symbolically represented all my letdown last weekend when learning of just how close we came to representing in the MNC.

We missed #2 in the final ballot by 84 stinking points.

"What a  Joke" Bullets:

• A full two-thirds of the panel voted OU ahead of Texas.
• Of those voting OU ahead of Texas, roughly two-thirds voted OU 2nd and a full 1/3 voted OU #1 (bastards).

Following is the distribution of votes by 1-6 ranking in final poll for the top 3 teams:

Note that UT received 20% of their points from 24 voters who ranked UT below 3rd.  UF and OU received only 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively, of their points below 3rd.

Following is the list of Harris pollsters who voted UT below #3.  Without the transparency of final regular season rankings by voters it is not possible to determine who changed their vote but surely this list is a good place to start and since we are not provided that detail, I submit these voters are the real vitriol of what is wrong with the system, at least this year.

.....and their bio's from yahoo.rivals.com:

My motivation for evaluating the results was to answer the question of who caused us to miss the MNC in this poll.  Sure, this may be an exercise in futility, but for me, it is pure therapy.  I wanted to know who exactly to target my disappointment.  I want to put a bullseye right over his heart. 

Well, I found my guy.  Fellow Texan Lance McIlhenny.  I am just dumbfounded.  Even if you give the guy the benefit of the doubt because USC won their conference, how do you vote Alabama #4 over Texas?  I'm not sure of his thought process but clearly he represents the very worst in the BCS process.  Bias, bias, bias.  I am incredulous that this Highland Park, SMU alum, Pony Express Preppy would leave himself exposed in this fashion especially given his profession.

Following are highlights of his voting as pulled from pollspeak.com.  This is a great site for evaluating the final rankings by voters.  Included is a comparison of poll methodology.  They also offer a petition opportunity to promote poll transparency.

Freakish Behavior:

• 25% of his top-25 selection at least near extreme ranking position.
• He ranked Utah at its lowest ranking (10th) among all 114 Harris Interactive voters
• Ahem.  He ranked Texas a distant 5th.

I remember those years watching Lance manage a vaunted offensive attack with Dickerson and James as supporting characters.  It was a great time to be a college football fan in Dallas.  Little did we know that behind the scenes there was a money-grab unseen in the history of CFB.   I often felt sorry for the SMU players until I read a comment today in a J. Brady McCollough piece. 

"It happened twice," McIlhenny says. "I succumbed to the pressure as well. If you're a sophomore in college, and you come in and you put your foot in your topsiders and there's two $100 bills in there, what do you do? You don't say, 'Somebody lost 200 bucks. Whose is this?' You just kind of go on down the road."

Right.  See ya down the road, Lance.

So, maybe I'm not surprised he would leave himself exposed.  I know one thing though.  I'm glad SMU got the death penalty.  I'm glad that Lance is the poster boy for the mighty SMU dynastic fall.  And I could not be more pleased that Lance represents for all of Horn nation a poster boy for UT missing a shot at the pinnacle the players earned on the field.

Posers: Leach, Dickerson, McIlhenney, and James

While Lance has achieved much in his community and career, I can't help but nominate him as this year's inaugural Most Improbable Voter (MIP) award which should be handed out each year to the one BCS voter we feel is most deserving of our highest grievance and abject personal distaste.  It was a tough call that Lance receives my nomination over his college playmate Bobby Leach (who also voted Texas 5th), Bill Arnsparger, Scott Johnson, and Mike Leach but he gets the push over-the-top in my book (and Mike Leach gets an "insanity" pass).

It is a shame that he still represents the very best of Highland Park and North Dallas, and yet, the very worst.  Be sure to drop him an email with your feedback @ Lance.McIlhenny@staubach.com.  Or, you can send him a postcard, candy gram, or land shark at:

The Staubach Company

Lance McIlhenny

Vice President

15601 Dallas Parkway, ste 400

Addison, TX  7500

And if you wish to text or call him on the phone, please reach him here:

972-361-5217 (office)

214-763-4000 (mobile)

I am quite certain he will appreciate your comments.  Tsk tsk tsk...such a travesty.