Did Boise State simply beat an overrated Virginia Tech, which lost by a bigger margin to JMU on its home field? Or did the Hokies suffer a terrible hangover, with mistakes and injuries taking their toll when they were uninspired to start with?
The Guru isn't about to punish the Broncos for the Hokies' sins. Teams should be ranked purely on the outcomes of the games at the time they played, not retroactively in a revisionist view. Virginia Tech can go 2-10 for all I care, it doesn't change the fact that it was a formidable team when it faced Boise State at FedEx Field on Labor Day.
Here's the Guru's ballot, with more ruminations below:
BCS Guru Ballot - Week 3
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide |  3 |
| 3 | Boise St. Broncos |  -1 |
| 4 | Texas Longhorns | -1 |
| 5 | TCU Horned Frogs | -1 |
| 6 | Oregon Ducks | 3 |
| 7 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -1 |
| 8 | Florida Gators | -1 |
| 9 | Iowa Hawkeyes | -1 |
| 10 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 11 | Utah Utes | -- |
| 12 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 13 | Wisconsin Badgers | 1 |
| 14 | Houston Cougars | 1 |
| 15 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | 3 |
| 16 | Stanford Cardinal | 8 |
| 17 | Fresno St. Bulldogs | 2 |
| 18 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 2 |
| 19 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 3 |
| 20 | Missouri Tigers | 3 |
| 21 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 22 | LSU Tigers | 3 |
| 23 | North Carolina Tar Heels | -- |
| 24 | Cincinnati Bearcats | -- |
| 25 | Auburn Tigers | -- |
| Dropouts: Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Virginia Tech Hokies, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, BYU Cougars | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
* The Broncos did fall back one spot on my ballot, but that had nothing to do with the VT-JMU game and everything to do with the Alabama-Penn State game. The Crimson Tide earned the promotion to No. 2 after that solid victory. Likewise for the Oregon Ducks, who ran off 45 straight points against Tennessee and confirmed that they have the most lethal offense in the country.
* Four teams dropped out of the rankings after losses, three of them in embarrassing fashion. Virginia Tech, without further comment; BYU, which was walloped by Air Force; and Georgia Tech, beaten by a Kansas team that a week ago managed 3 points against I-AA North Dakota State in a loss.
* Notre Dame dropped out of the ballot and was replaced by Michigan. Well, we've seen this movie before: 2009. The Guru remains skeptical of the Wolverines - but not skeptical of QB Denard Robinson, who by any reasonable measurement should be the clear Heisman frontrunner. If Robinson can stay healthy and Michigan does what it's supposed to - win the next three games vs. UMass, Bowling Green and Indiana - then maybe we'll feel a little more conviction about the Wolverines.
* Other teams receiving consideration for this week's ballot: Oregon State, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Arizona, Florida State, BYU, Clemson, Connecticut and Washington.
10 comments:
How can you still leave WVU of your list??? They are 2-0, They returned 18 starters from a team that finished last season ranked with 9 wins, and every other major poll has them ranked.
If put them just outside the top 25, fine, but you are not even giving them a mention in the "teams considered" section. What Gives?
South Carolina, Air Force, Cal and West Virginia will be considered next week if they win. But let's face it, WVU beat a I-AA team and was dominated by Marshall and really should've lost that game. I need to see a little more evidence that they belong.
Guru,
I agree with keeping Penn St. in the rankings after being dominated by Alabama, but having them move up 3 spots? Just an oversight or did they impress you enough to move up 3?
Teams should be ranked purely on the outcomes of the games at the time they played, not retroactively in a revisionist view.
How can you know that Virginia Tech was a formidable team? If Virginia Tech goes winless or even 5-5, in the absence of significant injury, how can you give credit to them for being a "formidable" team based solely on a pre-season ranking?
What if Virginia Tech was unranked going into the season, would your poll be different? (and by unranked, I mean without preconceptions in your mind, either).
I am sure there are times you gave credit to, say, Boise State who beat Oregon early last year, then have Oregon go on to become a very good team (clearly, Masoli was a different QB when he went 4-16 against Utah and the rest of the year).
It's a hollow argument you make: Regular reader weighing in here, Guru.
You're still ranking the teams based on your summertime guesstimation of their relative lineups, and then re-ordering them based on said guesstimation. There's really no way of knowing which are the best 25 teams as of yet, and yet Boise will remain around third-best based on what reporters thought of them following last season.
Ugh, bad last-minute add job with the "regular reader" comment. Should have read as --
Regular reader weighing in here, Guru.
It's a hollow argument quibbling over Boise's spot: You're still ranking the teams based on your summertime guesstimation of their relative lineups, and then re-ordering them based on said guesstimation. There's really no way of knowing which are the best 25 teams as of yet, and yet Boise will remain around third-best based on what reporters thought of them following last season.
I have no problem with Boise being ranked #3. They're undefeated and their only game was against a major conference foe, but more importantly, nobody else outside of Ohio State and Alabama has a resume clearly better than Boise.
I just took issue with the statement that the outcomes should only be taken in the context of when the game was played. Ten weeks from now, continuing to claim Boise has a win over a top 10 team would be ridiculous if Virginia Tech is 3-6 or something. Especially since it was the first game and the top 10 ranking was only based on the preseason.
If The Guru continues to keep Boise ahead of teams like Oregon, Nebraska, or Iowa if they win out their non-conference schedule and start beating teams from big time conferences weekly, while Boise only has wins Virginia Tech, Oregon State, and a bunch of would-be cupcakes for AQ conference schools, then I'll have a problem with it.
Penn State moved up really because several teams in front of it lost to underdogs and dropped out of the rankings. Otherwise, the Lions would've stayed exactly where they were.
As for judging Boise State ... despite VT's loss, the Broncos still have beaten a better team than the teams that are currently behind them. If that's no longer the case, then my ballot will change accordingly.
You are the type of voter that hyped Hawaii and put them in Sugar only to get raped by Georgia. Unfortunately, you have learned nothing. Maybe JMU deserves to be ranked 4th -- they beat an awesome VT team and are undefeated? P.S. I truly enjoy your website.
It will all work out in the end people. Boise is there for one reason, discussion. That's the way the BCS likes it. It's also why the AP voters are and should be out of contention for deciding. The Coaches of the AQ conferences know who Boise is and they also know who they play. My top 10 after week 3.
1Alabama
2Nebraska
3Ohio St
4Texas
5Oregon
6Boise St
7TCU
8Florida
9Oklahoma
10Wisconsin
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