Blogpoll roundtable No. 5

Loyal reader LBIEagle took one look at the blogpoll on Brian’s blog and wondered how a real poll could include Temple in the Top 25. I reminded him that it was the “test” poll and that the real one would be up next week. Moments later, Brian sent out an email with the latest roundtable question. He’s the founder of the poll and a good guy, so I am glad he served as his own critic before the inevitable happened -- our poll turned out just as biased and lopsided as the “real” polls.

Human polls are inherently flawed because they are entirely subjective. I prefer them to the computer polls, but ultimately you are at the mercy of the voters. As Brian pointed out, even the most diehard college football fans in the world can only be very knowledgeable about a dozen or so teams. Look at it this way: let’s say you could watch 168 hours of football in a week (assuming no sleep or outside interests…which is probably the case with some of us). On an average weekend there is more than 200 hours of Division 1A football. So barring time machines and mega-Tivos, you can’t be an expert on every team. As a voter you are left to base some of you perspective on scores, reputations, bias, and numerous other subjective things. I have confidence that the blogpoll will deliver interesting results. Just remember the blogpoll voter makeup when Temple is in the Top 25 and Ohio State is not.

Now onto Brian’s question. Check out Mgoblog for other pollers comments.

Tell the world where the teams you know the most about should be ranked and why.

The team I know most about is Boston College. However, in ranking them, I am totally at a loss. There are two unknowns for most BC fans: how will Quinton Porter play and who the heck are these teams we’re playing? At this point I think Tom O’Brien can squeak out seven wins in any conference in the country. I also think we’ll win a crappy bowl. So starting the season at No. 22 seems right.

I live in Atlanta. I spend a lot of time sitting in traffic. While cruising the interstate at 25 mph, I listen to the flagship station of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. There is no way this team deserves to be Top 25. Their defense should be very good. They have some great playmakers on offense. But Reggie Ball is not a consistent performer. And if things don’t start well, I think we could see a Mackovic-like mutiny on Chan Gailey.

Until I enrolled in the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business, I loathed the Bulldogs. My surprisingly pleasant experience with the school and pending graduation converted me. I now consider the Dawgs my second team. That said, my knowledge of UGA football is minimal compared to my BC knowledge or the knowledge of your average Dawg fan. But I still know more than most outside the southeast. This season is Mark Richt’s real test. He is replacing his steady hand at QB, working without his bad cop Defensive Coordinator and his SEC division went through a major upgrade this season. I say letdown for the Dawgs. Third place finish in the East and a Peach Bowl date. Most polls have them as a Top 20 team. I think they should be 23-25.

Being in a different conference, I haven’t followed Pitt as closely as I normally would’ve but I have a hard time believing they are a Top 25 team. They weren’t that great last season. They just stepped up as BC and WVU melted. And the new coach is tinkering with what worked best last season -- the offense. They shouldn’t be ranked.

Notre Dame was underachieving last season. They enter this season unranked. I like Charlie Weis and think he’ll get these guys to perform. I think they should start the season at 21 or 22. They’ll finish the season in the Top 20.