Why Human Polls Suck
 

http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pol...=&v=35&w=8&r=V

This guy is all over the place. 8 of the teams in his polls he has placed at the extreme end in comparison to his fellow voters.

which team, among those ranked by every AP voter, has the highest variance in ranking?

(I don't know the answer, I'm hoping someone will answer for me).

I don't know but at that site I am sure you can figure it out because they show the variance.

Computer ratings are better:
http://d1afootball.com/d1apoll.htm

The problem with humans is they can't possibly watch every game and they have short memories, so they're left with highlights, reputations, personal bias, etc. Computers get rid of these problems but are left without the human variable of actually seeing a team play. I actually think an average of the two, something akin to the BCS formula, is pretty ideal for ranking teams (for seeding purposes in a playoff...).