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Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Why the voters dropped Georgia to No. 2
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some Georgia fans may be scratching their heads today wondering how you get dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the polls after beating somebody (Georgia Southern) by 24. But understand that when the final BCS standings are released on Dec. 7, it doesn’t matter Who’s No. 1. The only thing that matters is Who’s No. 2.
I was a voter in the Associated Press poll for 15 years and I had a standing rule: If I put a team No. 1 at any point during the season, they would stay there as long as they won. There may have been once or twice in 15 years that I went against that rule. I think I moved Auburn to No.1 ahead of Southern Cal in 2004 after the Tigers really got it going.
But not every pollster feels that way. Here are some reasons that could have factored into their reasoning to move Southern Cal ahead of Georgia:
**—Performance on the road counts big. Southern Cal was scary good in winning 52-7 on the road against Virginia, which won nine games a year ago. Remember that in the preseason there were questions about quarterback Mark Sanchez, who suffered a dislocated kneecap in practice. Sanchez was brilliant against a BCS team on the road. That counts for something.
And you can mark this down. If Southern Cal beats Ohio State next week at the Coliseum, the Trojans will be in the BCS championship game on Jan. 8. The only question will be the opponent.
**—It is a weekly poll. Some voters believe that every Sunday, particularly early in the season, you should sit down with the results from the day before in front of a blank sheet of paper and rank the teams based on their performance to date. They believe the previous week’s rankings should not be a major factor. That’s what happened here. A talented Southern Cal team with a healthy Sanchez flew all the way across the country and played very well. Georgia played well at home against a Division I-AA opponent. So for this week, in the voters minds, Southern Cal deserves the No. 1 spot.
**—Georgia’s injuries: Voters watch injuries. They know that LT Trinton Sturdivant) was lost in preseason. They know what DT Jeff Owens was a big-time leader on that Georgia defense. Some teams start to unravel when big injuries start to hit. Some voters will drop teams a notch because of injuries.
**—Next week’s game: With No. 3 Ohio State coming to Southern Cal next week, some voters no doubt feel like the winner of that early mega-game deserves to be No. 1. So they were simply positioning Southern Cal for that game. If Ohio State beats Southern Cal, you can expect the Buckeyes to jump over Georgia into the top spot.
The bottom line is that the human polls are like a beauty contest. It’s in the eye of the beholder and each voter sets his or her standards. Is that fair? Probably not but it’s the system we have, at least for the next six years.
But here’s the bottom line. These same voters know how hard Georgia’s schedule is. If Georgia wins them all, or finishes with one loss as the SEC champions, I believe the Bulldogs will be there in South Florida with the Ohio State-USC winner. Now if the Big 12 champ (Oklahoma or Missouri) is 13-0 and Georgia is 12-1, that’s a different story. That would be an interesting vote.
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