At this time of year... - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

JohnnyLingo · 08-20-2007, 02:59 PM

As we see people discussing preseason rankings all around us, I'd just like to take a moment and say.

PRESEASON POLLS SUCK.

Indy Coug · 08-20-2007, 03:02 PM

The introduce too much bias that is difficult for many teams to overcome. Just as a very basic example, if a team starts out 25th and goes undefeated, chances are virtually zero they will pass up a team ranked 5th that goes undefeated.

JohnnyLingo · 08-20-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

The introduce too much bias that is difficult for many teams to overcome. Just as a very basic example, if a team starts out 25th and goes undefeated, chances are virtually zero they will pass up a team ranked 5th that goes undefeated.

Exactly. And in this playoff-less world of college football we live in, you're screwed if you're that 25th team. With a playoff, preseason rankings wouldn't bother me so much.

I can't see why we can't just start rankings at week 6 and go from there. There's always some team ranked in the top 10 who loses two of their first three games or something and ends up being embarrassed.

TheSizzle36 · 08-20-2007, 05:30 PM

I agree. However, there is a lot of money to be made by those who come out with their pre-season magazines, pre-season evaluations, etc. For the football starved fan, it helps fill the summer void a bit.

One option, since I can't see a pre-season poll going away, would be to have a pre-season poll and then hold off on a the next poll until 4th week of the season or so. I think it would be a lot easier to move teams up or down based on 3 or 4 weeks of play.

Indy Coug · 08-20-2007, 05:33 PM

They could minimize the damage rendered by preseason polls by simply not having polls until the first Sunday in October, allowing the actual play of teams to undo the distant memory of what was done in mid-August.

DrumNFeather · 08-20-2007, 05:42 PM

I like the NCAA 2008 Solution.

The video game starts out with the coaches poll, and then the media poll comes out in week 4 or 5.

There still has to be some sort of measuring stick, because otherwise there would be no way to determine what teams are "good."

JohnnyLingo · 09-07-2007, 12:34 AM

Having seen Michigan's performance against App. St. last week and Louisville vs. Middle Tennessee today, I am more convinced than ever that preseason rankings are useless and unfair.

No one knows how good anyone is before week 1.

Ugh.

08-20-2007, 02:59 PM	#1
JohnnyLingo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,175	At this time of year... As we see people discussing preseason rankings all around us, I'd just like to take a moment and say. PRESEASON POLLS SUCK.

08-20-2007, 05:42 PM	#6
DrumNFeather Active LDS Ute Fan Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Nantucket : ) Posts: 2,566	I like the NCAA 2008 Solution. The video game starts out with the coaches poll, and then the media poll comes out in week 4 or 5. There still has to be some sort of measuring stick, because otherwise there would be no way to determine what teams are "good." __________________ "It's not like we played the school of the blind out there." - Brian Johnson.

08-20-2007, 03:02 PM	#2
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	The introduce too much bias that is difficult for many teams to overcome. Just as a very basic example, if a team starts out 25th and goes undefeated, chances are virtually zero they will pass up a team ranked 5th that goes undefeated.

08-20-2007, 05:30 PM	#4
TheSizzle36 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,786	I agree. However, there is a lot of money to be made by those who come out with their pre-season magazines, pre-season evaluations, etc. For the football starved fan, it helps fill the summer void a bit. One option, since I can't see a pre-season poll going away, would be to have a pre-season poll and then hold off on a the next poll until 4th week of the season or so. I think it would be a lot easier to move teams up or down based on 3 or 4 weeks of play.

08-20-2007, 05:33 PM	#5
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	They could minimize the damage rendered by preseason polls by simply not having polls until the first Sunday in October, allowing the actual play of teams to undo the distant memory of what was done in mid-August.

09-07-2007, 12:34 AM	#7
JohnnyLingo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,175	Having seen Michigan's performance against App. St. last week and Louisville vs. Middle Tennessee today, I am more convinced than ever that preseason rankings are useless and unfair. No one knows how good anyone is before week 1. Ugh.