Wolfe Reports » AP Poll

Polling: Back, for another week, the undefeated six

Wes Wolfe — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:35:26 +0000

It’s doubtful that anytime in the modern era of college football there have been six undefeated teams, ranked Nos. 1-6, going into the final week season (not counting Army-Navy on Dec. 12). As such, not much changed, even after a run of upsets. There remains the distinct possibility of four undefeated teams topping the polls when all is said and done. That would require the winner of the SEC Championship to win the national title game, Cincinnati to beat the loser of the SECCG, and TCU and Boise State to be victorious in their games. If such a thing happens, the issue will probably dominate ESPN for a solid week.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9868)
2. Alabama (.9513)
3. Texas (.9282)
4. TCU (.8689)
5. Cincinnati (.8547)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida (53)
2. Texas (3)
3. Alabama (3)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida (82)
2. Texas (15)
3. Alabama (12)
4. TCU (4)
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida (46)
2. Alabama (7)
3. Texas (7)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

The only real changes came in the first place votes. In each one of the polls, Texas and Alabama lost votes to Florida, while TCU collected one more in the Harris Poll. The computers like Florida and Alabama equally, as the two are tied at No. 1. More or less, the computers and the human polls are looking pretty similar at the top, though the ones and zeroes types have Cincinnati in the No. 3 spot with Texas at No. 4 and TCU at No. 5.

Polling: The computers love the Tide

Wes Wolfe — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:30:20 +0000

Hey, look — mainframes! It’s hard not to think of these behemoths, and their sleeker ’90s counterparts, when thinking of the bank of computer polls being used as a third of the BCS formula. This week, for whatever reason, the computers were near-unanimous in picking Alabama as No. 1. Only the Anderson & Hester index didn’t, but since the top and the bottom polls are thrown out, Bama rolled to a perfect 1.000 average among the silicon set.

The human polls see it differently, so the Top Five looks the same.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9664)
2. Alabama (.9614)
3. Texas (.9263)
4. TCU (.8699)
5. Cincinnati (.8591)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida (47)
2. Texas (4)
3. Alabama (8)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida (78)
2. Texas (18)
3. Alabama (15)
4. TCU (3)
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida (36)
2. Alabama (13)
3. Texas (11)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Yeah, that’s the same as last week, with some first-place votes moving around. TCU took one each from Texas and Alabama in the Harris Poll, while the Tide took one from Florida in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Frankly, with most of the major races in the country already decided, the only think that can flip the script is a spectacular upset. Of course, Alabama and Florida will play in the de facto national championship play-in game, Texas and Nebraska meet in the Big XII Championship Game, Georgia Tech and Clemson will play in the ACC title tilt, Oregon and Oregon State play for the Pac-10 championship, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh go for all the marbles in the Big East and Ohio State has already locked up the Big Ten.

Certainly, the next two weeks will decide conference winners, BCS bids and where everyone else goes in the major bowls. All you can pull for now, beyond those planned eventualities, is straight-up chaos. Texas, Alabama and Florida all lose to lesser rivals. Pitt beats Cincinnati, but TCU and Boise State advance to the national championship game. The Fiesta gets Texas, the Sugar gets the Florida/Bama winner and — surprise! — the SEC runs out of bowl spots and Carolina gets to shop for an at-large bid.

The Mountain West-WAC smackdown in Pasadena gets a decent amount of viewers. For five minutes. It then becomes the lowest-rated national championship game in years. Gnashing of teeth. People shooting their televisions. A parody of parity. Texas versus Iowa in the Fiesta and Alabama/Florida against Pitt don’t get many eyes, either. People swear off college football.

Floods.

Droughts.

Locusts.

Before you throw yourself out the window, we’re still probably going to see two hyper-talented, powerful teams meet for the national title. And that’s a good thing.

Polling: Same as it ever was

Wes Wolfe — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:10:07 +0000

Barring some very bizarre events in the next three weeks, we’ve got your Top Six and guarantees for the major bowl games. Alabama, Florida, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State will all likely head into the first week of December undefeated. Either the Crimson Tide or Gators will play Texas for it all, and the “BCS busters” will also make BCS games with unblemished records.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.984)
2. Alabama (.952)
3. Texas (.923)
4. TCU (.862)
5. Cincinnati (.858)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida (48)
2. Texas (4)
3. Alabama (7)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida (78)
2. Texas (19)
3. Alabama (16)
4. TCU (1)
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida (36)
2. Alabama (14)
3. Texas (10)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Because it’s unlikely that TCU, Boise State or Cincinnati will play each other, that means we could well end up with three undefeated teams after it’s all over. One title will go to the BCS champ. The AP could run with another team, but since Florida, Alabama and Texas have topped the rankings for so long, the winner of the title game will probably get the AP behind it, too.

Bowl’d
So, here’s how it stacks up.

BCS National Championship Game
Alabama or Florida v. Texas
Fiesta Bowl
Iowa v. Boise State
Sugar Bowl
Alabama or Florida v. Cincinnati
Orange Bowl
Georgia Tech v. TCU
Rose Bowl
Oregon v. Ohio State

The SEC now has nine teams that are bowl-eligible, including five of six teams in the SEC West. If Tennessee beats Vanderbilt or Kentucky, the Vols will make it 10. And, with two BCS teams, everybody moves up a slot.

Capital One Bowl
LSU v. Penn State
Outback Bowl
Ole Miss v. Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl
Arkansas v. Oklahoma State
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Georgia v. Clemson
Music City Bowl
Tennessee v. North Carolina
Liberty Bowl
Auburn v. SMU
Independence Bowl
Kentucky v. Iowa State
Papajohns.com Bowl
South Carolina v. West Virginia

Polling: Mike Wilbon laughs at your tears

Wes Wolfe — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:35:05 +0000

Prominent Northwestern grad, Washington Post writer and ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon had a pretty good day on Saturday, watching his purple-clad Wildcats kill Iowa’s national championship hopes. The Hawkeyes dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 in the BCS standings, No. 9 to No. 11 in the Harris Poll, No. 9 to No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and (though it doesn’t matter), No. 8 to No. 15 in the AP Poll. Gah, you’re probably going to hear about this all during “PTI” on Monday.

In other news, Alabama moved back to No. 2, displacing Texas. What’s bizarre is that last week, when Bama had a bye, the sportswriters, coaches and “Harris Poll voters” slid the Crimson Tide to No. 3. After Bama beat a Top 10 team in LSU, the Tide is supposed to still be No. 3? That’s asinine. Three computer polls have Alabama at No. 1, one at No. 2 and two at No. 3.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9842)
2. Alabama (.9516)
3. Texas (.9234)
4. TCU (.8620)
5. Cincinnati (.8580)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Yes, it all looks the same. That’s good, for what it’s worth. Barring a playoff, it’s nice to see that all the polls are shaping up the same. As well, we’re getting excited about the possibility of Alabama returning to postseason action in Pasadena. The Tide haven’t done that since 1945, when Bama beat the hell out of Southern Cal and after that, the West Coast teams and Big Ten claimed the Rose Bowl for themselves.

Alabama in Pasadena
1925: Alabama 20, Washington 19
1926: Alabama 19, Stanford 19
1930: Alabama 24, Washington State 0
1934: Alabama 29, Stanford 13
1937: Alabama 0, California 13
1945: Alabama 34, Southern Cal 14

Ain’t nothing wrong with a 4-1-1 record and a few national championships. The Crimson Tide put Southern football on the map with the win over Washington — before that, it was all about the Ivy League, the service academies, Penn State and Notre Dame. You’re welcome, SEC.

There’s three more games left before the SEC Championship Game of the Century II, but it can’t come quick enough.

Polling: Texas makes insignifcant move to No. 2

Wes Wolfe — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:35:16 +0000

Well, how about that — Florida and Texas wait until last week to rediscover how to dominate an opponent, dropping 40+ on Georgia and Oklahoma State, respectively. Alabama had a very tough, defensive game against Idle, which the Tide beat by a field goal. The move at the top means very little when it comes down to it. In the event Bama wins against LSU this weekend, we’re pretty certain the Tide will go back to No. 2 on the homestretch to the SEC Championship Game.

The biggest news was Southern Cal having its era of Pac-10 rule showing signs of coming to a close, with Oregon laying it on the Trojans in a high-scoring affair. That didn’t stop the voters from keeping Southern Cal ranked too high, keeping the team has the highest-ranked two-loss squad in the country. The good news about the polls, though, is that every undefeated team is at the top.

TOP FIVE
BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9918)
2. Texas (.9227)
3. Alabama (.9166)
4. Iowa (.8407)
5. Cincinnati (.8033)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Boise State

Harris Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Boise State
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State

Thanks to losses on Saturday, Carolina and Ole Miss dropped out of the polls, leaving Florida, Alabama and LSU as the only ranked SEC teams. Unless something dramatic happens, all three will stay ranked through the end of the season. If Auburn, Carolina and Tennessee can have a good final few weeks, they might crack the poll, too.

Bowl’d
The only change in the BCS bowls is that Oregon will probably be going to the Rose Bowl to face Iowa. But, with the wins and losses over the past week, who goes where from the SEC looks a little different.

BCS National Championship Game
Florida or Alabama v. Texas
Sugar Bowl
Florida or Alabama v. Cincinnati
Capital One Bowl
LSU v. Ohio State
Cotton Bowl
Ole Miss v. Oklahoma
Chick-fil-A Bowl
South Carolina v. Virginia Tech
Outback Bowl
Auburn v. Wisconsin
Liberty Bowl
Kentucky v. Houston
Music City Bowl
Tennessee v. Florida State
Independence Bowl
Georgia v. Texas A&M
Papajohns.com Bowl
Arkansas v. West Virginia