Space, bitches, space
Great job, as always, Brian.
In the end, the BlogPoll rankings themselves might not have differed too dramatically from the final A.P. and coaches' top 25 polls, but I put a whole lot more trust in the legitimacy of the BlogPoll process because of the way in which it was conducted. Just imagine what it would look like if a sports reporter or an S.I.D. tried to do with the writers' and coaches' polls, respectively, what you have done with the BlogPoll.
In the end, perhaps the BlogPoll (like life) is more about the journey than the destination. That . . . or maybe it's just nice for all of us to know we're not alone in our obsessive-compulsive irrational devotion to our respective teams and to the nuances of the greatest game in the world.
Boi From Troi shouldn't be so bitter. In the weak ass Pac 10, they'll soon enough be able to perpetrate another "undefeated" season, I'm sure.
So BoiFromTroy *IS* Matt Leinart! I always had a sneaking suspicion.
If that's the case, I want to change my ballot. BG deserves a spot around #15.
Can BFJ be banned from the poll next year? Doesn't that count as an automatic DQ?
Jesus.
Please ban Boi.
He is a joke and makes the poll part of it.
I don't think you can ban the guy without at minimum eliciting a response from him. Maybe he did it by mistake. God knows if (if?) my team lost the Rose Bowl, my BlogPoll ballot would be about the last thing I'd want to devote my full attention to.
I don't really think Brian should unilaterally boot somebody just for wack ballots anyway. If that were the case, about half-a-dozen participants would already have been booted for much more recidivism in this regard than BFT. If Brian ever considers getting rid of somebody just for indefensible ballots, he should probably convene a panel of five respected voices from the blogosphere (or so) to study the matter.
The blogosphere HAS five respected voices? *laugh*
Banning isn't the answer, but a solid defense as to why a team that just lost on a neutral field to a team with an (at the time) equal record.
Second Peter's motion. By the way please help all of us promote this:
http://www.bruinsnation.com/stor...1/9/223721/
7710
GO BRUINS.
I have enjoyed the blog poll and can appreciate the input from its voters who each is in a position to know the merits of their own team and opponents. But of 25 spots on the poll, we can agree that there is one spot that is easier to determine than any other at season's end....No. 1
While awards can be decided subjectively on a ballot, championships are decided in a relatively objective manner on the field. It's black and white. Win or lose. To cast a vote for USC as #1 in the final poll is to render the BCS title game meaningless, and ironically, doing so must then indicate that last year's title--which USC did win--deserves little merit.
I have a lot more respect for a site like TrojanWire.com who doesn't let USC homer-ism blind him. TrojanWire and similar USC sites deserve to have a vote in the poll, showing they can contribute in an intelligent manner. Boi from Troy's ability to contribute to such a poll in a manner that would actually bring something to the table as opposed to simply being self-serving, is questionable and I would support the denial of his ballot in the future.
I wouldn't call it a neutral field, it was pretty much a home game.
After waiting all season for my ballot to show up in one of the 'extracurricular' lists, finally: my most manic-depressive effort of the season is #2 for Mr. Stubborn. I guess moving ten teams four slots or more, including four teams six or seven slots slots, was child's play compared to the rest of y'all's cracked-out ballots.
I agree with Skeetskeet and Tony.
I publicly questioned all along whether Notre Dame was a legitimate top 10 team and that led Ryno to call me "Anti-Catholic" over at E.D.S.B.S., so I can only imagine the sort of accusations to which I would be subjected if I leapt aboard the Boi ban bandwagon.
In all seriousness, though, a large part of the point of the BlogPoll is to encourage the exchange of ideas and provide a forum for advocates or detractors of particular teams to state their case, be given a fair hearing, and maybe even change some minds with persuasive arguments.
While I can't imagine how anyone could vote Southern Cal No. 1 after the Trojans lost the Rose Bowl, I also can't imagine how anyone could vote Southern Cal lower than No. 2, given the closeness of the national championship game . . . yet some voters dropped U.S.C. to No. 3 or No. 4, which is just as inconceivable to me. A No. 1 vote isn't particularly any more of an oddity than a No. 4 vote, in my opinion.
There is also the chance that Boi From Troy made an honest mistake and voted Southern Cal No. 1 out of sheer muscle memory. At one point, someone (I believe it was Warren St. John) accidentally voted for Louisiana Tech when he meant to vote for Louisiana State. Mistakes happen.
Should we ask Boi From Troy to explain his vote? Sure. Should we challenge his arguments if he voted Southern Cal No. 1 on purpose? Absolutely. But should we boot him out altogether? That seems extreme.
This may have given us something to argue about during the offseason. That's part of what I love about college football and part of why I despise the idea of a Division I-A playoff. Certitude can be boring; disagreement is the spice of life and, in college football, it's what gets us through the long, dark winter between New Year's Day and Labor Day.
Kyle is too damn reasonable ;)
tony: I second Kenny -- have you ever been in Pasadena for a USC Rose Bowl? It seems like the whole stadium is filled with Trojan fans.
While a #1 USC vote is shameless homerism, I don't think it's grounds for disqualification. This isn't the coaches' poll; nobody is contractually required to vote for the winner of the NC game.
However, public ballots mean we can ridicule the unreasonable. So, boifromtroy, your poll is dumb and stupidfaced. (Take that!)
Oklahoma team parlayed a victory over Oregon into the #20 spot, largely because down there a lot of nose-holding took place.
I don't think you have to hold your nose too much to rank Oklahoma that high. I mean, their losses came against Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, and UCLA. If I just did the math correctly in my head, those teams went a combined 44-5 this year.
I'm more comfortable with Oklahoma's rating than I am with, say, Oregon or Clemson. Not that I'm calling those two teams out...just that I think we may have been sleeping on the Sooners just a tad this year.
Thanks for your reasoned support, Kyle. I agree, otherwise we violate the spirit of the poll.
I stand corrected. Which means losing a "home game" to a team that is now the only undefeated team in CFB leaves even less room to claim a #1 spot.
Remember Oklahoma was withing two awful calls on the final drive of the Texas Tech game from being 9-3 with the toughest schedule in the nation according to Sagarin. After Notre Dame was toyed with by OSU they finished 9-3 with zero quality wins and a loss against a bad Michigan St. team. Notre Dame has no business anywhere near the top ten.
I'm not sure I understand the dogging on OU.
I'll be the first to admit, I was incredibly critical of the Sooners to start the year. Following the texas game, however, they completely turned the corner and "lost" only the texas tech game (in Lubbock on two controversial calls) going 7-1.
This was a team that lost 8 offensive starters and 7 defensive starters. 13 of those 15 players were at a minimum All-Big XII in 2004 (5 were All-Americans and won other big national individual awards).
I'm not sure how many of you watched the Holiday Bowl, but it was one of those games where the score wasn't a reflection of the performance. OU dominated on both sides of the ball and should have won by a larger margin.
Oregon scored a TD at the end of the game after converting a 1st down following a fake FG. Pass interference was called against OU on the fake but the ball that was thrown landed out of bounds....by about 3 yards and should have been called uncatchable thus OU's ball on downs. Also, OU fumbled on Oregon's 1 yard line just prior to that when Peterson tried to stretch his arm out for the TD (an arguement could be made that he was down but really it's not worth getting worked up about). (http://tamu-and-baseball.com/archives/
arch20051225.html#holidaybowl)
OU was completely legit this season and scares the tar out of me in the future.
Keep in mind that I'm saying this with the taste of a humiliating 77-0 loss still in my mouth.
sorry, the last message was from me.
I think Boi From Troy must have turned off the TV and started celebrating when he saw "the greatest team in all of sports in the history of the universe" up by 12 points with 6 minutes left.
Can anyone send him a tape of the end of the game?
I think Boi From Troy must have turned off the TV and started celebrating when he saw "the greatest team in all of sports in the history of the universe" up by 12 points with 6 minutes left.
Hell, if that counts, Michigan had a 1 loss season this year! Can turn a blind eye on missed field goals or "probable touchdowns that should have gotten reviewed right before a goal line fumble"? Cause I think Michigan and Texas still have a game to play...
Excellent point, Tony. Can we retroactively declare all 2005 games 55 minutes long? If so, we're going for the two-lloyd next year.
As long as Tony is giving us permission to bend the rules of time and space, how 'bout if we 'Dawg fans can go back and make every game 62 minutes long instead of 60?
Tack 120 more seconds onto Georgia's three losses and the Bulldogs might have beaten Florida, almost certainly would have beaten Auburn, and unquestionably would have won the Sugar Bowl. . . .
Maybe the NCAA won't agree, but I've heard a second and a third on the motion to allow 2006 BlogPollers the power to twist game results in any way possible to benefit their team.
The motion is carried!
Democracy in action!
Discussion, debate, thrust, parry, point, counterpoint, concession, persuasion . . . then a decision reached by a vote that gives the victors the spoils of their victory and the losers the satisfaction of a fair hearing and an honest fight.
Give me a good, old-fashioned, all-American poll-voting republic over an unforgiving, formulaic, contrived mechanical playoff empire any day of the week and twice on Saturday. . . .
In a related item, I would like to take this opportunity to announce my intention to run for re-election to the mayoralty of the capital of the college football blogosphere.
We'll support you for mayor if you'll support our candidacy for shadowy, crippled leader of worldwide crime syndicate. Either that or the internet equivalent of HUD secretary, we're not picky.
Boi, whose final vote was obviously in protest, deserves no sanction here. Wasn't the Rose Bowl enough?
And Tony, we're with you here: show me five respected voices on the internet, and we'll sell you the flatbed full of unicorns we've got outside for the low price of thirty-two dollars flat. Going once, going twice...
I got Mr. Numb Existence? Damn. Need to find ways to be wackier.
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