Sunday night I was looking at the Amway Coaches’ Poll and scanning the top 25, as I do every week, and I noticed some trends over the first three weeks. I will, for the sake of my sanity, discuss only Notre Dame, Clemson, Texas A&M, and Ohio State to make my case.
Weekly Polls Drive the Fans Crazy
Pre-season polls listed Texas A&M at #20 and Ohio State between #4 and #6. Meanwhile, Clemson came in at #16 in both polls (SI.com and Amway Coaches’ Poll) while Notre Dame ranked between #13 and #17. This is important because teams and fans still use these polls as measuring sticks for conference strength and status going into the season.
After Week One, we see that Ohio State stumbled but won over a tough Navy squad. Their reward is a miniscule slip down one notch to #7. Notre Dame plays a weak Rice team and picks up two spots in the Coaches’ Poll. Meanwhile, Texas A&M notches a signature win over conference foe South Carolina and moves up a well-deserved seven positions. Then the Clemson Tigers falter badly in the second half against Georgia and tumble to #24. The way the first weekend played out, South Carolina was actually the biggest loser, dropping twelve positions.
The unexpected results began in Week Two. Notre Dame absolutely throttled Michigan 31-0, and the Irish received a modest four-position shift to #11. Ohio State got crushed at home by Virginia Tech en route to a major 11-point drop to #18. The Aggies had a home date with Lamar, running roughshod over the FCS opponent, and were rewarded with a five-position jump; they also displaced UCLA and LSU, both of whom were (are) undefeated. Adding to this lunacy is the fact that Clemson beat a similar FCS cupcake in South Carolina State, by the same score, and didn’t move at all in the polls. Does it not stand to reason that beating a far weaker opponent should result in a very moderate move up the polls- if any?
The last example is from Week Three, when Ohio State picked on in-state rival Kent State and turned the Horseshoe into a football sandlot, with a 66-0 beat down. Their reward is the status quo, #18. Notre Dame, meanwhile, struggles with Big Ten doormat Purdue, and gets a boost to #9. Texas A&M plays the same Rice team that Notre Dame spanked in Week One and only moved to #7 due to the logjam at the top of the polls.
Yes I know the SEC is a powerful conference and quarterback Kenny “Thrill” Hill has lit up College Station to start Texas A&M’s season. However, does that win against Lamar really mean that much to the pollsters? UCLA hasn’t exactly inspired much confidence and LSU did finally throttle a tough Wisconsin squad. Was that meaningless? Will Ohio State fare better once conference play begins? Is it subjective to expect a poor performance against Purdue to raise Notre Dame’s portfolio? If- and it’s a big IF- Clemson succeeds in defeating the Seminoles, will they pass Florida State in the polls?
I stated at the beginning of the year that there would be more posturing by coaches and athletic directors this season than during the 14 years of the BCS. This is just a small sampling of what to expect now that conference play is upon us.
Finally, some food for thought- could we see two Independent teams go undefeated during the 2014 campaign and where might they be slotted heading into the bowl games? More to come.
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