Have At It: Blog Poll Draft Ballot

by PB @ BON on Sep 23, 2008 5:22 PM CDT in Football Comment 20 comments

Draft ballot is after the jump, open as always to feedback. Final ballot is due tomorrow morning.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Florida	1
3	Oklahoma	1
4	Georgia	1
5	LSU	3
6	Alabama	4
7	Missouri	3
8	Texas	1
9	Penn State	2
10	Wake Forest	5
11	Vanderbilt	5
12	South Florida	5
13	Brigham Young	6
14	Oklahoma State	4
15	Utah	4
16	Texas Tech	4
17	TCU	4
18	Nebraska	4
19	Boise State	7
20	Colorado	6
21	Ohio State	3
22	East Carolina	10
23	Kansas	2
24	Connecticut	2
25	Oregon	19

Dropped Out: Auburn (#13), Wisconsin (#14), North Carolina (#23).

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Comments

What did Wisconsin ever do to you PB?

Why do they drop all the way out? They still look on track to win the Big 10 to me.

And why keep Oregon but dump Auburn?

I agree with your move on Florida. I still think they beat Georgia and get back to the title game this year.

I’m not buying the Saban Kool-Aid so I would have Bama outside the top 10 still. And I’m not ready to jump on your Vandy bandwagon either.

Where is Fresno State? Lurking just outside your top 25?

Life is an Occasion. Rise to it.

by patienthornsfan on Sep 23, 2008 6:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Gah

Wiscy should be in there.

--PB--

by PB @ BON on Sep 23, 2008 6:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Pokes are too high... 14?

And I still think Auburn is a Top 25 team.

by the1austin on Sep 23, 2008 6:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Ride the Vandy and Wake train...

…until they meet at season’s end. Also, that’s a little rough on Mizzou when you consider that Buffalo has been a tough out this season with Turner Gill running things.

http://www.rakesofmallow.com

by CW on Sep 23, 2008 7:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

OU Lite (Okie St) ahead of Tech?

You have a lot more experience at this than I. What is your thinking?

by dimecoverage on Sep 23, 2008 8:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Don’t see how Missouri gets dropped, despite a so-so first half . . . Vandy and Wake are WAY overrated. It’d be a nice story if they finished 10-2 or thereabouts, but it won’t happen and they haven’t accomplished much besides not losing. Beating Florida State nowadays is not poll-jump worthy . . . Ohio State is too low, Wisconsin is too low. . . . N. Carolina was ranked last week? How’d I miss that?

by edsp on Sep 23, 2008 9:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Did you watch LSU Auburn game?

LSU at #5 and Auburn all the way out of the ranking? I would probably put Auburn somewhere in the 11-15 range.

I thought I’m the one who really likes Oklahoma State. I like them in the 20-25 range.

In Mack Brown We Trust!

by Cyrus on Sep 23, 2008 10:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Auburn 11-15 range????

Why?

Without having done anything, Auburn shouldn’t get into the top 15 in virtue of losing to LSU. Whatever good faith Auburn earned in their loss against LSU, they didn’t have to give after last week’s 3-2 win over a truly miserable Miss. State team.

My issue with both Auburn and LSU is that the only feather in each their hats is each other; without beating Auburn, LSU is 2-0 against North Texas and App. State. Without losing to LSU, Auburn beat a 1-3 Sun Belt team, a 2-2 southern miss, and a one point victory over 1-3 Miss. State. So… we’re either overrating LSU in virtue of their victory over Auburn or overrating Auburn in virtue over their close loss against LSU. The better conclusion is that neither is nearly as good as we think; Auburn ain’t no Top 25 team and LSU ain’t no top 5 team.

In sum: If you really think Auburn is 11-15, you must think LSU is top 3, and that can’t be right. (Neither can Auburn top 15.)

Various thoughts to PB:

1) BYU shouldn’t drop six spots after a 44-0 victory over… anyone. Wyoming isn’t good, but BYU dealt with them.
2) After week one, Tennessee was a worthy enough opponent to catapult UCLA into many people’s rankings. Then they beat UAB (1-3, but they did beat Alabama State!). Given what happened to UCLA since week 1, is getting outgained by Tennessee really enough of a laudit to launch Florida ahead of Georgia and/or OU? Tennessee 2008 = Vanderbilt 2007. Besides showing up, what did Florida do this week to warrant moving any direction but down?
3) LSU too high, have not done anything.
4) Everyone wants to punish Missouri, but let’s keep in mind that the game wasn’t nearly as close as the score. Mizzou wins by JUST 2:1 in spite of outgaining Buffalo by hundreds and losing 3 fumbles. If you win by 3 touchdowns after losing the turnover battle 3:1, on freak shit fumbles, why should you get downgraded? Sleeping on Missouri means ignoring the number one yards producer thus far and number two points producer. This is a bad ass team that NOBODY wants to fart with right now; they shouldn’t have gone down 3.
5) Oklahoma State has no doubt handled their business… against teams that are a combined 3-8 with those three wins being Portland State, Southern University, and Southeast Missouri State (just for edification, those teams were 14-19 last year). They were losing at halftime to the University of Houston. At home. Just sayin’.
6) Utah too low. 4-0, 3-0 on the road.
7) I really like your ranking of UCONN, which most people don’t; Nebraska is right; and you were right to put Oregon back up.
8) I doubt E. Carolina deserves up there, though. E. Carolina certainly cannot be above Kansas, given your ranking of South Florida. What it comes down to: Squeaking by VaTech or beating West Virginia might be better than demolishing Kansas’ schedule, but losing to NC State by 6 is nowhere near losing to South Florida by 3, if and especially if you think SF is a top 15 team.

These things are so much easier to criticize than make. This is an extremely solid ballot, I just love to nitpick. I woudn’t necessarily change anything, but I’d think it over some.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Sep 24, 2008 12:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No one can rank resume at this point

With your argument, we should put Texas out of the whole ranking. Who have we beat? This goes for most top teams actually.

I like both Auburn and LSU. I believe both will be top 10 by the end of the year. Even if you don’t like those, I can’t see how can PB have one in top 5, and the other out of the top 25…

In Mack Brown We Trust!

by Cyrus on Sep 24, 2008 7:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re:

Texas is in great shape. You’ve had nothing but convincing wins (which is more than many of the teams on this list can say) and you have at least one respectable win over Rice, convincingly, who is 2-2 having only lost to two teams currently on the above list in you and Vanderbilt. Rice didn’t beat FCS teams, rather Conference USA rivals SMU and Memphis.

At this point, the strongest data point on “resume” is “0 losses”.

I am unaware of any pure resume voters who either have or would keep Texas off the list. Cheer up, Cyrus, your team looks sharp by any measure.

Regarding LSU and Auburn, I agree, you can’t think LSU is a top 5 team and also think Auburn is not a top 25 team. The more reasonable conclusion, in my opinion, is to drop LSU before raising Auburn. Why, exactly do you think Auburn will be a top 10 team by year’s end? Their offense looks horrible.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Sep 24, 2008 1:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Couldn't agree with you more...

Dropping MIZZOU 3 spots for winning by ONLY 21 against a decent Buffalo squad is pretty bad, but it’s his choice. We’ll just let the games play out, and by then MIZZOU will be getting the respect they deserve….man, I really wish we had NEVER played SEMO….

4 SEC teams in the top 6? Florida beat decent, but by no means good, teams from Miami and Tenn, but don’t rank the victory based on name. Those teams really aren’t THAT good.

by monatetiger on Sep 24, 2008 9:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

oregon

Doesnt deserve to be there. Beat a mediocre Purdue team then got hammered by Boise. Late comeback kept score closer than it really was.

by Blitzburgh on Sep 23, 2008 11:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

WTF?

We had this conversation last night. You told me Oregon deserves to be there.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Sep 24, 2008 12:12 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

haha

I said Oregon is a very good home team, and that the win by Boise State was very impressive. They did have to squeak out a win against a only so-so Purdue team the week before.

What I said positively about Oregon was that I’d wager that they have one of the ten best home records among BCS conference teams in the past 8 years. I also said I didn’t have the data, just I guess. Thats the extent of what I said about them, and it was more to pump up what a solid W that was for a Boise program most had forgotten about. In fact, the context of our discussion was people overvaluing East Carolina, with the national media so eager to crown them this year’s ‘BCS Buster’. Such a fucking lame term btw. Anyway..thats all :)

by Blitzburgh on Sep 24, 2008 1:46 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

NO

you said they should be in top 25.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Sep 24, 2008 6:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Alright, cheese sticks at three feet.

Loser has to waddle and quack for a week.

by whills on Sep 24, 2008 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fortunately

I recorded the conversation.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Sep 24, 2008 1:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Poll Voting Philosophy

Is there a BON consensus philosophy on poll voting? Is it a Power Rankings sort approach where we’re judging strictly by what we’ve seen, or do anticipated performance, perceived strength (in light of losses) receive consideration?

I prefer the “look test” coupled with a head-to-head predictive approach; though this approach doesn’t work for close calls when you haven’t seen both teams play.

I’ve seen Ohio State and Colorado play. Neither team impressed me, but head to head, OSU would win. Terrell Pryor and Beanie Wells would trample the Buffs if they were to play on Saturday. And Buffalo offense, though successful against WVU to an extent, would come to a halt against Buckeye. Therefore, I would rank Ohio State above the Boulder Mountainbillies.

Still, irrational rooting interests can defeat any standard I try to set for myself. Thus, the Auburn drop, IMO, is clearly justified.

by Kool Hand on Sep 24, 2008 5:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

BON consensus philosopy

Usually it takes several drinks to even get warmed up. Any consensus philosophy converges toward common sense ameliorated by strong outliers or stubborn arguments.

As per earlier discussions, we are at that part of the season where this is something of a mix. There isn’t quite enough in the ooc match-ups to do power ratings per se, so resume ranking holds some sway. As teams move into conference play in the next two weeks, things will clarify to a great degree. Right now is sorta never-never land, and in some manner, almost like pre-season with strong hints. The resume picks are getting their cherry popped and the power rankings are skewed by early strong performances, like East Carolina. ’Twas ever so.

by whills on Sep 24, 2008 10:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs