blogpoll ballots

Blogpoll Ballot Week 11 Comment Count

Brian

Late, but I did get this in before deployment. Quickly:

ITEMS

Top eight. Are solid at this point. I'm going to have to start thinking about when to slide OU/UO above Boise, except I won't because those teams will either beat their undefeated conference rivals and obviously slide above or… like… not do so.

Will be interesting to watch the rest of Georgia's season play out. They've picked themselves off the turf after their 0-2 start and now control their own destiny to the conference title game. Win out against Auburn, GT, and UK and all Georgia will have to do to send up a Boise MNC hue and cry is keep it close into the fourth. That would be better than they could manage against Boise in the opener.

Next up. The nine through eleven spots are the land of one-loss teams I have zero faith in.  I don't know, man. Penn State keeps winning. Their loss is pretty explicable. Their wins are not. VT and Arkansas are similarly myserious, though Arkansas is

After that. USC leaps up almost by default. They leap MSU, who struggled against Minnesota and saw its Michigan win take a hit, and benefit from an admittedly irrational hatred of this South Carolina team plus a totally rational hatred of Michigan's offense. Oh, and Nebraska found out what it's like to be a Big Ten team located in the midst of a bunch of corn playing Northwestern: not fun.

Michigan. Still with only the two losses and the Notre Dame win, but they're just hanging on at this point.

Comments

MGoNukeE

November 7th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^

I think you need to turn your server clocks back Brian. I caught this post as it was being posted, and the timestamp is being read as an hour too late.

Joined: 11/11/2009

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joeyb

November 7th, 2011 at 4:38 PM ^

I know Bama is no longer undefeated, but I honestly don't get how you can put them behind Stanford and Oklahoma State. Bama hasn't allowed a single team, to score more than 14 points. The fewest points that they scored, aside from against LSU, was @PSU, which is probably the best defense in the B1G.

Oklahoma State puts up a lot of points, but they also give up a lot of points. Stanford hasn't played anyone yet. The best team they played, they took to triple overtime and won on a fumble recovery.

Joined: 10/12/2008

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Jonadan

November 7th, 2011 at 5:15 PM ^

I mean, on the one hand 'Bama lost by 3 in OT and should have won if they hadn't borrowed the Michigan 2010 kicking game.  Stanford squeaked by USC etc.

On the other hand, OKS hasn't lost.  Stanford hasn't lost.  It's that fine line between record and theoretical matchups.  My gut feel says OKState is close enough that the record gives them an edge for #2, but Alabama should be #3 and 'furd drops: but we're talking fine lines here.

Joined: 09/03/2011

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WolvinLA2

November 7th, 2011 at 5:30 PM ^

Ask yourself if OK St or Stanford would beat Alabama on a neutral field. I think both would get crushed. There's your answer. Also - and this could have something to do with the fact that I hate USC, but WTF? They have played three good teams, and lost to two of them. Just like us. ASU isn't looking any better than Iowa after their loss to UCLA and no non-ND that USC has beaten is even bowl worthy. They should be one of the low two loss teams, down by us.

Joined: 11/13/2009

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joeyb

November 7th, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^

Look at the matchups against the top 3 opponents using Brian's ranking

Bama: #1 LSU (6-9), #9 Arkansas (38-14), @ #11 PSU (27-11)

OSU: @ #18 Texas (38-26), Pick 2 unranked teams

Stanford: @ #12 USC (56-48), Pick 2 unranked teams

I mean, Bama's 3rd best team they played is better than the best teams that either OSU and Stanford played. All 3 games are on the road and Bama's was by the largest margin. The LSU game basically validated that those two teams are equals in my eyes.

Bama has played the meat of their schedule and the other two still have games to play, so it's not like they can't prove themselves by winning out. However, until I see Stanford handle Oregon and probably win their championship game or Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma, I don't even really see how you can put either of those teams ahead of Bama.

Joined: 10/12/2008

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WolvinLA2

November 7th, 2011 at 6:26 PM ^

Yeah, but even if Stanford beats Oregon, they'll play either Arizona State or UCLA(!) in the championship game, neither of which will boost their resume much, and the Big 12 doesn't have a champ game anymore, so that's that with them.  Each team has one game to look good, that's it.

Joined: 11/13/2009

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MGlobules

November 7th, 2011 at 4:54 PM ^

at the end assumes less relevant since we were pretty effective and in fact scored. I still don't think 2 is a gimme, nor do I think the hoopla at the end should obscure the crapola that occupied us for the other 60 minutes. Here's hoping we go all SpreaDenard the last three games and it's all an evil plot. (In his autobiography Borges will admit he thought he had Iowa bagged, and was keeping SpreaDenard under wraps in order to administer the coup de grace to OSU's season.)  

Joined: 11/17/2008

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WolvinLA2

November 7th, 2011 at 5:35 PM ^

Also - why Georgia over South Carolina? They have the same record, and SC won the head to head. Don't punish South Carolina because they had to play Arkansas and Georgia doesn't.

Joined: 11/13/2009

MGoPoints: 58189