Coaches Poll Just Came Out

[Scott4USC]

USC lost 3 1st place votes and AU is only 1 1st place vote behind OU. OU will absolutely BLOW out their Big 12 Championship opponent to try and stay at #2. Both teams are neck and neck.

Coaches Poll

Here is my beef with the coaches poll and tell me if you agree. WHY IS Arizona St. ranked #20 with an 8-2 record. That is BS and complete East Coast Bias.

ASU spanked Iowa 44-7 yet Iowa with 2 losses (just like ASU) is ranked #14. THAT IS BS! ASU has same record as Iowa, spanked them, AND has played a tougher strength of schedule. ASU has played the #2 SOS in the country, vs IOWA playing #35 which is respectable but not nearly as tough as ASU. ASU's only 2 losses were against #1 USC and #4 CAL. Give me a break. EAST COAST BIAS AT ITS FINEST! I feel sorry for ASU fans and their team.

Why is Wisconsin with 2 losses ranked #18? What have they done? They got blown out by their last 2 opponents, and have played a strength of schedule ranked #69 in the country. Complete BS!

Michigan should be ranked farther back than #13 in the country. If your keeping MIchigan at #13 in the country, then why would you keep Ohio St. with 3 losses who beat UM soundly out of the top 25?

Here is a good one. WHY IS BOWLING GREEN with 2 losses ranked #24 in the country? Bowling Green has played a #133 ranked Strength of Schedule. YES, #133 ranked SOS. Same could be said about 2 loss UTEP who has #93 SOS. STUPID COACHES!

Here is an idea. Why not reward a team like Oregon St. with a top 25 ranking despite their 5 losses. Think I am crazy? Take a look at OSU's losses and current teams ranking.
Oregon St. lost......

#1 USC
#4 CAL
@ #10 Boise St.
@ #12 LSU
@ #20 ASU

OMG, that is a BRUTAL schedule, and 3/5 losses were all on the road. They just blew out rival Oregon, I think OSU deserves a top 25 ranking especially if you compare them to other teams that currently ranked in the top 25. BET ON OSU IN THEIR BOWL GAME AND CASH IN! Easily the best 5 loss team in the country. BTW, OSU has played the #1 SOS but I think that was obvious. But in this day and age, teams with 2 losses that play a horrible SOS get rewarded vs teams who play brutal schedules. USC, CAL, OU etc. would NOT go undefeated with Oregon St.'s schedule.

You could also make the same argument for North Carolina. Put in Oregon St. and North Carolina at #24 and #25. They deserve it. Send a message! I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Those are just some of my beef's and I am wondering if others see this or agree with me. Maybe others have other beefs as well.

Who should be #2? AU or OU? Who will finish #2?

 

[The Big Tease]

Just another example of what is an inexcuseable system to determine a national champ......

And yea......just keep in mind what we have all learned over the course of the year and make your bookie pay in the bowl games

 

[DoMyDermBest]

Good points Scott. The press is skewed east. The rankings are approximations of reality, only a true playoff system will determine the true number one. Some AD's argue that the function of bowls was never to produce a national championship. To them (at the risk of being banned for a day) I reply: BULLPUCKY!

 

[dr. freeze]

OU should be #2
Auburn should be #1

both have beaten more than 1 quality team on the road this year.

USC has only played 1 good team on the road and that was at a neutral site against a team from the garbage big east!!!! lmao

WHAT A JOKE!!!!

 

[oldschoolcapper]

Scott,

ASU is not ranked higher than 20 for the same reason Auburn is not ranked higher than 3 (and the same reason southern cal and ok stay at 1 and 2). Last year's record is the starting point for the poll every year.

One possible solution is to let the first poll come out after week 3. This would throw out some teams that are overrated and help add teams that are much improved.

On a side note, how about a 4-4 SEC team going on the road to beat the ACC's highest ranked team? The computers use a BS method that heavily penalizes teams from conferences with extremely bad teams. Why should Auburn be penalized for Vandy's losses to Rutgers and Navy? If anyone can answer that I would appreciate it.

Auburn--the nation's best team, with the nation's best defense will not be given a chance to play for the national championship and that is a crying shame.

If the powers that be would at least let them play Cal (or whoever finishes #4 in BCS) it would give them a chance to win the AP championship if Oklahoma beats Southern cal in the Orange Bowl.


osc

 

[Scott4USC]

oldschoolcapper

If AU wins out & doesn't make it to the Orange Bowl, I hope they play CAL in their BCS bowl game. IMO, CAL is on par with USC, AU, and OU. If AU beats CAL, especially soundly, I would argue for AU to have a share of the title. If AU beats another team soundly (Utah, Texas etc.) I would not argue for them to share the title. Same goes for OU if they don't make the Orange Bowl.

Ok I have question about a comment from you.

Auburn--the nation's best team, with the nation's best defense will not be given a chance to play for the national championship and that is a crying shame.

Why are they the nations best team? You know AU has played the #74 ranked SOS while USC has played #9 SOS and OU has played #18. So why would you say AU is the best team? Just curious. Not saying they are not one of the best, but what ammo do you have to put Auburn over USC and OU as the best team?

Secondly, why do you say AU has the best defense in the country? It is a fact that AU has not faced steller competition this year and it is also a fact they have not seen great offenses. So why would you claim AU having the best defense in the country? Maybe one of the top defenses but they have not stopped a GREAT offense yet. UGA is solid but no way do they have a great offense and that was the best offensive team AU has faced all year. Shutting down Citadel, La Tech, La Monroe, Kentucky, Miss St., Alabama etc. does NOT count. That does not make your defense the best in the country. You agree? If you disagree, then I love to hear why you think they are the #1 defense? I think AU has a great defense but they have not been tested enough to be claimed #1. Just my opinion.

The crying shame is the players go undefeated and can't play for a national championship. However, point the finger to the Auburn administration for not playing a tougher OOC schedule. Even if AU had 2 teams back out on them last minute, AU could have played tougher OOC competition. USC needed 2 opponents at the last minute and scheduled @V-Tech and Colorado St. Not CItadel and La. Monroe. Last year AU played a good OOC schedule but we saw the results. Yes I know this is not the same AU team from last year. Hell, AU could have played USC in the BCS classic if they wanted too. USC spent weeks looking for opponents and V-Tech stepped to the plate. Just something to think about. If AU played USC in the BCA classic, AU would be in the Orange Bowl if they came away with a win from there.

On a side note, how about a 4-4 SEC team going on the road to beat the ACC's highest ranked team? The computers use a BS method that heavily penalizes teams from conferences with extremely bad teams. Why should Auburn be penalized for Vandy's losses to Rutgers and Navy? If anyone can answer that I would appreciate it.

That is incorrect. People from the SEC love to pimp their conference by always naming the top 5 "powerhouses." Reality is the SEC is a 12 team conference and every team carries the same weight. The computers have no bias for or against any conference and every team carries the same weight. Bad teams hurt a conf. just like good teams help a conf. Maybe people realize now that the SEC does not have all great teams in their conference. For years the SEC has had their bottom dwellers/automatic wins.

ASU is not ranked higher than 20 for the same reason Auburn is not ranked higher than 3 (and the same reason southern cal and ok stay at 1 and 2). Last year's record is the starting point for the poll every year.

Not exactly. ASU has a stronger SOS and same record vs the teams ahead of them. Cannot say the same for AU and the teams ranked ahead of them. It is true that ASU does not have the tradition or respect from the country and that prob. plays huge part. That is called EAST COAST BIAS! USC is the only team from the west coast that gets respect from the country. That is not right.

dr. freeze

OU should be #2
Auburn should be #1

both have beaten more than 1 quality team on the road this year.

What are the 2 quality road wins AU has and why does USC have only 1 quality road win? Love to here your explanation to that.

 

[The Big Tease]

Scott, I have alweays thought your argument is half-right on the SEC. Yea, they schedule crappy teams in the non-conference....but if you watch those teams....they are tough. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to see that Auburn and Georgia are VERY good teams......and lots of pretty good ones....tennessee, Florida, LSU, etc.

 

[gman2]

Scott, I have alweays thought your argument is half-right on the SEC. Yea, they schedule crappy teams in the non-conference....but if you watch those teams....they are tough. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to see that Auburn and Georgia are VERY good teams......and lots of pretty good ones....tennessee, Florida, LSU, etc.

exactly. you just summed it up perfectly.

nobody is denying that auburn hurt themselves by scheduling the citadel and monroe.

but ultimately, it comes down to football and auburn is really damn good.

its stupid to go in circles trying to discredit with is pretty much a fact: usc, auburn, and oklahoma are all potentially dominant football teams.

 

[wolfpacker97]

Looks like that Texas holds their future and Cal's future in their hands. Here is a section of the article (had to cut it down to be able to post):

By Brad Edwards
Special to ESPN.com

Entering the weekend, it seemed as if California was just two wins away from locking down a spot in a BCS game. With a somewhat comfortable lead over Texas in the polls, the Golden Bears apparently just needed to take care of their own business to keep the Longhorns at a safe distance in the BCS Standings. And with a 41-6 triumph over rival Stanford on Saturday, Cal had every reason to believe it was on the verge of its first Rose Bowl appearance in nearly 50 years.

But even though Cal is undeniably close to realizing that Rose Bowl dream, some less desirable postseason scenarios are also becoming apparent. If the season ended today, the Bears would get one of the two BCS at-large spots by virtue of being the highest-ranked team in the top 4 without an automatic bid. But that crucial position is suddenly being threatened on more than one front.

Although Texas did not play on Saturday, the Longhorns narrowed the margin between themselves and California in the coaches' poll from 89 points to 39 points, despite Cal's 35-point victory. In the AP poll, the Bears' advantage dipped from 108 points to 90.

Who knows what prompted this significant turn of events, but all of a sudden, Texas is close enough to Cal in the BCS Standings that an impressive win over Texas A&M could possibly give the Horns hope of moving up one very important spot. COULD is not the same as WILL, but it's more of an opportunity than Texas thought it had a week ago.

It also needs to be pointed out that Cal still has one more game left to play. The Bears' original trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., was postponed by Hurricane Ivan, and the makeup date is Dec. 4. Southern Miss might not be as strong of a team as it seemed to be in September, but this is still a rare opportunity for Cal to show its stuff on national television. All the Bears can really ask for is a chance to state their case. And Texas can only hope California trips and falls on the national stage.

The simple solution to this new crisis for Cal would seem to be a loss by Texas against Texas A&M. But even that could open the door for an entirely new disaster scenario. The rule that would allow either Cal or Texas to get a BCS at-large spot by being ranked in the top four is contingent upon a spot still being available after a previous rule is applied. That previous rule is the one that allows any team not from a BCS conference to get an at-large bid by being ranked in the final top 6. But it does not restrict the number of teams that can qualify that way.

A loss by Texas would likely move Utah up to No. 5 in the BCS Standings and open the door for either Boise State or Louisville to possibly jump into the No. 6 position. Right now, those teams are very close with Georgia and Miami for the No. 7 spot in the standings. If Utah is ranked fifth in the BCS and either Boise State or Louisville is sixth at the end of the year, then those two teams would get the BCS at-large bids, and Cal -- even if ranked No. 4 -- would be left out of the Bowl Championship Series.

In addition to being a raw deal for the Bears, this would also put the Rose Bowl in the very difficult position of having to choose an opponent for Michigan from among the ACC champion (likely Virginia Tech or Miami), the Big East champion (likely Boston College) and the two non-BCS schools. The Rose Bowl has already taken it on the chin a few times from the BCS, but that would be by far the worst misfortune yet.


Brad Edwards is a college football researcher at ESPN. His Road to the BCS appears weekly during the season.

 

[oldschoolcapper]

scott,

the first thing i use in saying AU has the best defense is my knowledge of the game. i have watched all of Auburn's games this season and have watched OU play 7 times and Southern Cal play 6 times.

How about this....the Auburn defense has given up 2 touchdowns in the first half all season. Their first-team defense has given up 6 touchdowns all season. They lead the nation in scoring defense.( i know southern cal is # 2, so you don't have to put this in your reply) They are also only giving up only 100 rushing yards per game. This is against some teams that have very good rushing offenses (Bama 200 ypg, La. Tech 197 ypg, Ark 197, LSU 191, Tenn 175, Miss St. 165, Georgia 165). I know you like to say they haven't played any stellar offenses, but they have played some pretty decent ones. They have managed to beat 3 top 15 teams and in the process held them to 9, 10, and 6 points. Not too shabby.

Why don't you do me a favor and tell me why southern cal is #1?

And since you like to pick and choose your SOS....here is rich tellshow's...OU #16, Southern Cal #21, Auburn #33. Hmm....that looks a little different then the ones you like to use.

As far as Oregon State is concerned, they have beaten one team with a winning record this year. Maybe after they've gone 0-5 against top 25 teams it is clear to the voters that they are not a top 25 team.

With that said it makes me wonder......."USC is the only west coast team that gets respect from the east coast media". Why is Cal ranked # 4??? They're getting respect they may not deserve. Oh wait, it's because they beat that powerhouse Arizona St. and played a close game with Southern Cal.

Maybe you could explain Southern Cal's quality road wins.

I'm assuming the neutral site game against Va. Tech is your quality road win. Which is your other one? BYU (5-6), Stanford (4-7), Wash. St. (5-6), or Oregon St. (6-5). It must be Oregon St. because they have a winning record and they deserve to be in the Top 25. And let's not forget how foggy it was either.

And one final thing......Oregon St. may be matched up against Ohio St. in the Sun Bowl. You might take your "bet on Oregon St. and cash in" advice back.

I can't wait for your candid response filled with stat after stat.


osc

 

[mjalam]

usc #1, i don't know how many people can say they're over-rated...given their defense and offense..once again they'll dominate their bowl game and people will shut the fuk up...and i'm not a usc fan either..i happen to like cal..of course being from the bay area...anyway..usc dominates like no other team could...oklahoma..i don't think so...usc vs auburn is what should happen..and campbell will look like crap..because he isn't that good to begin with

 

[onetrickpony]

BTW, OSU has played the #1 SOS

Scott, where are you getting your SOS information? I had a hard drive crash and lost a ton of capping info. Would appreciate the help.

 

[wox11]

REALLY THOUGHT BUCKEYES MAY GET INTO TOP 25?

 

[Dizzayton]

College sucks. Auburn could beat USC and Oklahoma but we will not even be able to watch the best team in the country play for all the marbles.

 

[Scott4USC]

oldschoolcapper didn't have time to read your whole post or anybody eleses thoroughly, but will read it later amd answer the questions. I got the gist of it and here is my reply about why you can't, not that they are or not, but why you can't say they are the best defensive team in the country. THEY SIMPLY HAVE NOT BEEN TESTED WEEK IN WEEK OUT! Stole this lovely data from someone else.....

The Myth that is Auburn's "Great Defense"

Here is how Auburn's opponents rank in total offense:

#77 Louisiana - Monroe
#101 Miss. St.
#38 LSU
#114 in Div. II: The Citadel
#53 Tenn.
#54 Louisiana Tech
#30 Arkansas
#114 Kentucky
#83 Miss.
#29 Georgia
#93 Alabama:

Anyone still want to tell me how great they are? They haven't faced anyone with a top 25 offense.

AU has had it very very easy this season with their schedule.

 

[Blackman]

Just to weigh in....Auburn is going to fall victim to the same rules that kept USC out of the Sugar Bowl last year, so let's be fair when everyone was bashing USC and saying they shouldn't complain because they knew about the system before the season started the same applies to Auburn this season.

My personal feelings: Auburn has impressed me the most and I think they should play USC in the Orange Bowl. (USC gets my nod over OU because I do think they are a better squad and whenever the reigning national champ goes undefeated the next season they deserve a right to defend).

Of course the system is flawed, but the fans of the Big 12 and SEC had no problems with these flaws last year when OU and LSU met in the Sugar Bowl leaving USC out. Now that the shoe is on the other foot it is a positive because everyone is getting a taste of how bad the system really is. Hopefully change can come of this.

Just my 2 cents.



Off the topic to Dr Freeze, Va Tech isn't in the Big East anymore, actually I don't know if the conference still exists :sadwave:

 

[oldschoolcapper]

scott,

once again you pick and choose what you respond to. what are you using to rank offenses??? yards or points? or are you combining strength of schedule + conference strength + yards / points + scott's special formula = ranking???

when you dominate offenses for an entire season that means you have a dominating defense. add to that the fact that you are more dominating (fewest points allowed) than any other team in the country and that is sufficient to say they are the best defense in the country.

Their defense hasn't given up more than 2 touchdown in a single game. Arkansas scored 20 put one TD was an Int return off of 2nd string QB. The only other time the SEC has had a defense that was this dominating in the last 30 years was Alabama's 1992 NC team. And if you're too young to remember, they waxed a Miami team that reminds me a lot of this year's Southern Cal team 34-13.

Now do me a favor and tell me how their defense has not been dominating OR better yet, throw out some of your stats and show me a team that has been more dominating.

And I'd still like to hear a response on why Oregon St. should be ranked in the Top 25.

mjalam--
I never said USC was overrated. They have definitely been one of the top 3 teams this year. But how can you say they dominate like no other team could??

4 close games...2 against ranked teams and 2 very close calls against unranked teams. After ten games, they have dominated 6 and had 4 close ones. It is absurd for you to say they dominate like no other.

And please tell me why Jason Campbell will look like crap if he plays southern cal other than "he isn't that good".


osc

 

[medlisg]

SCOTT"4th ranked"USC,

I also would like you to show me a better defense than AU! I don't think your darling trojans could run the ball against the TIGERS defense and they would have trouble in the air. USC has not faced a Defense like AU's.

Also, I would like to remind you that USC is only at the top of the polls because they started there. Had they even started 10th with AU in 18th USC would not be on top today!

Preseason Polls are a rip-off!!

 

[onetrickpony]

Strength of Schedule??? Anyone?? I can't seem to find a decent site with current SOS information. :cursin:

 

[Scott4USC]

onetrickpony

Jeff Sagarin NCAA football ratings

I use his Strength of Schedule ratings because it is the most logical. Other computers calculate SOS by only wins/losses which is extremely flawed. Here is Sagarin's calculation for SOS.

"The SCHEDULE ratings represent the average schedule difficulty faced by each team in the games that it's played so far. The schedule
difficulty of a given game takes into account the rating of the opponent and the location of the game."

Sounds logical and fair to me.