There really is nothing like the pageantry and tradition of college football. Â Of course, by “pageantry” I mean landscape-shattering conference realignment, and by “tradition” I mean the arrival of the autumn Notice of Inquiry. Â There was also some football to be played, although no one bothered to tell Joe Bauserman.
In keeping with their general rule of not even faking it anymore, the Coaches’ Poll knocked Florida State down the requisite ~10 spots from #5 to #14 for losing to the #1 team in the country. Â For the sake of comparison, Ohio State was dropped from #16 to #26 for losing to a team that still isn’t even ranked, and somehow managed to snag 53 fewer points in the poll than the offensively offensive Buckeyes this week. Â On top of that, Michigan State handed Notre Dame their first win of the year and dropped from #15 to #23. Â Those three losses couldn’t be any more different and yet they each get the exact same treatment from the coaches, who once again simply bumped everyone else up to fill in FSU’s vacated spot.
Like clockwork, Michigan joins the poll at #21 just so we can all pretend to be so very shocked when they tank in the Big Ten. Â And the ACC gets some poll love this week with newcomers #22 Clemson, #24 Georgia Tech, and #25 North Carolina. Â This is most likely because many voters thought they had been accepted into the conference as well.
This week’s poll is perhaps the most glaring recent example of how insulting the BCS system is. Â There was clearly no thought put into the rankings this week, and the Florida State drop is particularly maddening. Â Shouldn’t there be some consideration for scheduling big-name opponents? Â There is no SOS consideration in the BCS formula except for the assumption that voters think about it when filling out their ballots. Â Has that vanished from the coaches’ poll? Â Was it ever there?
Expand, conferences, expand. Â You’re our only hope.
Let’s not exempt the AP voters from the same scorn cast on the coaches’ poll. If I recall, 5 or 6 AP voters had OSU ranked higher than Miami after Saturday night’s debacle.
Unacceptable.
I focus on the Coaches’ Poll because it’s actually part of the BCS formula despite being the most absurd of all the polls out there. At least AP voters can argue that they watch several games each weekend and they don’t officially affect the BCS standings (even though they still kind of do).
Ultimately, all polls are stupid and useless (except for the illustrious and impeccable BlogPoll unless we don’t get paid for that) and should be rendered obsolete by a playoff as soon as possible please.
Good point. I just wanted to get in a jab at the AP poll while we’re at it.