I still am not buying Oklahoma. Sorry. They haven't beaten anyone yet and are 3-2 when there are still a lot of one-loss teams. Again, that's the problem with preseason polls. Voters have preconceived notions in believing that they can only drop a highly touted team so far when they lose. Why should a 3-2 Oklahoma team that lost to a team (BYU) that was steamrolled by a team (Florida State) be ranked higher than a 5-0 South Florida team that beat that same team (Florida State)? I'm aware that you can't use 'bread crumb' trails in determining rankings. But Oklahoma has beaten absolutely nobody and there is no real justification for ranking them higher at this point in the season, which voters in both of the main polls have done.
I also hesitantly put Pitt back in the top 25. There were a lot of teams close to each other who have played similar types of schedules so I found space for Pitt because they had one more win than some teams out there. When it comes down to the bottom of the polls, a lot of teams look the same. If their schedules aren't vastly different, 5-1 is better than 4-1.
I still have LSU ahead of some other teams such as Virginia Tech, USC, and OSU based on the fact that they have the 'best' loss according to my poll, which was against #1 Florida. They also have solid wins on the road against Washington (who, by the way, beat USC) and Georgia. Again, another problem I have with poll voters is penalizing a team for losing later than another team - even if the strength of that loss is better than said team.
Lastly, not to jinx Boise State or anything, but I'm real interested in seeing how things will play out for them. They got up into the upper tier of the poll early enough this season and if a few of those teams in front of them end up losing, will they be playing for a national championship? I still don't know if voters are ready to give them the nod over, say a one-loss Florida or one-loss Texas team.
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | |
| 2 | Texas | |
| 3 | Alabama | |
| 4 | Boise State | |
| 5 | Cincinnati | |
| 6 | Iowa |  2 |
| 7 | TCU | |
| 8 | LSU |  2 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 1 |
| 10 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 12 | Penn State | 1 |
| 13 | Miami (Florida) | 1 |
| 14 | South Florida | 1 |
| 15 | Kansas | 1 |
| 16 | Nebraska | 3 |
| 17 | Oregon | 4 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 5 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | |
| 20 | Missouri | 3 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | |
| 22 | Houston | |
| 23 | Oklahoma State | |
| 24 | Pittsburgh | |
| 25 | Auburn | 16 |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Dropped Out: Wisconsin (#18), Mississippi (#20), California (#22), Stanford (#24), Michigan (#25).
Lee
ReplyDeleteI am a Pitt grad that follows your blog and I live in Dallas.
I am going to the Texas - Oklahoma game this Saturday in Dallas at the old Cotton Bowl, I really think Oklahoma is going to beat Texas.
That aside, this Friday the weather could play an important role in Pitt, RU game. Long range forecast is calling for heavy rain.
Hi John - thanks for the support and hope you enjoy the blog.
ReplyDeleteWhile OU has underperformed so far, in a rivalry game like that, I wouldn't be all that surprised to see them win as well. I've kept them out of the poll for the simple fact that they haven't beaten anyone of consequence so far and there are a lot of quality one-loss teams. But should they win that game, I'd have to rank them again.
Hadn't looked at the weather yet for the weekend, but a rainy game could be good for Pitt the way their running game is going (providing they can hold onto the ball).