No wonder the American Football Coaches Association wants coaches' poll ballots to stay private. The poll is such a joke, some voters might die of embarrassment if their votes ever saw the light of day.
BCS officials need to take a long look at Sunday's poll and think very hard about whether they want the poll to help decide which teams play in the national title game. The folks in charge of the BCS already were concerned about the final ballot going private after the 2010 season. They worried that might devalue the integrity of the poll. But after Sunday, how do you devalue the integrity of a poll that had no integrity in the first place?
The poll sunk to a new low Sunday, when coaches ranked 3-1 Oklahoma State three spots ahead of a 3-0 Houston team that beat the Cowboys in Stillwater on Sept. 12. Coaches also ranked Penn State ahead of Iowa in spite of the fact that the Hawkeyes beat the Nittany Lions in State College on Saturday. The most egregious instance of ballot-box stuffing? Cal, which lost to Oregon by 39 points on Saturday, is ranked six spots ahead of the Ducks.
If you read this space regularly, you know I have an ongoing project to use open records laws to force coaches to reveal their ballots. Other stories and my continuing misadventures as a new father have forced that project to the back burner in the past few weeks, but SI.com is not done with the coaches' poll. This most recent poll only confirms the need for more transparency. If the sports information directors who fill out the poll ballots for their coaches knew the results would wind up on the Web, they might actually take more than five minutes to fill out a ballot.
If the first round of records requests were any indication, most schools will fight this tooth and nail. The only coaches who willingly released their ballots were Air Force's Troy Calhoun, Texas Tech's Mike Leach, North Carolina's Butch Davis and South Florida's Jim Leavitt.
Now we know why the others were so reluctant. Why would they want to get killed for ignoring simple things like head-to-head results? I can understand the argument that Oklahoma State might be considered a better team than Houston by season's end. But given the results we have now, it's ludicrous to rank the Cowboys over the Cougars.
At least the voters in the Harris Interactive Poll - another third of the BCS formula - got the Houston-Oklahoma State rankings correct. Still, they ranked Penn State ahead of Iowa, which is dumbfounding because the Hawkeyes beat the Nittany Lions on national television less than 16 hours before the ballots were due. At least one Harris Poll voter missed Iowa's 2008 win against Penn State, but that guy isn't on the panel this year.
Great bunch of pollsters you've got there, BCS. Still, I understand your predicament. You can't use The Associated Press poll, because most media outlets - mine included - would order their employees to recuse themselves from the poll. I certainly would comply, because I have no business deciding who plays in the national title game.
But who should decide? The most logical solution seems to be a selection committee similar to the one that sets the field in the NCAA basketball tournament. That's probably the most plausible option, but one reader offered a fantastic, not-as-wacky-as-it-sounds suggestion a few weeks ago. I'd give him proper credit, but since he does business with several college football entities, he'd probably prefer to remain anonymous. He suggested a poll electorate made up of the only people who watch every college football game with a truly objective eye.
Las Vegas oddsmakers.
Think about it. They aren't loyal to any school. They're loyal to keeping the money even on both sides of the line. To set accurate lines, they must evaluate teams as objectively as humanly possible. If a bookmaker doesn't set accurate lines, the casino loses money, and the bookmaker loses his job. So he has no choice but to remain objective.
Of course, no one involved with college football would go for this. The NCAA, which tends to ignore all things BCS, would immediately step in and ban the poll. That's unfortunate, because based on the results we've seen from the coaches' poll and the Harris poll, the participants in the title game are being chosen by people who either aren't watching the games or don't care enough to put together a credible ballot.
Cintia Dicker
Hilary Rhoda
College Football Top 25 Review
U.S. Open Upsets
Comments (98) Add A Comment
Why is Auburn ranked 28th? And don't give me this "they haven't played anybody yet" thing.
kurtau22
Total Comments (3)
I think Oregon's coach Chip Kelly put it best when he said:
???People don???t really know who anybody is right now,?????? Kelly said. ???I can???t say this school is better than that school based on this matchup.
???It???s tough to gauge Florida. They played Charleston Southern (and failed to cover the 73-point spread). Is that a good win or is that a bad win? You look at Penn State???s (out-of-conference schedule), are they a good team or a bad team? I don???t know.
???I don???t know if anybody knows. Unless you can sit there and honestly watch every single one, I think it???s tough for you to judge who???s who.??????
(http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2009/09/uo_football_chip_kelly _wants_n.html)
ahwoogamac
Canton , GA
Total Comments (12)
So, let's say Ohio St goes on the rest of the season winning by 3 TD in every game the rest of the way and USC squeaks out wins the rest of the way and both teams end up with the same record. USC should be voted ahead of OSU just because they beat them? This is the logic you've used.
SECsuxNuts
Total Comments (40)
They haven't played anybody yet. Sorry, but it's the truth. If they go up to Knoxville and put a whippin' on the Vols, they're definitely in my poll next week.
Andy Staples
Total Comments (39)
Pardon the ????'s. SI.com must not like copy/paste.
ahwoogamac
Canton , GA
Total Comments (12)
SECsux: Yes. Head-to-head is gold. If the Buckeyes wanted to prove they were better than the Trojans, they should have beaten them.
Andy Staples
Total Comments (39)
I think its odd South Carolina isnt ranked. Regardless of wheter Ole Miss was overrated or not, they beat them. Their only loss came against Georgia in Athens by 4 points, a game that could have easily gone the other way.
Wincocks84
Summerville , SC
Total Comments (2)
ahwoogamac: No problem with ???? marks. Fannation and pasted special characters aren't the best of friends. As for your reference to the Chip Kelly quote, that's why the oddsmakers would work. They do have to watch every game. I cover college football for a living, and I try to go to two games a week to see teams in person whenever I can, but I still can't see every one because I have to concentrate on certain teams for stories I'm writing. These guys have to know every team inside and out.
Andy Staples
Total Comments (39)
I'm going to agree with Staples on this one. OSU had USC at home and couldn't get the job done. Now, if USC blows a few more games and OSU doesn't, that means that OSU may be a better team at the end of the season than USC.
No team is static, you can get better as the year goes on or worse (injuries and such playing a part). Sometimes you can get worse, but if your schedule allows it, you can look better. It can happen the other way around as well. We need the voters in these polls to rip up last week's poll and solely judge teams on where they are right NOW. Otherwise, you get crap like we're seeing in the polls right now.
BamaMan
Total Comments (101)
Plus, it's well known that usually the SID's fill it out until the end of the season. It's a great example of what BS it all is. Ohio State hasn't beaten anyone. USC lost to a team out of the top 40. Oregon lost to a top 15 team and beat a #14 and a #6. Yet, they are #24. It's a complete joke. And this poll helps determine the fate of millions and millions of dollars.
As many great things as there are about college football (and I was at the Duck game on Sat), it's no surprise that the worst part of it are related to the old white male tranditions from the previous century. Private coaches polls, no integrated bowl system, no definitive national championship game are all due because the old white male guard is still alive and governing the system.
Max Planck said, "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.???
You want hope for a DI playoff system ? This is what will have to happen. There's just to much self-interest and money for the involved parties to change. But I have hope for a future generation...
rodrick
Portland , OR
Total Comments (106)
Its all well and good to rip the coaches and harris polls since they "matter", but lets not forget that the AP poll isn't a whole lot better, it at all.
hskrpwr13
Total Comments (5)
And I love the idea about Vegas doing the polls. There's a gorgeous irony to it, but yeah...the NCAA would barf all over that idea.
One of those things that makes too much sense...
rodrick
Portland , OR
Total Comments (106)
Even the AP poll is screwed up, lets not just trash the coach's poll. LSU will be the next top 4 to go down. Did anyone in the AP watch the Miss St. game? If LSU is a top four team then so is Cincy, Oregon, Iowa, Notre Dame, Michigan, .....the list goes on and on. Auburn may be 28th but they are a hell of lot better than LSU right now.
Moutaineerpoison
Fort Lee , VA
Total Comments (56)
Here some other ones...
Oklahoma ranked #5 after losing to BYU and beating Tulsa and Idaho State.
Penn State is #10 after losing to Iowa (out of top 25) and beating Akron, Syracuse and Temple (all out of top 40).
#14 Georgia hasn't beaten anyone in the top 25, and lost to #12 Oklahoma State.
#12 Oklahoma State lost to #15 Houston head-to-head. #25 Oregon beat #19 Cal by 39 points.
I guess what's clear is that college football can't govern itself. Just like the FAA can't govern and market the aviation industry at the same time. But we tolerate it...why ?
I suppose the good news is that craziness like this will bring the discussion to the forefront, and they should be called out over and over again. Make them feel the pressure for having such a lack of integrity.
rodrick
Portland , OR
Total Comments (106)
OK, that may be a valid argument for those teams that have failed to win against the top 25. There's not data. But for teams that have won games against the top 25, this doesn't fly.
It is absurd, obscene and just plain dumb to rank team A in front of team B when team B just beat them on team A's field (Penn St-Iowa). After HTH, wins in the top 25 should be next. This is exactly why pre-season polls are so stupid...they set the initial rankings and someone like Oklahoma can hang out in the top 10 without beating anyone for half a season.
Integrity is now my word for the day and it has a lot to do with this poll situation.
There's isn't any.
rodrick
Portland , OR
Total Comments (106)
This exact reason I'm applauding what you're doing with the open record laws, Andy. Don't miss out on being a dad, but know that there are a lot of people rooting for you to succeed in this. Keep us updated!
ahwoogamac
Canton , GA
Total Comments (12)
Come on guys! Polls start BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS! Then usually you keep your spot until you lose a game. (If you are a perennial powerhouse)
Polls should REALLY start around week 4 or 5. Until then the slate should be clean for all teams. That would make it a fair playing field for everyone. College teams have such a turnover that we really don't know how our favorite teams will be until they are tested.
I know..... I'm a GENIUS.
DBG
Galloway , OH
Total Comments (2)
Get rid of ll the polls. go to a playoff system where the conference champions (12) and 4 at large births are given. This will give every conference a chance to participate in a true championship series and eliminate the need for everyone having to endure egotistical self proclaimed experts (like Writers) choosing the national champion.
rainey 1351
San Diego , CA
Total Comments (2)
What about "They've played nobody"? if you want credit in the polls, and are coming off an awful year, PLAY SOMEONE.
giftedkid527
Jacksonville , FL
Total Comments (1831)
Would anything really change?
giftedkid527
Jacksonville , FL
Total Comments (1831)
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