2008 BlogPoll Ballot: Week 5
September 30th, 2008 | 
Author: Here’s my ballot for this week’s College Football BlogPoll which, as always, is hosted by MGOBlog.
Week 5
Through 28 September 2008
My, my, my… How things sure do change in only one short week. After all the craziness of the past weekend in the world of college football, there are a lot of changes in my BlogPoll ballot for this week. Most of these should be fairly obvious. Either way, here’s my ballot. Explanations after the jump…
My Ballot for the Week
|
Rank
|
Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Oklahoma |  1 |
|
2
|
Alabama | 7 |
|
3
|
LSU | 1 |
|
4
|
Missouri | 1 |
|
5
|
Penn State | 3 |
|
6
|
Texas | 4 |
|
7
|
Auburn | 6 |
|
8
|
Southern Cal |  7 |
|
9
|
Georgia | 6 |
|
10
|
Texas Tech | 1 |
|
11
|
Florida | 5 |
|
12
|
Ohio State | 2 |
|
13
|
South Florida | 4 |
|
14
|
Utah | 1 |
|
15
|
Brigham Young | 1 |
|
16
|
Vanderbilt | 3 |
|
17
|
Wisconsin | 10 |
|
18
|
Oregon | 2 |
|
19
|
Wake Forest | 7 |
|
20
|
Kansas | 1 |
|
21
|
Boise State | 2 |
|
22
|
Fresno State | 2 |
|
23
|
Oklahoma State | 3 |
|
24
|
Connecticut | 2 |
|
25
|
California | 1 |
Dropped Out: Colorado (#18), Illinois (#22), Clemson (#25).
Oh boy, now don’t we have something to think about…
Comments, Explanations, and Excuses
Here are the high-points of the week’s changes:
Oklahoma (1) & Alabama (2):
The Oklahoma Sooners assume the top spot this week in the wake of the clear-out that occurred in the Top 5. I gave Oklahoma the No. 1 ranking because I think they have earned it. In fairness, however, I think Alabama has almost as good a claim to at the top of the poll—if not a better one. That said, in the interest of not appearing to be a complete SEC homer, I opted to give the benefit of the doubt to Oklahoma since they were already at No. 2 last week, and handled TCU with ease.
The way I see it, the rest of the season will sort these two out…
I imagine a few might take issue with Alabama’s meteoric rise this week—particularly LSU (3) and Missouri (4)—but the Tide put on a clinic versus the Georgia Bulldogs (9) and look like the mid-season favorite to win the SEC. This is especially true considering that the Auburn Tigers (7) barely beat the Tennessee Volunteers (NR) (sigh…) and the Florida Gators (11) have hardly looked impressive in their loss to the Ole Miss Rebels (NR).
Returners & First Timers:
This week sees three faces that weren’t around last week. First is Oklahoma State (23) which, at 4-0 is looking better than I anticipated. The same is true for Connecticut (24) who is 5-0 with several nice wins. Both these teams have the potential to rise quickly if they can continue their winning ways in conference play. This is especially true for Oklahoma State since they are just beginning their Big XII conference schedule.
The other new face this week is the California Golden Bears (25) who lost to the Maryland Terrapins (NR) two weeks ago, but bounced back by pummeling Colorado State (NR). Furthermore, as Clemson (NR) learned the hard way, the Terps are not exactly a pushover. Maryland is on my bubble and are likely to appear in my Top 25 in the near future if they keep winning.
“Now Departing at Gate 21…”:
I hated to see the Illinois Illini bid farewell this week, because I really love what Ron Zook has done to revitalize that program. Their loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions, however, really necessitates that change. As the season progresses, I imagine they will return.
The Clemson Tigers earned their walking papers by not taking care of business against Maryland. I really thought Clemson was going to be tough this year. In fact, I picked them to win the ACC (which shows what I know).
Finally, though it pains me to do so, I dropped the Colorado Buffaloes after their loss to the Florida State Seminoles (NR).
The Rest of the BlogPoll
Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work. I promise that I will consider all comments.
As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted, how your team fared across the blogosphere, and view the weekly results each Wednesday over at MGOBlog.
– Go Figure ….gif "2008 BlogPoll Ballot: Week 5")
About the Author: "Lawvol" -- I'm just a guy living in North Carolina who has an unnatural fascination with the color orange. Just because I'm a Tennessee alum and die-hard Volunteer fan doesn't mean that I can't poke a little fun at the Big Orange and anybody else for that matter.
Feel free to complain all you want. >> Read more from this author
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Posted in BlogPoll, College Football, SEC Football | 
Tags: Auburn Tigers, Big XII, Blogosphere, California Golden Bears, Clemson Tigers, Colorado Buffaloes, Colorado State Rams, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Football, Gate 21, Georgia Bulldogs, Illinois Illini, Maryland Terrapins, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Ole Miss Rebels, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ron Zook, SEC, Tennessee Volunteers, UConn Huskies
4 Responses to “2008 BlogPoll Ballot: Week 5”
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- @allthingsvols Yes, I know about that all too well. It was fun, but the show must go on. Besides, I am super excited about going to VN.
- Gate 21 Post: A Changing of the Guard… - As I mentioned the other day, any of you that have regularly read Gate 21 ... http://ow.ly/16vnT0
- lawvol A Changing of the Guard%26hellip; http://bit.ly/bHW8gW - The Gate is officially closed
- Gate 21 Post: Changes Afoot - For those of you who are regular readers around here, you have doubtless noticed that... http://ow.ly/16tvjB
- Gate 21 Post: HLL: Lane Kiffin Leaves USC For Dream Job At GameStop http://ow.ly/16ppcv
- lawvol HLL: Lane Kiffin Leaves USC For Dream Job At GameStop http://bit.ly/5rSc79
- Gate 21 Post: HLL: “Leave You Like Kiffin” - Video: Leave You Like Kiffin The Newest from SwiperBoy: HT / via... http://ow.ly/16mOL2
- Gate 21 Post: HLL: Tennessee to Hire Derek Dooley - GVX: Tennessee hiring Derek Dooley “Multiple media sources are ... http://ow.ly/16lFJg
- Gate 21 Post: HLL: Cutcliffe to Stay at Duke - David Cutcliffe will be staying at Duke HT / via: Scout.com Not ... http://ow.ly/16lFJf
- I am thrilled to welcome Coach... http://is.gd/6lCGO
- I am thrilled to welcome Coach #Dooley to the #Tennessee family. We're all behind you. Go #Vols !
- @wshelton2 BTW thanks for having me on last night. Enjoyed it.
- RT @wshelton2: "Be mad at Kiffin. Disagree with Hamilton if you want. But support Dooley." +1
- RT@wesrucker:"I'll say this much for Derek Dooley. He wanted the job and is very excited about it. #Vols fans should appreciate that." AGREE
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Just curious: would you describe yourself as more of a power poll type or a resume poll type?
I am somewhat of a mix of both. My ballot usually goes through 3 revisions before I put it online. First, I start from the perspective of resume to make my initial ranking.
Then I go back through and assess from a Power Poll perspective (at least as I understand a Power Poll to work — who would beat who on a neutral field). I do the second part by looking at the intangibles, who lost valiantly/won ugly, who has weaknesses at a given position, strength of schedule, distractions/disadvantages and momentum/advantages, etc.
Lastly, I look at some other polls to see if I either missed something or if I think I have an indefensible ranking for a given team. This is especially true for teams which I didn’t have on my ballot after the first 2 steps (i.e. I forgot didn’t think of them).
In all honesty, I don’t think there is any way to remove inherent bias for and against certain criteria, teams, conference, and so forth.
For me, strength of schedule to date is probably the most important non-”wins and losses” factor between otherwise equal teams. In the end, however, it’s really just a judgment call.
Makes sense. That’s probably more effort than most – especially that triple-bypass system you use – and it probably captures just about everything that should factor into a ranking.
Thanks.
Of course no one goes to the lengths that you and the Jr. Papa go to in terms of the RTT ballot. I mean, he developed a spreadsheet with all sorts of formulas, numbers, calculations, and other things which are completely beyond me
I’s not good at cipherin’
Thus, I use a more subjective approach…