September 27, 2009

Harris Poll - Week 4 (First poll)

The first Harris Poll has been released. It appears to achieve the goal of imitating the AP Poll.

1 Florida (99) 2,825
2 Texas (4) 2,711
3 Alabama (11) 2,658
4 LSU 2,413
5 Boise State 2,264
6 Virginia Tech 2,129
7 USC 2,023
8 Ohio State 1,912
9 Oklahoma 1,898
10 Cincinnati 1,700
11 TCU 1,658
12 Penn State 1,135
13 Houston 1,122
14 Iowa 1,102
15 Oklahoma State 1,091
16 Kansas 951
17 Georgia 823
18 Mississippi 804
19 BYU 796
20 Michigan 713
21 California 676
22 Miami (FL) 665
23 Oregon 620
24 Nebraska 409
25 Missouri 404

Other teams receiving votes: Auburn 366; Georgia Tech 340; South Florida 308; South Carolina 144; Wisconsin 119; Utah 84; UCLA 55; Notre Dame 51; Texas A&M 30; North Carolina 9; Stanford 9; Washington 6; Arizona 5; Indiana 5; Connecticut 4; Southern Miss 3; Florida State 2; Kansas State 2; Minnesota 2; Pittsburgh 2; Iowa State 1; Texas Tech 1.

On a side note: Apparently I have gotten myself on the list for BCS releases sent out by Bill Hancock. Apparently my attempts to fix the BCS this off season have not been completely in vain. Her is the one I got this week, mostly about the Harris Poll, but some key dates are included at the end.

BCS Bits - September 22

The season’s first Harris Interactive College Football Poll will be released Sunday. The poll is administered independently by Harris and so they’re the experts. But here are a few tidbits that may be of interest:

* This is the fifth season that the Harris poll has been an element of the BCS Standings.
* The Harris Poll comprises one-third of the Standings. The other two elements, of course, are the USA Today Coaches Poll and the average of six computer rankings.
* Each of the 11 conferences nominated 30 people to serve on the Harris panel; Harris randomly selected 10 from each bunch. Notre Dame nominated nine (Harris selected three) and Army and Navy nominated three (Harris selected one.) Yep, there are 114 panelists.
* The panelists’ names will be available at www.harrisinteractive.com/bcspoll in the next day or two.
* The rankings will be posted on the Harris web site each Sunday. Each individual panelist’s rankings will be posted on Selection Sunday.
* The season’s first BCS Standings—Volume 12, No. 1—will be released October 18.

Key BCS Dates

October 18: First BCS Standings released
November 24: First Selection Teleconference (Commissioners and bowl representatives)
December 1: Second Selection Teleconference (Commissioners and bowl representatives)
December 6: Selection Sunday
January 1: Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl presented by Citi
January 4: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
January 5: FedEx Orange Bowl
January 7: Citi BCS National Championship Game

Aside
I am considering sending a recommendation of three simple topics for the November 24th meeting.

1) Currently the BCS refers to conferences as either automatic qualifying and non-automatic qualifying conferences. This gives an undeserved stigma to the conferences participating in the BCS process through consideratoin for an at-large spot in a BCS bowl.

My recommendation would be to refer to conferences as automatic qualifying and at-large conferences.

2) The BCS has adjusted its rules in 2002, 2007 and 2008 in this meeting for the current year, regarding exceptional cases. Currently if all available slots are not able to be filled with teams from the top 14 without allowing more than 2 teams from any conference, the cut off is extended to the top 18. If this procedure is used it would further erode the meaning of the BCS bowls.

My recommendation is that if all available slots are not able to be filled with teams from the top 14 without allowing more than 2 teams from any conference, BCS bowls may select a third team from a conference from among the the top 14.

It should be noted that the BCS will be forced to accept to teams from at-large conferences if they are in the top 14 whether the current rules or this recommendation are used.

3) Recently some automatic qualifying conferences have failed to have a champion that could qualify for at-large consideration. ESPN has told the BCS that it will not alter its payout if a change in the number of conferences with automatic qualifications takes place. The MWC may earn an automatic qualification for 2012 and 2013, especially if it expands to include teams that improve its numbers in the three established criteria.

My recommendation is that BCS payouts for automatic qualifying conferences whose champion fail to reach the top 14 in the final BCS standings should be penalized $4.5 million.

What do ya'll think?

Comments:

Harris Poll - Week 4 (First poll)
The first Harris Poll has been released. It appears to achieve the goal of imitating the AP Poll. 1 Florida (99) 2,825 2 Texas (4) 2,711 3 Alabama (11) 2,658 4 LSU 2,413 5 Boise State 2,264 6 Virginia Tech 2,129 7 USC 2,023 8 Ohio State 1,912 9 Oklahoma 1,898 10 Cincinnati 1,700 11 TCU 1,658 12 Penn State 1,135 13 Houston 1,122 14 Iowa 1,102 15 Oklahoma State 1,091 16 Kansas 951 17 Georgia 823 18 Mississippi 804 19 BYU 796 20 Michigan 713 21 California 676 22 Miami (FL) 665 23 Oregon 620 24 Nebraska 409 25 Missouri 404 Other teams receiving votes: Auburn 366; Georgia Tech 340; South Florida 308; South Carolina 144; Wisconsin 119; Utah 84; UCLA 55; Notre Dame 51; Texas A&M 30; North Carolina 9; Stanford 9; Washington 6; Arizona 5; Indiana 5; Connecticut 4; Southern Miss 3; Florida State 2; Kansas State 2; Minnesota 2; Pittsburgh 2; Iowa State 1; Texas Tech 1. On a side note: Apparently I have gotten myself on the list for BCS releases sent out by Bill Hancock. Apparently my attempts to fix the BCS this off season have not been completely in vain. Her is the one I got this week, mostly about the Harris Poll, but some key dates are included at the end. BCS Bits - September 22 The season’s first Harris Interactive College Football Poll will be released Sunday. The poll is administered independently by Harris and so they’re the experts. But here are a few tidbits that may be of interest: * This is the fifth season that the Harris poll has been an element of the BCS Standings. * The Harris Poll comprises one-third of the Standings. The other two elements, of course, are the USA Today Coaches Poll and the average of six computer rankings. * Each of the 11 conferences nominated 30 people to serve on the Harris panel; Harris randomly selected 10 from each bunch. Notre Dame nominated nine (Harris selected three) and Army and Navy nominated three (Harris selected one.) Yep, there are 114 panelists. * The panelists’ names will be available at www.harrisinteractive.com/bcspoll in the next day or two. * The rankings will be posted on the Harris web site each Sunday. Each individual panelist’s rankings will be posted on Selection Sunday. * The season’s first BCS Standings—Volume 12, No. 1—will be released October 18. Key BCS Dates October 18: First BCS Standings released November 24: First Selection Teleconference (Commissioners and bowl representatives) December 1: Second Selection Teleconference (Commissioners and bowl representatives) December 6: Selection Sunday January 1: Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl presented by Citi January 4: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl January 5: FedEx Orange Bowl January 7: Citi BCS National Championship Game Aside I am considering sending a recommendation of three simple topics for the November 24th meeting. 1) Currently the BCS refers to conferences as either automatic qualifying and non-automatic qualifying conferences. This gives an undeserved stigma to the conferences participating in the BCS process through consideratoin for an at-large spot in a BCS bowl. My recommendation would be to refer to conferences as automatic qualifying and at-large conferences. 2) The BCS has adjusted its rules in 2002, 2007 and 2008 in this meeting for the current year, regarding exceptional cases. Currently if all available slots are not able to be filled with teams from the top 14 without allowing more than 2 teams from any conference, the cut off is extended to the top 18. If this procedure is used it would further erode the meaning of the BCS bowls. My recommendation is that if all available slots are not able to be filled with teams from the top 14 without allowing more than 2 teams from any conference, BCS bowls may select a third team from a conference from among the the top 14. It should be noted that the BCS will be forced to accept to teams from at-large conferences if they are in the top 14 whether the current rules or this recommendation are used. 3) Recently some automatic qualifying conferences have failed to have a champion that could qualify for at-large consideration. ESPN has told the BCS that it will not alter its payout if a change in the number of conferences with automatic qualifications takes place. The MWC may earn an automatic qualification for 2012 and 2013, especially if it expands to include teams that improve its numbers in the three established criteria. My recommendation is that BCS payouts for automatic qualifying conferences whose champion fail to reach the top 14 in the final BCS standings should be penalized $4.5 million. What do ya'll think?