AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 04
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Is Steve Spurrier right or wrong?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I want to take a time out from breaking down the various positions to throw out this question to you:
Is Steve Spurrier right or wrong?
On Friday, the USA Today preseason coaches poll was released. For the past 15 years or so, except for the three years he was out of college football (2002-2004), Spurrier has given his No. 25 vote in the preseason poll to Duke.
Yes, Duke enters this season having lost 20 straight games and has lost 25 of its last 28 games in the ACC.
Spurrier does it so that for one week, long before any games are played, Duke will receive one point and be the last entry on the list of teams at the bottom of the poll that receive votes.
Spurrier sees it as a harmless gesture to a school that gave him his first head coaching job in college football. He rewarded them first in 1989 by winning an ACC championship, which was his springboard to Florida. From his standpoint, he is a very successful (and wealthy) man today because of the opportunity Duke gave him.
USA Today, however, has expressed concerns and will prevail upon the American Football Coaches Association, which picks the 60 coaches who participate in the poll, to get Spurrier to take his No. 25 vote as seriously as his No. 1 vote.
USA Today’s point is that if every coach did this, it would undermine the integrity of the poll. And polls are being watched more carefully now that they play a big part in determining who plays in the BCS championship.
I have long been a big proponent of full disclosure in the coaches poll, so that every vote is public every week. Right now, only the votes in the last regular season poll, the one that goes into the final BCS standings, are public.
Still, I agree with Spurrier.
If he’s voting Duke No. 25 when they are 0-2, that’s a problem. But if he’s voting them No. 25 when they are 0-0, like the other 118 teams in Division I-A, I don’t see a problem. Nobody is negatively impacted by the No. 25 pick in college football poll that is released on Aug. 3.
I think we all need to lighten up just a bit. The start of the season is still 26 days away.
Am I wrong? Is Spurrier wrong?
I’d like to hear your thoughts.
