BLOGPOLL, WEEK TWO

by Orson on Sep 9, 2009 11:19 AM EDT

This week's blogpoll ballot follows below and YOU WILL HATE IT. Explanations and zigzaggy blast walls to divert your anger and disbelief follow.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama	4
2	Texas
3	Southern Cal
4	Florida	3
5	Brigham Young
6	Boise State	8
7	Oklahoma State	6
8	California	2
9	Penn State	3
10	Mississippi	2
11	Missouri
12	Oklahoma	8
13	Cincinnati
14	Ohio State	7
15	LSU	4
16	Miami (Florida)
17	Notre Dame	4
18	Georgia Tech	3
19	Virginia Tech	10
20	Utah	8
21	Kansas
22	Florida State
23	Nebraska
24	Georgia	8
25	Texas Tech	5
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: TCU (#17), Iowa (#18), Oregon (#19), North Carolina (#22), Oregon State (#24), South Florida (#25).

Pardon me, but is that Power-Poll-ish? Yes, a bit, but you have two choices as a pollster: go on your sepia-toned memories of yesteryear, or go based on what you have in front of your eyeballs in the shifty but very much present now. The team that put on the best total performance--and the one we saw with our own eyeballs live--was Alabama, who played well in two phases of the game and decently on special teams (versus a very good VT special teams squad MAYBE YOU'VE HEARD OF IT BEAMERBALL'D.)

The others at the top balance the evident and enviable talent of the four or five teams in college football with top rank talent at every position versus the relative worth of their opponent, in descending order. Playing Charleston Southern told you nothing about Florida, while USC and Texas did slightly better on this count. In reality, those three teams are tied in our mind, with Florida pulling into the fourth spot because they played against a D-1AA team, and that has to be penalized somewhere in our universe.

BYU and Boise? Hey, they actually played someone, won, and did so on the national stage. It is early in the season, and there should be huge variances due to a very tiny sample size. The same goes in affirmative for Cal, Missouri, Miami, and anyone else who actually played someone. You may not like it when a Rocky Mountain fattie like Rulon Gardner beats a chiseled Russian god like Alexei Karelin, but it happens, just as it did when BYU beat Oklahoma. This week, they get the gold. That will even out as the season goes on if you like actually ranking what you're seeing out of a team, or we could just go ahead and keep Oklahoma above them because veeee know soooo much about Oklahoma that you didn't see on the field. Our choice is to go with what is actually happening with respect toward perceived overall talent, not the other way around.

Ditto for the losers: Florida State, Georgia, and Virginia Tech all actually played someone, though we're thinking UNC could have easily taken Georgia's place now that we're looking at it. If you're to be punished for playing layup competition, then you shouldn't be excoriated for taking a loss to quality competition early on, especially if you looked respectable doing it.

Please declare any illogical votes: LSU is too high, but Washington looks to be awake and playing football now, and we're smitten by their shiny amounts of talent just like everyone else. On Kansas, we plead infatuation with fist-pumping genius Todd Reesing; Cincy was impressive, but reeks a bit of Big East Charity Pick Of the Week; TCU could easily be in there if they played last week, too, were we not willing to take a flyer on Texas Tech and the inspiration Leach has been given by his sweet new parking spot. Based on one week U-Dub is waiting in the wings, but correcting for "UGOGIRL" sentiment keeps them on the lip for now.

BUT BUT BUT BUT-- That's why the Blogpoll takes more than one ballot, lawya.

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Comments

Really, there really isn’t any point in arguing about polls this early in the season. Like Orson states, the sample size is so small that any variation can be attributed to anything. I don’t necessarily agree with this, but you can’t judge a cake when its not even in the oven.

by BurritoBrosShits on Sep 9, 2009 11:38 AM EDT reply actions

I for one hail the mighty Swindle and delicious logic in laying down an opinion….

you have LMiles sized juevos my friend for opening up your reasoning for your choices, and I offer up a hundred flaming high-balls in your direction for your openess

by WarChiziken on Sep 9, 2009 11:40 AM EDT reply actions

If LSU could’ve tackled worth a shit Saturday night, then I could say this was BOGUS! However, they didn’t and I say, “yeah, well you have a point.”

by Kevin@LSU on Sep 9, 2009 11:41 AM EDT reply actions

When the Gamecocks take down UGa this week, will you please drop Okie State back about 15 spots where they belong?

by GamecockTony on Sep 9, 2009 11:44 AM EDT reply actions

By the logic of the poll, if LSU is 15, shouldn’t Washington deserve at least the 25 spot?

by oc phil on Sep 9, 2009 11:45 AM EDT reply actions

Possibly, OC Phil. See last “declared illogic” section for apologia there.

by Orson Swindle on Sep 9, 2009 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

I think washington wins at least 6 games this year should they stay healthy.

by Kevin@LSU on Sep 9, 2009 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t know why we need more polls or games after this. The more games we have, the cheaper the regular season is, or so I’m told.

by ChasingMizzou on Sep 9, 2009 11:56 AM EDT reply actions

Stupid Huskies. Didn’t lay down and make LSU get all confident ‘n shit. Now we’re gonna get pwnt.

Say it with me, Dores: “it was only Western Carolina.”

by Vandy J on Sep 9, 2009 11:57 AM EDT reply actions

Seems quite reasonable to me. I don’t think 1-AA wins should count for the BCS, honestly. There’s so many WAC/MAC/Sun Belt/ACC teams out there to abuse instead. I don’t expect to move up if we beat the Chickens on Saturday, though. After last Thursday I don’t think that win would help us any more than the loss to the Fightin’ Oilmen hurt us.

by commodore_dude on Sep 9, 2009 12:05 PM EDT reply actions

Where is the ginger ND law school student to justify 4 bumps? My indignation demands a moot court!!!

by Jack Fact on Sep 9, 2009 12:08 PM EDT reply actions

When tOSU stays focused on the task at hand for 60 minutes and “upsets” U$C, in front of your very eyes Orson, I hope you have the decency to rank them above the teams that are playing chum in their OOC schedules.

by Crabapple Buck on Sep 9, 2009 12:12 PM EDT reply actions

are we really at the "If only ________, then _______ " argument already this season?
I mean seriously- If it weren’t for “2 girls 1 cup”, then i’d still like chocolate ice cream cones…

by JDAU on Sep 9, 2009 12:13 PM EDT reply actions

Squawk Box Dept:

Just heard tOSU’s (# 14 on Blog Poll) Tressel interview, and man, has there ever been a coach that talks so much without saying anything?

by Stacy Keibler Luvs Me on Sep 9, 2009 12:26 PM EDT reply actions

@SKLM – why do you think they call him “Senator Tressel”?

by GamecockTony on Sep 9, 2009 12:29 PM EDT reply actions

Sheesh, with that meteoric drop for OSU, you’re going to have to move them UP if they lose to USC in a close game.

by Pants McPants on Sep 9, 2009 12:30 PM EDT reply actions

I guess I never followed the Blog Poll at the beginning of last season because this seems extremely pointless so early in the year. Can’t bloggers write about Erin Andrews or something for pageviews instead?

by Tim on Sep 9, 2009 12:45 PM EDT reply actions

Allow me this moment, no matter how fleeting, to wallow in the ecstasy of it all.

by bamagreg on Sep 9, 2009 12:47 PM EDT reply actions

Missouri? 11? C’mon. That win has more to do with [name redacted]‘s lack of coaching ability than it does with Mizzou’s early beatdown on a Big-10 team that rivals most DIII powerhouses.

by burntOrangesmellsLikepoop on Sep 9, 2009 12:49 PM EDT reply actions

I stand completely corrected. Looks like Brian Cook already accounts for the goofiness of it all in week 1 by pointing out the stunts and neurotics. So even cynical anti-smug types like myself can feel good. Brilliant!

by Tim on Sep 9, 2009 12:51 PM EDT reply actions

Week 1 National Champions, Baby !

by BamaCPA on Sep 9, 2009 1:06 PM EDT reply actions

@ 3

You bet your sweet ass I started that shit already!

by Kevin@LSU on Sep 9, 2009 1:11 PM EDT reply actions

I’m predicting a Bama / PSU national championship game this season. PSU comes to Tuscaloosa next year in week two for redemption so this makes about as much sense as anything right now.

by The Snake will drive Again! on Sep 9, 2009 1:47 PM EDT reply actions

If you clicked on the link to the TODD REESING picture, I regret to inform you that you are now pregnant.

by PeteJayhawk on Sep 9, 2009 1:47 PM EDT reply actions

Hopefully Rutgers doesn’t suck so completely as they appeared to. I’d like to attribute some of it to the Bearcats.

by ohiodawg on Sep 9, 2009 1:52 PM EDT reply actions

jolly good show! well done orsen…

Bama should be # 2 or 3. every vote there or above helps…

by tempebamafan on Sep 9, 2009 2:33 PM EDT reply actions

Wait a minute. Teams “shouldn’t be excoriated for taking a loss to quality competition early on,” but you drop Virginia Tech from 9 to 19, biggest spot-docking in your entire poll, for losing by ten to your number 1 team? LOGIC FAIL. It’s not like VT’s offense looked much worse than expected preseason — where they were ranked in total offense, there isn’t that far to fall.

by JoshC on Sep 9, 2009 2:44 PM EDT reply actions

Sounds like BamaCPA is ready to claim this as No. 14.

by cocknfire on Sep 9, 2009 3:07 PM EDT reply actions

I would like to be ranked #4 in the Top 4 going into the last week, so Bama can “back into” a MNC game like tOSU did in the Year of Schadenfreude, once “everyone kills everybody, and everyone steals from everybody, and stuff”

J/K we are truly one injury away from CHAOS! in the Bama Nation….if McElroy goes down-CHAOS!….If Juuuulio goes down-CHAOS!

by Mr. Pelican Pants on Sep 9, 2009 3:25 PM EDT reply actions

@23 -

Actually, I don’t think a PSU/Bama championship game is that far-fetched. PSU, at this very early point in the season, is the favorite to win the Big 10, and if they avoid an Iowa-type slip-up this year could very well go 12-0. Alabama would have a hard time beating Florida, though no one else looks particularly scary at this point considering how Ole Miss, LSU, and Georgia performed this weekend.

Do I think a Bama-Penn State title game will happen? Probably not, but it’s not completely unrealistic. Both teams are loaded in 2010 and 2011 – looking forward to the renewal of that rivalry in the near future…

by PSUfanNYC on Sep 9, 2009 5:28 PM EDT reply actions

Can we get the Middies in the others receiving votes category?

by Broom on Sep 9, 2009 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

you guys are way too unhomerish. just say GO GATORS #1 ZOMG TIM TEBOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

by Kirk Herbstreit Salsa Boy on Sep 9, 2009 7:07 PM EDT reply actions

I’m all for early season fluidity based on actual results; however, there is absolutely no internal consistency between your preseason and week 1 ballots in relation to Texas, USC, and Florida. They all three beat opponents of varying levels of cream-puffery. None of those games told us anything positive or negative about those teams. If you already knew last week that playing a I-AA team was going to be enough to justify dropping Florida behind Texas and USC, then when not factor that into your preseason poll? It was information you already had on hand that didn’t have to be proven on the field or assimilated through viewing.

If you think Florida is the best team of those three, nothing that happened on Saturday should have changed that. Like I said, I’m all for responsiveness to early season performance. I have no quarrel with rewarding Alabama for their week 1 win. But when you reach the point where you’re penalizing a team for beating a I-AA team instead of a Sun Belt team, you’ve reached the point where you’re just being hypersensitive to early season games, presumably in the interest of proving a point that doesn’t require further proof.

/definitely not a UF fan.

by The Drizzle on Sep 9, 2009 7:09 PM EDT reply actions

Allbarn should be number 1. Cheezit’s da man!

by Mulletover on Sep 9, 2009 9:20 PM EDT reply actions

Just as long as we keep winning, maybe we can find a boat large enough for both Terrance Cody and Dj Fluker for future “free” fishing trips. We would take them to a pier, but those are expensive to replace due to structural damage…..

by Mr. Pelican Pants on Sep 10, 2009 12:34 AM EDT reply actions