Someone tell me again why we have a Pre-Season Poll

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cycloneworld

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This is why there shouldn't be a pre-season poll.

Pre-Season Poll:
1. USC (62) 0-0 1,622 NOW:12
2. LSU (2) 0-0 1,511 NOW: 2
3. West Virginia (1) 0-0 1,396 NOW:6
4. Texas 0-0 1,375 NOW:15
5. Michigan 0-0 1,371 NOW:13
6. Florida 0-0 1,276 NOW:17
7. Wisconsin 0-0 1,192 NOW:NR
8. Oklahoma 0-0 1,166 NOW:4
9. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,148 NOW:11
10. Louisville 0-0 1,031 NOW:NR
11. Ohio State 0-0 876 NOW:1
12. California 0-0 790 NOW:24
13. Georgia 0-0 782 NOW:10
14. UCLA 0-0 605 NOW:NR
15. Tennessee 0-0 571 NOW:22
16. Rutgers 0-0 560 NOW:NR
17. Penn State 0-0 542 NOW:NR
18. Auburn 0-0 519 NOW:18
19. Florida State 0-0 392 NOW:NR
20. Nebraska 0-0 377 NOW:NR
21. Arkansas 0-0 376 NOW:NR
22. TCU 0-0 283 NOW:NR
23. Hawaii 0-0 256 NOW:14
24. Boise State 0-0 187 NOW:19
25. Texas A&M 0-0 162 NOW:NR

Teams NR in Preseason Polls: #3 Oregon, #5 Kansas, #7 Missouri, #8 BC, #9 ASU, #16 UCONN, #20 Clemson, #21 Alabama, #23 Virginia, #24 Kentucky.

The Preseason poll didn't have 1/2 of the top 10 even ranked. And did not have 10 of the 25 teams ranked in the preseason.

LSU should thank the Pre-season polls otherwise they may not be sitting at #2 now. Now things may work themselves out so we don't have a BCS controversy but if Ohio State loses, things will get messy.

Why not just wait until week 4 to start publishing rankings?
 

HandSanitizer

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Not only does a pre season poll suck. It hurts a team like Kansas big Time being NR and have to spend the whole time climbing the ranks. They should wait until week 3 or 4, but they will never do it that way. Everyone is in love with rankings.
 

LindenCy

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I'm with you. It is a joke. Really they should wait till a couple games into the conference season. Because once you get a ranking it is yours to lose, thus cheating everyone who had bad PR or doesn't have "tradition."
 

HILLCYD

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Nov 22, 2006
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That's pretty easy....money. You get to sell a lot papers when you have a pre-season poll. That and it gives the guys on ESPN something to yammer on about for a couple of weeks.
 

jumbopackage

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Why does it matter? It doesn't affect the BCS. It doesn't affect the outcome of the season. It's just for hype.

Don't pay attention to it, and it won't bother you nearly as much.
 

cycloneworld

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Why does it matter? It doesn't affect the BCS. It doesn't affect the outcome of the season. It's just for hype.

Don't pay attention to it, and it won't bother you nearly as much.

Ummm, ranking account for 2/3 of the BCS rankings so it's kind of important. It really hurts teams that were unranked to start the season. See Kansas.
 

cloneu

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AP Top 25 Week 4
Week 4 Rank/ Currently
1. USC (43) 3-0 1,601 #12
2. LSU (22) 4-0 1,580 #2
3. Oklahoma 4-0 1,456 #4
4. Florida 4-0 1,417 #17
5. West Virginia 4-0 1,388 #6
6. California 4-0 1,263 #24
7. Texas 4-0 1,196 #15
8. Ohio State 4-0 1,193 #1
9. Wisconsin 4-0 1,030 NR
10. Rutgers 3-0 1,008 NR
11. Oregon 4-0 944 #3
12. Boston College 4-0 927 #8
13. Clemson 4-0 807 #20
14. Kentucky 4-0 708 #24
15. Georgia 3-1 631 #10
16. South Carolina 3-1 586 NR
17. Virginia Tech 3-1 568 #11
18. South Florida 3-0 539 NR
19. Hawaii 4-0 471 #14
20. Missouri 4-0 401 #7
21. Penn State 3-1 337 NR
22. Alabama 3-1 265 #21
23. Arizona State 4-0 206 #9
24. Cincinnati 4-0 164 NR
25. Nebraska 3-1 134 NR

Teams NR in Week 4: #5 Kansas, #13 Michigan, #16 UCONN, #18 Auburn, #19 Bosie St., #22 Tennessee, #23 Virginia

It does appear that after the 4th week the rankings are much better. But even then Kansas and UCONN still have no love as they have not played anybody by week 4. But that is college football and the pre-season polls will never go away. It is why people go crazy over reading mags like Lindys in June.
 

cycloneworld

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But that is college football and the pre-season polls will never go away. It is why people go crazy over reading mags like Lindys in June.

Which is why things will never change. Just like everything else, there is too much money to be made with the current system.:skeptical:
 

everyyard

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the only reason is it is a way to give the teams with tradition, money, marketing, etc an inside track to BCS and better bowls. For example...see KU ranked behind several 1 loss teams still. In other words it is BS.
 

jumbopackage

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Ummm, ranking account for 2/3 of the BCS rankings so it's kind of important. It really hurts teams that were unranked to start the season. See Kansas.

It's not at all important, and this thread illustrates just that. Half the teams in the poll weren't in it to start the season. USC isn't magically still in the top 10 just because they were there to start the season and then went and lost a couple games. The BCS math-based polls (what I'm calling them now instead of computer polls, since they aren't REALLY computer polls, they just happen to be calculated in an objective way based on an established formula) mostly agree with the top 15 or so teams, and none of those polls that I"m aware of are biased by the pre-season polls.

The only poll that really matters in the BCS is the last one of the season, and since we haven't seen that yet, there really isn't much point in getting worked up about these rankings.

As an aside, the AP poll is not used in the BCS at any rate, though the coaches and the Harris Interactive both still are.
 

Wesley

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I thought Nebraska was going to win the North and maybe beat Oklahoma and Iowa was going to win the Big Ten and do NewYearsDay.
 

bjwitt

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this is soooooooo true, but if you were ranked preseason you have such an advantage than if you started unranked, i think its riiculous
 

Erik4Cy

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What about when #1 and #2 preseason stayed there the entire year in CFB? Texas and USC??? I think the preseason guys had it pretty much dead on then.

Yeah, there has been a lot of descrepancy THIS YEAR, but this hasn't been your average CFB year. I think you have to have SOMETHING to go off of to begin the year. You can't just say OKAY Troy is just as good as USC to start the year, all 119 teams are tied for #1...or #119 depending on how you look at it.

Don't want to be unranked like a Kansas was this year and fight yourself into the rankings? WIN. Bottom line, if you are a consistent winning football program you will find yourself where you want to be in the polls.

I am not trying to rain down on Kansas, because they are a helluva good football team, but who have they beaten? they have the easy big 12 south schedule this year (the one we get next year) they beat two big 12 teams whose coaches are or will be gone next year in neb and A&M...their non-conf. schedule was nothing compared to other top 25 teams. I know you play who is on your schedule, but there are a lot of teams with tougher schedules with one loss. So it's a tough argument whether undefeated without as many challenges is better or not than a one-loss against multiple challenges. But I still believe you have to have a preseason poll as something to go off of.
 

CloneFan65

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Here's the problem I see with the pre-season and early season rankings. Compare Ohio State and Kansas. Both are undefeated and in BCS conferences. Both have played "good" oponents and won, but neither has yet to be tested by a top 25 team. But why are the Buckeyes #1 and the Jayhawks #5? The only reason is the reputation of OSU's football program. This may not even be a problem with pre-season rankings, but more a problem with voters voting based on success in previous seasons.
 

everyyard

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this is soooooooo true, but if you were ranked preseason you have such an advantage than if you started unranked, i think its riiculous

exactly...its a nice subtle way to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. Look what Kansas has to do to even get in the top 5!!! I mean Michigan last week was practically even with them (#12 vs #9) and they had two losses. If you are OSU, USC, Mich, Texas, OU, etc...you want preseason polling. Otherwise you either don't care about your team or are blind to what it really is about.
 

jumbopackage

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this is soooooooo true, but if you were ranked preseason you have such an advantage than if you started unranked, i think its riiculous

You have 0 advantage, really. Again, the polls really don't mean anything until the end of the year. If you have more than 2 undefeated teams then yes, there might be some advantage to being ranked early. Again, the math-based polls give you no advantage for starting out on top.

I know you play who is on your schedule, but there are a lot of teams with tougher schedules with one loss. So it's a tough argument whether undefeated without as many challenges is better or not than a one-loss against multiple challenges. But I still believe you have to have a preseason poll as something to go off of.

I wouldn't say you HAVE to have a preseason poll. It's just the nature of college sports. The 1-loss-with-a-tough-schedule or undefeated-with-a-weak-one debate is an interesting one. What it basically boils down to is "how tough of a schedule is tough enough to justify 1 loss". I think that most BCS conference schedules are tough enough that if you win out, you should be in the NC game. Schools like ND are obviously in the same situation. Bottom line is, for BCS schools, you control your own destiny until you lose. Lose a game, and your fate is no longer in your own hands.

Here's the problem I see with the pre-season and early season rankings. Compare Ohio State and Kansas. Both are undefeated and in BCS conferences. Both have played "good" oponents and won, but neither has yet to be tested by a top 25 team. But why are the Buckeyes #1 and the Jayhawks #5? The only reason is the reputation of OSU's football program. This may not even be a problem with pre-season rankings, but more a problem with voters voting based on success in previous seasons.

The problem with Kansas is that their non-conference schedule is HORRIBLE. They played Florida International (0-9), Toledo, SE Louisiana State(1-AA) and Central Michigan. They also have the horrible Big 12 south schedule with Baylor, A&M and Okie State. If they win out, I think they are right up there with Ohio State, though, and I think the polls will reflect that. The other thing to remember is that Ohio State has one more win than Kansas.

exactly...its a nice subtle way to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. Look what Kansas has to do to even get in the top 5!!! I mean Michigan last week was practically even with them (#12 vs #9) and they had two losses. .

Michigan's two losses were to Oregon and Appy State. Appy State is hard to forgive, but Oregon is a very good team. Take the loss to appy state out, and you're looking at a top 4 or 5 team, on paper.

What does it matter where they are at now? Just because some random people decide to make a top 25, does it affect how good you are as a team?