Tuesday, October 31, 2006
BlogPoll Rough Draft de la Mancha
"Although it's true I'm pretty clever, and I'm something of a rascal, but all that's well hidden under this always easy and natural disguise of behaving like a fool." --Don Quixote, Vol. II, Ch. 8.
Two weeks ago, I made the ill-fated and hindsight-addled desicion to use the USC> Akansas> Auburn> Florida> Tennessee> California victory chain to determine #3-8 of my BlogPoll ballot. The following week, I backpeddled furiously while flailing in all directions and furrowing my brow in a vain attempt to understand just how to go about ranking teams in a poll such as the BlogPoll. But unexpectedly, support for the victory-chain vote came pouring in from all (both) of my fans and I made the decision that I would go back to that method of voting this week.
Then USC lost. Sons of a....
Here's the problem: USC still has the same record as Arkansas, and that plus a win over the Razorbacks should keep USC at the head of the victory chain and #3 overall. But, USC lost to Oregon State. The Beavers. And the way the Trojans are playing over the last month or so lets me know they aren't the number three team in America. What to do? Only this, the most regrettable BlogPoll ballot yet, followed by Quixotic tilting at windmills and a general feeling that I'm starting to hate blogs and polls, both individually and collectively; voting; ballots; and college football in general, but specifically Southern Cal.
The Ballot:
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Michigan | -- |
| 3 | Arkansas |  10 |
| 4 | Auburn |  1 |
| 5 | Florida | 1 |
| 6 | Tennessee | -- |
| 7 | California | -- |
| 8 | Southern Cal | 3 |
| 9 | Boston College | 1 |
| 10 | Texas | 2 |
| 11 | West Virginia | -- |
| 12 | Louisville | -- |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 1 |
| 14 | Rutgers | 2 |
| 15 | Boise State | 2 |
| 16 | LSU | 2 |
| 17 | Georgia Tech | 4 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 4 |
| 20 | Clemson | 11 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 1 |
| 22 | Virginia Tech | 4 |
| 23 | Washington State | -- |
| 24 | Tulsa | 2 |
| 25 | Wake Forest | 1 |
Let me give some basics:
A) OSU and Michigan are 1 and 2 regardless, let's not even bother.
B) West Virginia might be the best college football team in the history of the game, but I wouldn't know because they don't play anybody. Ditto Louisville.
C) Why does USC drop while the rest of the victory chain remains intact? Because of rampant SEC homerism. Also, Arkansas is getting better as the year progresses and Southern Cal is getting worse. USC hasn't done anything impressive since beating an Arkansas team that didn't have its starting quarterback ready and whose best player wasn't at 100%. Arkansas struggled with Vandy and Bama after losing to USC, but have destroyed everything else in their path since, including...
D) Auburn, a top-5 team in my book, as are Florida, Tennessee, and Cal. Too many hogs, not enough trough.
E) I do understand the inherent problems with relying on a victory chain, as in this victory chain from 2003 that links UT-Martin to BCS National Champion LSU. I don't think this year's particular chain is going out on a limb as much as the 2003 chain.
So am I happy with Arkansas as my #3 team? Meh. I do think they deserve it, though, for now, but I also hope they prove me wrong, especially in two weeks when they host Tennessee.
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