2008-11-13T14:42:54-05:00
<div class="photo_container image_right">
<div class="photo"><img src="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/images/11/10/colt-mccoy-cc.jpg" alt="Double Click to select a Photo" /></div>
<div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">The Colley Matrix is the one poll in which Texas still ranks No. 1.</div>
<div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Brian Bahr/Getty Images<br /></div>
</div>
<p><em>By Hugh Falk, <a href="http://www.pollspeak.com/" target="_blank">Pollspeak.com</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=8&v=0&t1=3&w=12&r=T" target="_blank">Alabama</a> is clearly No. 1 in the the pollsters' eyes this week. The AP, Harris Interactive and Coaches' polls all rank the Crimson Tide No. 1. However, half the computers favor <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=8&v=0&t1=96&w=12&r=T" target="_blank">Texas Tech</a>, as Billingsley, Massey and Sagarin rank the Red Raiders No. 1. Meanwhile, two computers rank Alabama No. 1 (Anderson/Hester and Wolfe) and the Colley Matrix is the odd formula out, ranking one-loss <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?r=T&s=5&p=8&w=12&t1=94&t2=0&v=0" target="_blank">Texas</a> over the unbeatens.</p>
<p>One reason for the disagreement is media experts often tout the SEC as the strongest conference. However, both Sagarin and Anderson/Hester place the Big 12 on top. Both also have the SEC ranked third behind the ACC. While many media types might be willing to give the Big 12 the nod over the SEC this year, very few would be willing to say the ACC is stronger than the SEC. That's why computers can make tough choices; they are immune to ridicule. While a comment like, "Hey Colley Matrix, your rankings are like procedural languages -- No Class," might discourage a human voter (especially if he's <strong>Fat Albert</strong>), it never affects a computer.</p>
<p>Speaking of making tough choices, it turns out President Elect <strong>Barack Obama</strong> is a college football fan. For those who didn't catch the interview during <em>Monday Night Football</em>, Obama says if he could change one thing in sports today, he would like to see a college football playoff. As you keep reading, you'll understand why.</p>
Pollspeak: Humans vs. computers
2008-11-10T16:16:56-05:00
52
2008-11-10T16:16:56-05:00
1
6
10
2008-11-13T14:42:54-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/334/200/thumb/itpennywise.jpg
10608
MO
PSUinOutback?
Saint Charles
334580
52
That's all you got?
3329608
2008-11-13T14:03:34-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/334/200/thumb/itpennywise.jpg
10608
MO
PSUinOutback?
Saint Charles
334580
50
I shall address the only comments that remotely resemble a counter-argument:
"College Football is not the NFL. So any comparative analysis with the NFL is stupid."
It is still football... and the NFL provides the most prominent examples. The comparison to the NFL references teams of comparable ability (like Texas, Tech, and OK) are more likely to spilt a home-home season series. The instances of college teams playing twice in a season is rare, but teams often split (Florida, Florida State for example).
"Second, I never said head to head is the ONLY factor to look at to determine rankings. I have said that everything else being relatively equal, including record, head to head should be, and is virtually everywhere else, the major tiebreaker. "
If all else was equal, you may use head to head if it was the only differential. My point is that "All else" is NEVER EQUAL. All variables in the evaluation are constantly changing and must be continuously evaluated. Head to head 6 weeks ago has less relevance now and will continue to decrease in relevance as the season progresses.
"Third, points scored in a game is virtually meaningless"
Scoring points in a game is the single biggest determinant on identifying the victor. Who had more? It was also provided merely as an example variable ackowledging that, yes, even you "can think of many others". I view the team's strength as a multi-variate, non-linear equation representing an n-dimenional curve that fluctuates over time. I recognize that multiple variables have second and third order effects that influence the outcome of the games. So, no, I did not need to look up the meaning of "integer".
3329173
2008-11-13T14:27:27-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
I view the team's strength as a multi-variate, non-linear equation representing an n-dimenional curve that fluctuates over time. I recognize that multiple variables have second and third order effects that influence the outcome of the games.
51
Bwwhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaaaaaa. Greg the Clown is priceless. All that 'knowledge' and still never has made it past Asst Manager at Chucky Cheese. How sad for you.
3329400
2008-11-13T13:39:52-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
When confronted with intellect, you resort to grade-school name calling. Your own quote:"yet when we do have head to head matchups to guide us in the meaningful regular season, with teams with equal records, there are always so many morons who don't get it and simply ignore the obvious."When millions of 'morons' around the country who follow the sport, professional coaches, and media members who study and write about games for a living appear to not "get it", you do realize they all sneer at your ignorance and sit in agreement that you, sir, are the one out of the loop. The mistake everyone makes with applying the A>B;B>C;A>C property is that A, B, and C are not constant integers in football. If A represents Texas, then A is the strength of Texas and is measured by many factors, one of which might be points scored in a game (you can think of many others). In the case of Texas, "A" can be any number really, but likely range between 28 (lowest points this year) and 56 (highest points this year). At any point in time, A = some number between 28 & 56 with an average around 45.Same applies for B & C. At one single instant in time, A > B and B > C but that does not guarantee that A > C. Only if they played dozens, maybe hundreds, of games could you define the true relationship bewteen A, B, & C. But at any instant in time, A, B, and C can switch order.Simply put, the NFL plays each team in the division TWICE. How often do those teams split? Head to head is only ONE of many criteria used to objectively and subjectively rank order teams. Voters must also consider conference strength, timing of loss, location of losses, quality of wins/losses out of conference, quality of wins/losses in conference, offense rank, defensive rank, blown calls or missed assignments, head to head, opponents quality of wins/losses, previous rankings, style of play (USC defense vs TT spread), and even gut feel or subjective calls.Different voters may value those criteria differently, but each team with a loss can identify their spot by how they fall in the pecking order. The overall poll is designed to aggregate all of the varied opionions into one national picture.Do you 'get it' yet? Buy a harmonica so you can learn to play more than one note.
47
you call that intellect? LMFAO. This is the funniest mental **** exercise I have ever seen. In addition to making no sense, your lame attempt at being "intellectual" only reveals how shallow and inane your limited education has been.
Let me give you a few clues there St. Charles Clown. College Football is not the NFL. So any comparative analysis with the NFL is stupid. Second, I never said head to head is the ONLY factor to look at to determine rankings. I have said that everything else being relatively equal, including record, head to head should be, and is virtually everywhere else, the major tiebreaker. Third, points scored in a game is virtually meaningless, rendered more so by the fact that you don't even know what an integer is, and probably had to look the word up to try to use it in a sentence.
Thank you for the hearty guffaw. As I pictured you in your tiny St Charles apartment down the street from the Casino, waiting to go to your server job at Chucky Cheese, surrounded by your stash of male porn, I could not stop laughing at your faux attempts at demonstrating mental superiority. Keep it coming, and save a spot at Chucky Cheese for me.
3328884
2008-11-13T14:03:34-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/334/200/thumb/itpennywise.jpg
10608
MO
PSUinOutback?
Saint Charles
334580
50
I shall address the only comments that remotely resemble a counter-argument:
"College Football is not the NFL. So any comparative analysis with the NFL is stupid."
It is still football... and the NFL provides the most prominent examples. The comparison to the NFL references teams of comparable ability (like Texas, Tech, and OK) are more likely to spilt a home-home season series. The instances of college teams playing twice in a season is rare, but teams often split (Florida, Florida State for example).
"Second, I never said head to head is the ONLY factor to look at to determine rankings. I have said that everything else being relatively equal, including record, head to head should be, and is virtually everywhere else, the major tiebreaker. "
If all else was equal, you may use head to head if it was the only differential. My point is that "All else" is NEVER EQUAL. All variables in the evaluation are constantly changing and must be continuously evaluated. Head to head 6 weeks ago has less relevance now and will continue to decrease in relevance as the season progresses.
"Third, points scored in a game is virtually meaningless"
Scoring points in a game is the single biggest determinant on identifying the victor. Who had more? It was also provided merely as an example variable ackowledging that, yes, even you "can think of many others". I view the team's strength as a multi-variate, non-linear equation representing an n-dimenional curve that fluctuates over time. I recognize that multiple variables have second and third order effects that influence the outcome of the games. So, no, I did not need to look up the meaning of "integer".
3329173
2008-11-12T23:42:55-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
And you've sure put him in his place with that wicked "rhyming name" retort. Took you over 2 hours to think of it too... very impressive.
42
well, Greg the Clown, unlike you, I don't sit around at my keyboard waiting for someone to respond to my posts and jump in the instant they do. In fact, during that 2 hour time period I was having incredible wild sex with a pair of Swedish blonde twin babes with huge natural juggs. So you can see, unlike you, who spent that time **** it to pictures of JoePa in the buff in my tiny St. Charles apartment near the casino, I spent my time productively.
3323897
2008-11-13T13:48:10-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/219/432/thumb/mizzou_crowd.bmp
1403
MO
cgerken44
Manchester
219732
I was having incredible wild sex with a pair of Swedish blonde twin babes with huge natural juggs. .
49
You mean making out with Little Debbie Swiss Cake roles while drinking milk... its not the same thing
3328984
2008-11-13T13:39:52-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
When confronted with intellect, you resort to grade-school name calling. Your own quote:"yet when we do have head to head matchups to guide us in the meaningful regular season, with teams with equal records, there are always so many morons who don't get it and simply ignore the obvious."When millions of 'morons' around the country who follow the sport, professional coaches, and media members who study and write about games for a living appear to not "get it", you do realize they all sneer at your ignorance and sit in agreement that you, sir, are the one out of the loop. The mistake everyone makes with applying the A>B;B>C;A>C property is that A, B, and C are not constant integers in football. If A represents Texas, then A is the strength of Texas and is measured by many factors, one of which might be points scored in a game (you can think of many others). In the case of Texas, "A" can be any number really, but likely range between 28 (lowest points this year) and 56 (highest points this year). At any point in time, A = some number between 28 & 56 with an average around 45.Same applies for B & C. At one single instant in time, A > B and B > C but that does not guarantee that A > C. Only if they played dozens, maybe hundreds, of games could you define the true relationship bewteen A, B, & C. But at any instant in time, A, B, and C can switch order.Simply put, the NFL plays each team in the division TWICE. How often do those teams split? Head to head is only ONE of many criteria used to objectively and subjectively rank order teams. Voters must also consider conference strength, timing of loss, location of losses, quality of wins/losses out of conference, quality of wins/losses in conference, offense rank, defensive rank, blown calls or missed assignments, head to head, opponents quality of wins/losses, previous rankings, style of play (USC defense vs TT spread), and even gut feel or subjective calls.Different voters may value those criteria differently, but each team with a loss can identify their spot by how they fall in the pecking order. The overall poll is designed to aggregate all of the varied opionions into one national picture.Do you 'get it' yet? Buy a harmonica so you can learn to play more than one note.
47
you call that intellect? LMFAO. This is the funniest mental **** exercise I have ever seen. In addition to making no sense, your lame attempt at being "intellectual" only reveals how shallow and inane your limited education has been.
Let me give you a few clues there St. Charles Clown. College Football is not the NFL. So any comparative analysis with the NFL is stupid. Second, I never said head to head is the ONLY factor to look at to determine rankings. I have said that everything else being relatively equal, including record, head to head should be, and is virtually everywhere else, the major tiebreaker. Third, points scored in a game is virtually meaningless, rendered more so by the fact that you don't even know what an integer is, and probably had to look the word up to try to use it in a sentence.
Thank you for the hearty guffaw. As I pictured you in your tiny St Charles apartment down the street from the Casino, waiting to go to your server job at Chucky Cheese, surrounded by your stash of male porn, I could not stop laughing at your faux attempts at demonstrating mental superiority. Keep it coming, and save a spot at Chucky Cheese for me.
3328884
2008-11-13T13:42:35-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/219/432/thumb/mizzou_crowd.bmp
1403
MO
cgerken44
Manchester
219732
and save a spot at Chucky Cheese for me.
48
I thought they banned you from Chucky Cheese for trying to rape Chucky. Little hint... he's fake. That's not a hard on. Its probably just some broken metal piece on the inside. And no he's not winking at you all the time.
3328889
2008-11-13T09:46:19-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/334/200/thumb/itpennywise.jpg
10608
MO
PSUinOutback?
Saint Charles
334580
well, Greg the Clown, unlike you, I don't sit around at my keyboard waiting for someone to respond to my posts and jump in the instant they do. In fact, during that 2 hour time period I was having incredible wild sex with a pair of Swedish blonde twin babes with huge natural juggs. So you can see, unlike you, who spent that time **** it to pictures of JoePa in the buff in my tiny St. Charles apartment near the casino, I spent my time productively.
45
A somewhat better effort... I see you took the time to read a profile, and maybe even googled St. Charles. Oh, and Penthouse called...they want their delusional letters back. Yet you still have not demonstrated any capability to make a rationale argument or displayed any knowledge beyond SI Headline depth. When confronted with intellect, you resort to grade-school name calling.
Your own quote:
"yet when we do have head to head matchups to guide us in the meaningful regular season, with teams with equal records, there are always so many morons who don't get it and simply ignore the obvious."
When millions of 'morons' around the country who follow the sport, professional coaches, and media members who study and write about games for a living appear to not "get it", you do realize they all sneer at your ignorance and sit in agreement that you, sir, are the one out of the loop.
The mistake everyone makes with applying the A>B;B>C;A>C property is that A, B, and C are not constant integers in football.
If A represents Texas, then A is the strength of Texas and is measured by many factors, one of which might be points scored in a game (you can think of many others). In the case of Texas, "A" can be any number really, but likely range between 28 (lowest points this year) and 56 (highest points this year). At any point in time, A = some number between 28 & 56 with an average around 45.
Same applies for B & C. At one single instant in time, A > B and B > C but that does not guarantee that A > C. Only if they played dozens, maybe hundreds, of games could you define the true relationship bewteen A, B, & C. But at any instant in time, A, B, and C can switch order.
Simply put, the NFL plays each team in the division TWICE. How often do those teams split? Head to head is only ONE of many criteria used to objectively and subjectively rank order teams.
Voters must also consider conference strength, timing of loss, location of losses, quality of wins/losses out of conference, quality of wins/losses in conference, offense rank, defensive rank, blown calls or missed assignments, head to head, opponents quality of wins/losses, previous rankings, style of play (USC defense vs TT spread), and even gut feel or subjective calls.
Different voters may value those criteria differently, but each team with a loss can identify their spot by how they fall in the pecking order. The overall poll is designed to aggregate all of the varied opionions into one national picture.
Do you 'get it' yet? Buy a harmonica so you can learn to play more than one note.
3325655
2008-11-13T13:39:52-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
When confronted with intellect, you resort to grade-school name calling. Your own quote:"yet when we do have head to head matchups to guide us in the meaningful regular season, with teams with equal records, there are always so many morons who don't get it and simply ignore the obvious."When millions of 'morons' around the country who follow the sport, professional coaches, and media members who study and write about games for a living appear to not "get it", you do realize they all sneer at your ignorance and sit in agreement that you, sir, are the one out of the loop. The mistake everyone makes with applying the A>B;B>C;A>C property is that A, B, and C are not constant integers in football. If A represents Texas, then A is the strength of Texas and is measured by many factors, one of which might be points scored in a game (you can think of many others). In the case of Texas, "A" can be any number really, but likely range between 28 (lowest points this year) and 56 (highest points this year). At any point in time, A = some number between 28 & 56 with an average around 45.Same applies for B & C. At one single instant in time, A > B and B > C but that does not guarantee that A > C. Only if they played dozens, maybe hundreds, of games could you define the true relationship bewteen A, B, & C. But at any instant in time, A, B, and C can switch order.Simply put, the NFL plays each team in the division TWICE. How often do those teams split? Head to head is only ONE of many criteria used to objectively and subjectively rank order teams. Voters must also consider conference strength, timing of loss, location of losses, quality of wins/losses out of conference, quality of wins/losses in conference, offense rank, defensive rank, blown calls or missed assignments, head to head, opponents quality of wins/losses, previous rankings, style of play (USC defense vs TT spread), and even gut feel or subjective calls.Different voters may value those criteria differently, but each team with a loss can identify their spot by how they fall in the pecking order. The overall poll is designed to aggregate all of the varied opionions into one national picture.Do you 'get it' yet? Buy a harmonica so you can learn to play more than one note.
47
you call that intellect? LMFAO. This is the funniest mental **** exercise I have ever seen. In addition to making no sense, your lame attempt at being "intellectual" only reveals how shallow and inane your limited education has been.
Let me give you a few clues there St. Charles Clown. College Football is not the NFL. So any comparative analysis with the NFL is stupid. Second, I never said head to head is the ONLY factor to look at to determine rankings. I have said that everything else being relatively equal, including record, head to head should be, and is virtually everywhere else, the major tiebreaker. Third, points scored in a game is virtually meaningless, rendered more so by the fact that you don't even know what an integer is, and probably had to look the word up to try to use it in a sentence.
Thank you for the hearty guffaw. As I pictured you in your tiny St Charles apartment down the street from the Casino, waiting to go to your server job at Chucky Cheese, surrounded by your stash of male porn, I could not stop laughing at your faux attempts at demonstrating mental superiority. Keep it coming, and save a spot at Chucky Cheese for me.
3328884
2008-11-12T23:45:32-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
I think Klee has a fixation on my Gerken...Kinda wierd. Oh and the kids from the 3rd grade told me to tell you to stop using names they are cabable of coming up with. Its making them look bad.
43
are you violating that restraining order again? I thought a condition of your probation was to stay away from those 3rd graders, and register as a sexual offender so the people who live on Kehrs Mill road know who lives nearby........
3323939
2008-11-13T10:36:23-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/219/432/thumb/mizzou_crowd.bmp
1403
MO
cgerken44
Manchester
219732
are you violating that restraining order again? I thought a condition of your probation was to stay away from those 3rd graders, and register as a sexual offender so the people who live on Kehrs Mill road know who lives nearby........
46
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity...
and Klee you are the living proof of this.
3326288
2008-11-12T23:42:55-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
And you've sure put him in his place with that wicked "rhyming name" retort. Took you over 2 hours to think of it too... very impressive.
42
well, Greg the Clown, unlike you, I don't sit around at my keyboard waiting for someone to respond to my posts and jump in the instant they do. In fact, during that 2 hour time period I was having incredible wild sex with a pair of Swedish blonde twin babes with huge natural juggs. So you can see, unlike you, who spent that time **** it to pictures of JoePa in the buff in my tiny St. Charles apartment near the casino, I spent my time productively.
3323897
2008-11-13T09:46:19-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/334/200/thumb/itpennywise.jpg
10608
MO
PSUinOutback?
Saint Charles
334580
well, Greg the Clown, unlike you, I don't sit around at my keyboard waiting for someone to respond to my posts and jump in the instant they do. In fact, during that 2 hour time period I was having incredible wild sex with a pair of Swedish blonde twin babes with huge natural juggs. So you can see, unlike you, who spent that time **** it to pictures of JoePa in the buff in my tiny St. Charles apartment near the casino, I spent my time productively.
45
A somewhat better effort... I see you took the time to read a profile, and maybe even googled St. Charles. Oh, and Penthouse called...they want their delusional letters back. Yet you still have not demonstrated any capability to make a rationale argument or displayed any knowledge beyond SI Headline depth. When confronted with intellect, you resort to grade-school name calling.
Your own quote:
"yet when we do have head to head matchups to guide us in the meaningful regular season, with teams with equal records, there are always so many morons who don't get it and simply ignore the obvious."
When millions of 'morons' around the country who follow the sport, professional coaches, and media members who study and write about games for a living appear to not "get it", you do realize they all sneer at your ignorance and sit in agreement that you, sir, are the one out of the loop.
The mistake everyone makes with applying the A>B;B>C;A>C property is that A, B, and C are not constant integers in football.
If A represents Texas, then A is the strength of Texas and is measured by many factors, one of which might be points scored in a game (you can think of many others). In the case of Texas, "A" can be any number really, but likely range between 28 (lowest points this year) and 56 (highest points this year). At any point in time, A = some number between 28 & 56 with an average around 45.
Same applies for B & C. At one single instant in time, A > B and B > C but that does not guarantee that A > C. Only if they played dozens, maybe hundreds, of games could you define the true relationship bewteen A, B, & C. But at any instant in time, A, B, and C can switch order.
Simply put, the NFL plays each team in the division TWICE. How often do those teams split? Head to head is only ONE of many criteria used to objectively and subjectively rank order teams.
Voters must also consider conference strength, timing of loss, location of losses, quality of wins/losses out of conference, quality of wins/losses in conference, offense rank, defensive rank, blown calls or missed assignments, head to head, opponents quality of wins/losses, previous rankings, style of play (USC defense vs TT spread), and even gut feel or subjective calls.
Different voters may value those criteria differently, but each team with a loss can identify their spot by how they fall in the pecking order. The overall poll is designed to aggregate all of the varied opionions into one national picture.
Do you 'get it' yet? Buy a harmonica so you can learn to play more than one note.
3325655
2008-11-12T18:24:11-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/145/620/thumb/superbird.jpg
4752
AL
bpcarman
Mobile
145920
yep. Cheating and not going to class.
39
Is this just your uneducated opinion? Or is this an attempt at humor?
3322107
2008-11-12T23:47:27-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
Is this just your uneducated opinion? Or is this an attempt at humor?
44
wrong on both counts. Its my informed observation, and it is also pretty darn funny to boot.
3323957
2008-11-12T16:50:17-05:00
http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/219/432/thumb/mizzou_crowd.bmp
1403
MO
cgerken44
Manchester
219732
hey, its jerkin the Gerken from the peanut gallery with yet another invaluable witticism
38
I think Klee has a fixation on my Gerken...
Kinda wierd. Oh and the kids from the 3rd grade told me to tell you to stop using names they are cabable of coming up with. Its making them look bad.
3321210
2008-11-12T23:45:32-05:00
1595
AK
Klee Irwin
Nome
582256
I think Klee has a fixation on my Gerken...Kinda wierd. Oh and the kids from the 3rd grade told me to tell you to stop using names they are cabable of coming up with. Its making them look bad.
43
are you violating that restraining order again? I thought a condition of your probation was to stay away from those 3rd graders, and register as a sexual offender so the people who live on Kehrs Mill road know who lives nearby........
3323939
52
<div class="photo_container image_right">
<div class="photo"><img src="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/images/11/10/colt-mccoy-cc.jpg" alt="Double Click to select a Photo" /></div>
<div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">The Colley Matrix is the one poll in which Texas still ranks No. 1.</div>
<div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Brian Bahr/Getty Images<br /></div>
</div>
<p><em>By Hugh Falk, <a href="http://www.pollspeak.com/" target="_blank">Pollspeak.com</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=8&v=0&t1=3&w=12&r=T" target="_blank">Alabama</a> is clearly No. 1 in the the pollsters' eyes this week. The AP, Harris Interactive and Coaches' polls all rank the Crimson Tide No. 1. However, half the computers favor <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=8&v=0&t1=96&w=12&r=T" target="_blank">Texas Tech</a>, as Billingsley, Massey and Sagarin rank the Red Raiders No. 1. Meanwhile, two computers rank Alabama No. 1 (Anderson/Hester and Wolfe) and the Colley Matrix is the odd formula out, ranking one-loss <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?r=T&s=5&p=8&w=12&t1=94&t2=0&v=0" target="_blank">Texas</a> over the unbeatens.</p>
<p>One reason for the disagreement is media experts often tout the SEC as the strongest conference. However, both Sagarin and Anderson/Hester place the Big 12 on top. Both also have the SEC ranked third behind the ACC. While many media types might be willing to give the Big 12 the nod over the SEC this year, very few would be willing to say the ACC is stronger than the SEC. That's why computers can make tough choices; they are immune to ridicule. While a comment like, "Hey Colley Matrix, your rankings are like procedural languages -- No Class," might discourage a human voter (especially if he's <strong>Fat Albert</strong>), it never affects a computer.</p>
<p>Speaking of making tough choices, it turns out President Elect <strong>Barack Obama</strong> is a college football fan. For those who didn't catch the interview during <em>Monday Night Football</em>, Obama says if he could change one thing in sports today, he would like to see a college football playoff. As you keep reading, you'll understand why.</p>
<p>Five voters ranked <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=9&t1=74&t2=79&v=8&w=12&r=T&o1=diff" target="_blank">two-loss Ohio State over one-loss Penn State</a>. It was just two weeks ago the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes in Columbus.</p>
<p>At this point in the season, it's difficult to track and name all the teams that have played each other, so this week I'll focus on the major powers in the Big 12.</p>
<p>One voter still ranks <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=9&t1=94&t2=96&v=8&w=12&r=T&o1=diff" target="_blank">Texas over Texas Tech</a>. It's worth noting the Colley Matrix also ranks the Longhorns over the Red Raiders, but, unlike AP voters, the Colley Matrix didn't receive the <a href="http://pollspeak.com/football_2008_pre.htm#AP" target="_blank">AP Voter Guidelines</a>, which say "pay attention to head-to-head results."</p>
<p>Six voters ranked <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=9&t1=94&t2=75&v=8&w=12&r=T&o1=-diff" target="_blank">Oklahoma over Texas</a>. Texas only stumbled against No. 2 Texas Tech. Oklahoma's only loss came against Texas. There seems to be an obvious pecking order which was followed by just about everybody else in the AP. The coaches are another matter...</p>
<p>This is yet another week where I'd like to see the coaches' ballots. Enough coaches ranked Oklahoma over Texas that the Sooners (No. 4) are actually ranked higher than the Longhorns (No. 5) in the Coaches' Poll. Wow. On that note, Pollspeak sponsors a <a href="http://pollspeak.com/petition.html" target="_blank">petition</a> asking the BCS to require its components to use public ballots.</p>
<p>Finally, 17 voters ranked <a href="http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=9&t1=76&t2=60&v=8&w=12&r=T&o1=-diff" target="_blank">Missouri over Oklahoma State</a> even though the Cowboys won the head-to-head and both teams have two losses. They both lost to No. 1 Texas. Oklahoma State's other loss was to No. 2 Texas Tech while Missouri's other loss was to Oklahoma State. Again, seems like an obvious pecking order's being ignored.</p>
<p>For all the people who say they want the definitive justice of a playoff, there seems to be just as many (including voters) who don't think losing on the field is a big deal. When filling out their ballots, I implore voters to ask themselves, "What would Obama do?"</p>
<p>For more poll analysis, go to <a href="http://www.pollspeak.com/" target="_blank">pollspeak.com</a>.</p>
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The SI Staff
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