Thursday, August 10, 2006

Preseason Blogpoll ballot

Last year, Brian created the Blogpoll. His concept, work and ambition were commendable. In a time where everyone questioned the validity of the BSC rankings, he created a guage for the outsiders. Ultimately, we, the participants, ended up with the same results as the coaches and AP writers. We didn't change the world, but it was a very enlightening process. The first early realization for me of the major flow in the traditional polling was when I realized how little I saw of all the participants. Prior to the season I could study up on every possible Top 25 candidate, but once the games began it was hard enough to catch a piece of all the ACC teams -- let alone all the other powers around the country. The refreshing thing about what Brian did is he forced us to be honest about our limited references and embrace our biases. So when he asked me to return for season 2, I gladly accepted. This poll might not be the most original, but it certainly the most honest and thought provoking. One other credit to Brian: through his work he connected me to a whole network of college bloggers. This group, a few of whom have contributed to this blog, are some of the best writers around and offer fresh perspective on college football.


Regarding my ballot: I really do think Notre Dame will win it all. I think they've got the right coach and the right schedule and are peaking at the right time. I cannot wait to knock them off next year. Teams 8 through 18 are pretty interchangeable. I didn't know where to put some of them. Others are calling Clemson and Miami sleepers, I see down years (relatively) for each. I placed BC, but not very high. With our schedule, we will waltz to a Bowl. With the right breaks we can be a Top 10 team this year.

Preseason Ballot
1. Notre Dame
2. Auburn
3. Ohio State
4. USC
5. Florida
6. Texas
7. Iowa
8. LSU
9. West Virginia
10. Virginia Tech
11. Georgia
12. Florida State
13. Michigan
14. Louisville
15. Tennessee
16. Miami, Fla
17. Oregon
18. Clemson
19. Boston College
20. TCU
21. Texas Tech
22. Oklahoma
23. California
24. Nebraska
25. Utah

1 comment:

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