BP Poll - Week Eleven

[LordJeffBuck]

Please submit your ballots by noon tomorrow.

Only nine ballots so far - please submit yours soon.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Here are the results of the 2011 week eleven BP poll:

01. Louisiana State 250 (10)
02. Oklahoma State 238
03. Alabama 230
04. Oregon 221
05. Oklahoma 201
06. Arkansas 200
07. Stanford 188
08. Clemson 185
09. Virginia Tech 177
10. Houston 134
11. Georgia 131
12. Michigan State 130
13. Wisconsin 124
14. South Carolina 122
15. Boise State 117
16. Nebraska 112
17. Kansas State 99
18. Penn State 69
19. Southern Cal 65
20. Texas Christian 53
21. Michigan 52
22. Southern Miss 45
23. Florida State 31
24. Georgia Tech 16
24. West Virginia 16


Others receiving votes: Notre Dame 13; Baylor 13; Texas 9; Virginia 3; Cincinnati 3; Tulsa 2

 

[BB73]

Looks like I was the only one to list Tulsa.

01. LSU
02. Okla St
03. Alabama
04, Oregon
05. Arkansas
06. Oklahoma
07. Clemson
08. Va Tech
09. Stanford
10. Houston
11. Boise St
12. Georgia
13. Sparty
14. Wisconsin
15. Nebraska
16. Kansas St
17. S Carolina
18. Penn St
19. Southern Miss
20. TSUN
21. Ga Tech
22. Florida St
23. TCU
24. Tulsa
25. West Va

 

[Muck]

1 LSU
2 Oklahoma St
3 Oregon
4 Alabama
5 Stanford
6 Arkansas
7 Virginia Tech
8 Oklahoma
9 Clemson
10 Wisconsin
11 Nebraska
12 Sparty
13 Houston
14 South Carolina
15 Georgia
16 Kansas St
17 Penn St.
18 TSUN
19 BSU
20 Baylor
21 Texas
22 West Virginia
23 Southern Miss
24 Florida St.
25 Notre Dame

 

[sepia5]

1. LSU (--)
2. Oklahoma St. (+1)
3. Alabama (+1)
4. Oregon (+1)
5. Oklahoma (+1)
6. Arkansas (+1)
7. Stanford (-5)
8. Clemson (+1)
9. Virginia Tech (+1)
10. Wisconsin (+1)
11. Houston (+2)
12. Nebraska (+2)
13. Boise St. (-5)
14. Michigan St. (+1)
15. South Carolina (+1)
16. Georgia (+1)
17. Penn St. (-5)
18. Kansas St. (--)
19. Georgia Tech (+2)
20. USC (+2)
21. TCU (NR)
22. scUM (+3)
23. Southern Miss (-1)
24. West Virginia (NR)
25. Florida State (NR)

Dropped out: Texas (19), Cincinnati (20), Auburn (24)

I hate Boise as much as the next guy, but they did beat UGA earlier in the season in what was effectively a home game for the Dawgs, so I have to keep them above UGA. I'm also keeping South Carolina ahead of them for now . . . .

 

[Bucklion]

1. LSU
2. Oklahoma State
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Arkansas
7. Clemson
8. Virginia Tech
9. Stanford
10. Houston
11. Georgia
12. South Carolina
13. Michigan State
14. Wisconsin
15. USC
16. Kansas State
17. Boise State
18. Nebraska
19. Southern Miss
20. TCU
21. Michigan
22. Penn State
23. Florida State
24. Notre Dame
25. West Virginia

Tough at the end...I hate teams that don't play anyone as much as the next guy, but I think Southern Miss and Houston could give a lot of teams ranked 15-25 a lot of hell.

 

[sepia5]

What is the thought of everyone who has ranked UGA ahead of Boise when Boise went across the country and beat the Dawgs in their home state earlier this season? Do you rank according to who you believe is better at this point of the season and simply think that UGA has improved and Boise has regressed? Do you mean to punish Boise for their comparatively weak schedule? Or do you just hate you some Boise?

 

[Gatorubet]

What is the thought of everyone who has ranked UGA ahead of Boise when Boise went across the country and beat the Dawgs in their home state earlier this season? Do you rank according to who you believe is better at this point of the season and simply think that UGA has improved and Boise has regressed? Do you mean to punish Boise for their comparatively weak schedule? Or do you just hate you some Boise?

Yes.

 

[Jake]

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma State
5. Stanford
6. Arkansas
7. Oklahoma
8. Clemson
9. Virginia Tech
10. South Carolina
11. Boise State
12. Georgia
13. Wisconsin
14. Nebraska
15. Michigan State
16. TCU
17. Kansas State
18. USC
19. Michigan
20. Penn State
21. Baylor
22. West Virginia
23. Florida State
24. Houston
25. Southern Mississippi

Oklahoma State is undefeated, but I think that's just a matter of having not played LSU while Oregon and Alabama did otherwise. I'm still not sold on the Cowboys defense. I succumbed to ranking Houston and Southern Miss, but not to the lofty levels of others. Southern Miss lost to Marshall. Houston beat Louisiana Tech by a point and UTEP by 7. Not sold on either, although I do think they could make the CUSA title game more interesting than usual. Georgia got beat soundly by Boise. They may have improved since then, but the loss still counts and they have 2 of them. Boise stays ahead of the Dawgs.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

What is the thought of everyone who has ranked UGA ahead of Boise when Boise went across the country and beat the Dawgs in their home state earlier this season? Do you rank according to who you believe is better at this point of the season and simply think that UGA has improved and Boise has regressed? Do you mean to punish Boise for their comparatively weak schedule? Or do you just hate you some Boise?

I understand Boise State dropping eight spots in the poll by virtue of losing to a two-loss mid-minor (TCU).

I do not understand two-loss mid-minor (TCU) entering the poll after beating an overrated Boise State team.

Oklahoma State is undefeated, but I think that's just a matter of having not played LSU while Oregon and Alabama did otherwise. I'm still not sold on the Cowboys defense.

Oklahoma State has already given up 263 points this year (26.3 ppg), and they still have to play Oklahoma (averaging 45.4 ppg).

Recent national championship defenses:

2010 Auburn, 337 points allowed, 24.1 ppg
2009 Alabama, 164 points allowed, 11.7 ppg
2008 Florida, 189 points allowed, 13.5 ppg
2007 LSU, 279 points allowed, 19.9 ppg
2006 Florida, 181 points allowed, 12.9 ppg
2005 Texas, 213 points allowed, 16.4 ppg
2004 USC, 169 points allowed, 10.6 ppg
2003 USC, 239 points allowed, 18.4 ppg
2003 LSU, 154 points allowed, 11.0 ppg
2002 Ohio State, 183 points allowed, 13.1 ppg
2001 Miami, 117 points allowed, 9.8 ppg
2000 Oklahoma, 194 points allowed, 14.9 ppg

Average of last 12 national champs: 14.9 ppg

The only one of the above teams that didn't have a national championship caliber defense was 2010 Auburn, and they had just enough defense to squeak by their three toughest opponents: Alabama (27 points allowed) and Oregon (19 points allowed) and LSU (17 points allowed).

The 2007 LSU team's numbers are skewed by the fact that they gave up 38 points in 6 overtime periods (I know, I sound just like Les Miles); take those out of the equation, and their average drops to 17.2 ppg.

I would be shocked if Oklahoma State's defense can hold up against both, Oklahoma and a national championship opponent.

 

[sepia5]

I understand Boise State dropping eight spots in the poll by virtue of losing to a two-loss mid-minor (TCU).

But do you see them dropping below a 2-loss UGA team that they beat by two touchdowns earlier this season in Atlanta?

I do not understand two-loss mid-minor (TCU) entering the poll after beating an overrated Boise State team.

I can certainly understand not ranking a 2-loss TCU team that got beaten by SMU in the top-25. Then again, after the road win against Boise, I think there's a very strong argument that they're more or just as deserving as the 10-15 teams vying for spots 20-25. Boise may not be a top 5 or even a top 10 team, but they still went on the road to beat a good UGA team that looks like it will be playing in the SEC championship game. I think they're properly ranked in the 10-15 range.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

But do you see them dropping below a 2-loss UGA team that they beat by two touchdowns earlier this season in Atlanta?

Yes, because UGa appears to have improved since the beginning of the season, and Boise has regressed (or perhaps stayed the same). Georgia's resume` isn't the greatest, but they do have wins over six SEC teams. If BSU and UGa played today, I think that UGa would be favored.

Also, Boise gets little credit in my mind for beating a bunch of scrubs like Toledo, Tulsa, Nevada, Fresno State, Colorado State, Air Force, and UNLV. If your schedule is ten patsies and a couple of decent teams (UGa, TCU), then you'd better run the table, and look good doing it.

By comparison, there was no excuse for Oklahoma losing to Texas Tech, but at least they have solid wins over quality competition like Texas, Texas A+M, Kansas State, Missouri, and Florida State, all of which were ranked at some point in the season.

For the record, I had UGa ranked #13, Boise State ranked #20, and TCU unranked.

 

[Jake]

By comparison, there was no excuse for Oklahoma losing to Texas Tech, but at least they have solid wins over quality competition like Texas, Texas A+M, Kansas State, Missouri, and Florida State, all of which were ranked at some point in the season.

The bolded part is meaningless to me. Rankings are just collections of opinions. The often-heard phrase "ranked at the time" is just another way of saying the pollsters were wrong.

Texas A&M and Missouri are both 5-5, 6-8 combined in the Big XII. Color me unimpressed. Texas and Florida State both have 3 losses. Kansas State is the best of the bunch at 8-2, the same record as Penn State.

 

[sepia5]

Yes, because UGa appears to have improved since the beginning of the season, and Boise has regressed (or perhaps stayed the same). Georgia's resume` isn't the greatest, but they do have wins over six SEC teams. If BSU and UGa played today, I think that UGa would be favored.

Also, Boise gets little credit in my mind for beating a bunch of scrubs like Toledo, Tulsa, Nevada, Fresno State, Colorado State, Air Force, and UNLV. If your schedule is ten patsies and a couple of decent teams (UGa, TCU), then you'd better run the table, and look good doing it.

By comparison, there was no excuse for Oklahoma losing to Texas Tech, but at least they have solid wins over quality competition like Texas, Texas A+M, Kansas State, Missouri, and Florida State, all of which were ranked at some point in the season.

For the record, I had UGa ranked #13, Boise State ranked #20, and TCU unranked.

I guess this is just a difference in philosophies, then. Some people rank according to their perception of how teams are performing at the moment. While any ranking method is inherently subjective, I really value the outcome of head-to-head match ups. My sentiment is that if you don't do so, what's the point of playing the games? You're just ranking teams according to how strong you perceive them to be, which enters an extra degree of subjectivity into the process.

In this case, Boise flew across the country and beat Georgia by two touchdowns in Atlanta. If Boise had three losses, I'd place UGA ahead of them. Hell, if Boise had two losses I'd think about moving UGA ahead of them. There's something to be said about rewarding a team that plays a full slate in a major conference and weathers the grind. In that sense, I agree that Boise's margin for error should be smaller. But to me, that is a consideration that is secondary to the result of a head-to-head matchup.

In any event, in this situation, its not as if UGA has all kinds of marquee wins on its schedule. UGA seems to be everyone's hot team right now, but it hasn't beaten a team this season that is currently ranked in the AP or Coaches poll. In fact, it's only win against an opponent ranked at the time was last week's beatdown of Auburn. In that sense, Boise has a more impressive win to its resume than Georgia: it's win over Georgia.

For what its worth, I don't know that even at this moment UGA would be favored over Boise if they were scheduled to meet on a neutral field.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

The bolded part is meaningless to me. Rankings are just collections of opinions. The often-heard phrase "ranked at the time" is just another way of saying the pollsters were wrong.

Texas A&M and Missouri are both 5-5, 6-8 combined in the Big XII. Color me unimpressed. Texas and Florida State both have 3 losses. Kansas State is the best of the bunch at 8-2, the same record as Penn State.

And you're more impressed with BSU sweeping the state of Nevada this year? Or the Smurfs' impressive wins over Toledo, Tulsa, Air Force, Fresno State, and Colorado State? Wins over crap teams are meaningless, but some people still can't grasp that concept. But if you really want to try to favorably compare Oklahoma's schedule to BSU's, then be my guest.