This morning, 59 of the finest sports information directors and graduate assistants…umm, I mean head football coaches, cast their ballots in the first USA Today Coaches Poll of the season. Good times!
While ultimately, these arbitrary, random rankings, are fun, let’s remember that they really do mean nothing. After all, last year’s Coaches Poll had Auburn ranked No. 23 to start the year, one spot behind Oregon State, (which went on to finish a glamorous 5-7 on the season), and two spots behind Georgia (a team the Tigers beat by double-digits on the Plains). Needless to say, I think Auburn’s season ended pretty well.
With that said, here are some additional thoughts on today’s vote.
– Oklahoma came in at No. 1, a surprise to absolutely no one. The Sooners return more talent on both sides of the ball than anyone, have a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, and are coming off a Big XII Championship and Fiesta Bowl beat down of FCS Champion UConn. Also, unlike virtually every other team in college football, Oklahoma was able to avoid even a whiff of controversy this summer, excluding the untimely and tragic death of linebacker Austin Box.
– Beyond Oklahoma’s 43 first place votes, Alabama was next with 13, with Oregon and LSU coming in ranked at No.’s 3 and 4. Each received two first place votes. That’s significant, since, you know, those two teams play each other the first week of the season at Cowboys Stadium.
– The most surprising Top 10 team could very well be the Stanford Cardinal, who came in at No. 6. Meaning that people either LOVE Andrew Luck…or just resubmitted their final ballots from last winter. As for me, well, you know where I stand on them.
– Coming in at No.’s 8 and 9, are a pair of the remaining 10 Big XII teams, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. The way you feel about these two teams and their ranking, really depends on how you feel about two things: Dana Holgorsen leaving Stillwater. And Mike Sherman still being in College Station.
– Everyone’s favorite Vestless, T-Peezy-less club from Columbus checks in at No. 16. I know I’m in the minority, but that number seems about right to me. Simply put, I think the Buckeyes will be better than most. They’ve had plenty of time to get through the summer, and for all the controversy surrounding Tressel, the rest of the staff, the schemes and systems stayed the same. At the very least, I’ll go out on a limb and say Ohio State beats Akron Week 1 (You heard it here first!)
– Of the remaining Top 20, Auburn came in at No. 19, which means that apparently pollsters were given a packet of Crystal Meth along with their ballots (Wait, does Crystal Meth come in packets? I don’t know). Look, I love the Tigers and what Gene Chizik, Gus Malzahn and Co. have done there. But No.19? After losing Cam Newton, Nick Fairley, most of the offensive line and a few other key guys on defense? And with a schedule that includes road games against South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and LSU? I think the Tigers will be better than most. But right now, on August 4, 2011, they are not the nineteenth best team in college football.
– Rounding out the Top 25 are Florida, Texas and Penn State. Again, these polls are meaningless. But considering what Florida lost on defense, and that John Brantley just won’t leave on offense, this seems a bit high. I’m ok with Texas (lots more returning on both sides of the ball). And as for Penn State? Is this poll based on actual expected football output? Or “Coaches most likely to misuse Skype and end up with a virus on their computer?” If it’s the latter, I’m cool. But the former? Not so much.
– Amongst the teams I’m a bit surprised not to see in the poll are West Virginia (The Mountaineers constantly re-loading defense is always good, and they’ve have an actual offense this year with Holgorsen in town), Northwestern (Persa Strong!) and Arizona State (They’ve got enough talent to win the Pac-12 South…which actually means nothing at all).
Your thoughts on our thoughts?
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