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Grading The Experts - Harris Poll
December 4, 2006
By Benjamin Miraski
From the Editor: With sports guru and FanIQ blog editor, Critical Fanatic on vacation in Paris, I was called in to assist. That might be why it has been a little light around here lately. This article originally appeared on the FanIQ blog. This article is part of a recurring series on the 'Q'.
You have probably seen a lot about the Harris Poll already. The 113 voters are supposed to be statistically representative of the Division 1-A college football landscape, and should eliminate bias, blah, blah, blah. As we talked about when the names were first announced, it seemed difficult to understand the process of selecting these members, including Boomer Esiason, who last time I checked paid more attention to the NFL (His ballot wasn't so bad.).
You can see the full list of voters and links to their votes on the official Harris Football Poll website. Here though are some of the highlights as only FanIQ can bring them to you.
Sammy Winder (Former Denver Bronco, Southern Mississippi)
8. West Virginia
9. Cal
15. Oklahoma
17. Wisconsin
Cal at #9? Maybe before they played USC. I think Cal continues to show us they can not win the big games, which makes it interesting that Jeff Tedford is being rumored as a candidate at Alabama.
Grade: C-, because I am grading on a curve here.
Ed Podolak (Former KC Chiefs player, Iowa), who apparently was only watching the SEC and Big XII championship games on Saturday.
6. Louisville
9. Rutgers
19. West Virginia
Grade: C, remember, this is on a curve.
Bert Emanuel (Former NFL Player, Rice)
4. Boise State
25. Rice
Rice? Really Bert? Homer.
Grade: B-
And now, those who deserves some failing grades:
Tim Neverett (Broadcaster for UNLV, Mountain West, Colorado ESPN Radio)
2. Florida
3. USC
4. Michigan
5. Oklahoma
6. Louisville
7. LSU
8. Boise State
9. BYU
USC still at #3, and ahead of Michigan? I am going to find Tim's email and ask him if he is taking the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. If he says no, you know he was a "rematch hater"
Paul Zeise (Writer, Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
2. Louisville
3. Florida
4. Michigan
9. Wake Forest
Louisville at #2, which would have made sense had they beaten Rutgers. Yes, they are one of the best teams in the country, but not this good, are they? This is what you call not making the decision that matters.
Larry Keech (Retired sportswriter, Greensboro, NC)
2. Boise State
3. Michigan
4. Wisconsin
5. Florida
8. Notre Dame
9. LSU
I understand what Keech is saying here. Boise State was the only other team to not lose a game, but be honest, do we think Keech really thinks this? Florida at #5 and LSU below Notre Dame just don't make any sense.
Robert Lawless (Consultant, former president of Tulsa and Texas Tech)
2. Michigan
3. Wisconsin
4. Louisville
5. Florida
6. Boise State
Another of the Florida #5ers. I don't see it.
And last, but certainly not least, Jim Walden (former coach at Washington State, Iowa State), who needs to re-examine his voting method, which apparently involved his own calculations, the position of the sun on a Thursday at 3PM, the cost of the tea in China, and a butterfly flapping its wings in Mongolia.
1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Oklahoma
5. Boise State
7. Wake Forest
11. LSU
23. Texas
There's a lot wrong here. I just have no idea where to begin, so I will leave it for you to start. Comment away on the strangest piece of the BCS, the Harris Poll.
Editor's Note: Thanks to Google for helping me figure out who these guys are...
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted December 4, 2006 7:25 PM
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