Coaches poll #10 still?!

[Iron Machine]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm

This is a complete joke USC loses to oregon state and the don't drop behind us, unbelievable, Auburn almost loses to fn ole miss and goes up. WOW, just WOW!

 

[GREENJERSEYS'07]

yeah i knew they would do that.You don't drop if you win...unless your notre dame.I also told my wife this morning that usc would be 9th in front of notre dame.

fuk it...I have to deal with it just like everyone else.

OTHER TEAMS WILL LOSE AND NOTRE DAME WILL NOT BE DENIED A HIGHER RANKING

 

[KMac151993]

I don't mind it...we aren't in contention for the title anyway and I am sure if we win out we will get a BCS bid so there is no reason to be pissed about the rankings.

 

[marv81s]

I loved how some at ESPN gave all this credit to USC for "almost" coming back to win the game, but not too many of the mentioned how they never should have been in that position to begin with, they were 11 point favs for crying out loud. Some of them said that this was coming, and that they should take a huge drop. So much for that. I don't understand the love affair they these pollsters have with them. Is the poodle blowing these guys on the side or what. The were being dominated and OSU let up and made mental errors. I have had it, ND gets penalized for close games and others get rewarded for "hangin in there" or "having a great come back". Such a double standard right now.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

I loved how some at ESPN gave all this credit to USC for "almost" coming back to win the game, but not too many of the mentioned how they never should have been in that position to begin with, they were 11 point favs for crying out loud. Some of them said that this was coming, and that they should take a huge drop. So much for that. I don't understand the love affair they these pollsters have with them. Is the poodle blowing these guys on the side or what. The were being dominated and OSU let up and made mental errors. I have had it, ND gets penalized for close games and others get rewarded for "hangin in there" or "having a great come back". Such a double standard right now.

It's a joke that's all there is to it... The pollsters are a bunch of clowns and they are proving it with their bias.

 

[Bubba]

This will continue as long as the coaches poll has influence on the BCS standings. With ND having an automatic bid if they are 8th or above (and I believe consideration at 14 or above), the coaches are going to rank them as low as possible to give their teams a chance at a BCS game.

Does anyone remember how far we fell after the UM loss? The #2 team in the nation! I can't remember, but I think it was probably more than USC just fell after losing to unranked OSU. It is BS, but all we need to do is win out and all of this won't matter.

 

[scooper]

We still have time to pass USC.

 

[NDFan78]

We shouldn't have to pass USC, they lost to Oregon St! A lot of ND haters voting on the polls.

 

[SIUIrish]

We all knew this was gonna happen. Right or wrong, we all knew.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

We all knew this was gonna happen. Right or wrong, we all knew.

Yup...I even said so yesterday. I have no faith in the pollsters.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

Well, here is the irony for the idiot voters. The longer they keep USC ahead of ND, the more it helps ND when they SPANK USC. These morons can't win. Keep USC ahead of ND and the win means more. Rank ND ahead of USC and, well, they've ranked ND higher. So don't be mad, look at the big picture and see the corner these assclowns have painted themselves into.

 

[tommy]

some one must not have gotten that suit case of money to the oregon st sideline soon enough .

 

[ND Lifer]

It's all about the money that the teams and conferences get fot the BCS Bowls, coupled with recruiting. The coaches are going to do everything they can to vote to benefit their team and/or conference all of the time. Also, they try to keep ND as low as possible in the polls to negatively affect ND recruiting, if at all possibel.

The same thing happens with ND using refs from other conferences, or the conference refs of the team their playing. When the money is on the line, the calls will go against ND. Reference the end of the USC game last year using the PAC 10 refs.

That's why the only fair way to decide the national championship is a college playoff system. Decide it on the field, not in the polls. Otherwise all the money and poilitics go against ND. This will only go away if ND were to join a conference. None of us wants that, so we have to live with the situation until a playoff system is implemented. Once everyone realizes how much money will be gained from a true playoff system, it will be adopted. Just look at the greed and how quick they adopted the 12th regular season game. They wanted the extra money. It would be a college playoff system with a college super bowl at the end.

Until then, we just keep winning and "grin and bear it".

 

[SIUIrish]

A college "Super Bowl" would be pretty sweet. But I think that this would make people just as mad because how many teams get into a Div. 1A playoff? There are only 16 in 1AA and about 60 or so teams make a bowl game. There will be a bunch of very upset teams if you go this way. Do the other teams play in some smaller bowl system? Everyone says a playoff will be better, but what kind of playoff system do you use to make the school administrators happy?

 

[St.Kittsnd]

I believe that a playoff system is a "Utopian" response to a problem that can not be solved. For many different reasons, fans believe that their team is the best. Injuries to key players, bad breaks and a loss at the wrong time of the year can all be factors in why the "best" team is not voted or considered the National Champion.

Our team, for whom I have skipped work and lied to my wife to watch on TV, is a good team this year. I believe with good fortune and some breaks, they could have been playing for the NC. With SoCal's loss on Saturday our remote chances(which Charlie mentioned in his last presser)went out the window.

Forget about a playoff system and let the writers and the coaches vote. The worst thing that can happen is that someone shares a National Championship. Afterall, Notre Dame did benefit from this system at least once(1977).

P.S. as a sideline, I know that some of you out their are parents of young children. We should not loose focus of the fact that most of these kids are student athletes-at Notre Dame- and they will never see the NFL. By the time most seniors in University play their last college football game, they realize their football carreer is over. Would it be nice for them to say they played on a NC team. Of course! And we hope all Notre Dame players have that chance. But don't loose sight of the fact that Notre Dame is the home of the "STUDENT ATHLETE" and a place to win NC'S, no matter of how that NC is determined.

 

[Vince Young]

Notre Dame's loss was an absolute de-pantsing. The coaches dropped us 10 spots from #3 to #13.

USC's loss was a 2-point nail-biter. The coaches dropped them 7 spots from #2 to #9.

...oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to get upset about this? Is this some grave injustice on-par with the Holocaust, Watergate, and hot dogs coming in packages of 8 while hot dog buns come in packages of 10?

WAY too much whining going on around here lately. It's like an epidemic or something.

 

[NDAlumSon]

...and hot dogs coming in packages of 8 while hot dog buns come in packages of 10?

grin:

 

[marv81s]

so an 11 point favorate gets a pass because it was close when in reality they never should have been in that spot. USC has gotten a pass for the last month by being in close games that they never should have been close to begin with, while ND has gotten penalized for the same thing. USC voters have been going off of their success for the last 3 years, not their success from this year.

Just need to have some consistentcy, that is all I am asking for.

 

[Vince Young]

so an 11 point favorate gets a pass because it was close when in reality they never should have been in that spot.

Ohhhhhh, I get it now! Being dropped 7 spots is "getting a pass." Okay.

Good grief, Marv! Maybe I'm just grumpy tonight, but you might want to think about it a little bit more before you submit a reply that says that USC getting dropped 7 spots is the coaches "giving them a pass."

WAY too much whining on here today...

 

[marv81s]

compared to the past 3 close games against average competition and losing to a team like OSU, dropping 6 to 7 spots is a pass in my book considering the circumstances and comparrisons to other teams. I'm not whining, I am just stating in my opinion, USC should have dropped completely out of the top 10 considering their performance the last month. We get penalized for close games, they get a pass.

 

[Vince Young]

compared to the past 3 close games against average competition and losing to a team like OSU, dropping 6 to 7 spots is a pass in my book considering the circumstances and comparrisons to other teams. I'm not whining, I am just stating in my opinion, USC should have dropped completely out of the top 10 considering their performance the last month. We get penalized for close games, they get a pass.

I'm sorry, but happening to drop 1 spot through the vagaries of the voting system is not "getting penalized," and dropping 7 spots is not "getting a pass."

Here's how ND has done in the coaches' poll, week-to-week.
ND started at #3.
Struggled against an underestimated Georgia Tech, dropped 2 to #5.
Destroyed an overestimated Penn State, jumped back up 2 to #3.
Got de-pantsed by Michigan, plummeted 10 to #13.
Struggled against Michigan State, dropped 1 to #14.
Defeated Purdue, jumped 2 to #12.
Defeated Stanford, jumped 4 to #8!
Bye week, stayed at #8.
Struggled against UCLA, dropped 2 to #10.
Crushed Navy, stayed at #10.

Did we deserve to jump 6 spots for defeating the football powerhouses of Purdue and Stanford? I don't think so.

As for the two teams that leap-frogged us after the UCLA win, Florida and Tennessee... Florida's sole loss was by 10 on the road against Auburn, but they also notched impressive wins over LSU and Tennessee. And Tennessee lost by 1 to Florida and struggled past Alabama, but also crushed Cal. Compare that to our close wins over Georgia Tech, Michigan State and UCLA and getting knocked into the next time zone by Michigan.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how I'm supposed to feel insulted over Florida and Tennessee leapfrogging us. They performances thus far compare quite similarly to ours.

There is no insult here. Stop acting insulted. It makes you look silly.

 

[jiggafini19]

Here's a beef for you:

Auburn BEAT Florida and is ranked behind them in the BCS.
Tennessee BEAT Cal and is ranked behind them in the BCS.

 

[maison bleu]

Notre Dame's loss was an absolute de-pantsing. The coaches dropped us 10 spots from #3 to #13.

USC's loss was a 2-point nail-biter. The coaches dropped them 7 spots from #2 to #9.

...oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to get upset about this? Is this some grave injustice on-par with the Holocaust, Watergate, and hot dogs coming in packages of 8 while hot dog buns come in packages of 10?

WAY too much whining going on around here lately. It's like an epidemic or something.

I agree with your thinking here. Rep points for being objective.

I'd also ask this. If voters hate ND so much, why did they rank them #2/#3 at the beginnng of the season? The Buckeye$ exposed quite a few weaknesses in last year's bowl game, enough that ND-hatin' voters could have rationalized leaving the Irish out of the preseason top 10.

 

[domerfor life]

I agree with Vince. There is way too much whining going. Teams above us may lose another game. All we have to do is win out. Let's focus on the upcoming opponents and beating them. If we focus on that, at the end of the season this won't even matter. Notre Dame really hasn't consistently played like a Top 10 team. Like it or not, the Michigan loss will be held against us until we beat SC. The best team on our schedule beat us at home by 26 points. We have to keep winning and let it play out. Stop whining.

 

[scooper]

I agree with your thinking here. Rep points for being objective.

I'd also ask this. If voters hate ND so much, why did they rank them #2/#3 at the beginnng of the season? The Buckeye$ exposed quite a few weaknesses in last year's bowl game, enough that ND-hatin' voters could have rationalized leaving the Irish out of the preseason top 10.

Because they love offense. And ND had (and still has) a Heisman candidate at QB, an All-American receiver and most of the crew returning. That's what they saw when they voted ND #2.

Not to mention that of the teams in the preseason top 10, ALL of them had some major questions to ask. Sure, in hindsight, you can say ND was overrated at #2. But you could have justified a number of teams in that spot preseason.

Funny thing is, if ND wins out they could still end up #2 or 3.

 

[maison bleu]

Because they love offense. And ND had (and still has) a Heisman candidate at QB, an All-American receiver and most of the crew returning. That's what they saw when they voted ND #2.

Not to mention that of the teams in the preseason top 10, ALL of them had some major questions to ask. Sure, in hindsight, you can say ND was overrated at #2. But you could have justified a number of teams in that spot preseason.

Funny thing is, if ND wins out they could still end up #2 or 3.

Completely agree. My point is that the #2 preseason ranking is strong evidence that there's no anti-ND conspiracy among the pollsters.

 

[scooper]

Completely agree. My point is that the #2 preseason ranking is strong evidence that there's no anti-ND conspiracy among the pollsters.

If you're not vying for #1 which ND won't be this year, I don't care enough about the polls to complain. But some of the stuff that's happened to ND stinks. C'mon, Cal jumping us after we win convincingly and they are off?

It's definately not organized bias. But read some of the stuff the hacks write and listen to some of the windbags on ESPN over the weekend. There are some guys out there with votes who just don't like ND.

And yes, there is an anti-ND bias in the coaches poll. It's natural. It's called voting for your own conference. Look at Spurrier voting ND in the low teens last season. Look at the effort of the Big 12 coaches a couple years ago in getting Texas into the BCS by voting Cal low. The coaches poll is biased by design. The more teams they get into big bowls, the more money conferences, and therefore the coaches, get. But, that's a burden ND chooses as an independent.

I look at it this way. A no loss ND will NEVER be kept out of a title game. I don't care who else is available. Also, a ranked ND will always get bowls because they bring money. So the bottom line is take care of business and things will work out well for ND. Grinding our teeth over it every week won't accomplish much.

 

[FleaFlicker]

I loved how some at ESPN gave all this credit to USC for "almost" coming back to win the game, but not too many of the mentioned how they never should have been in that position to begin with, they were 11 point favs for crying out loud. Some of them said that this was coming, and that they should take a huge drop. So much for that. I don't understand the love affair they these pollsters have with them. Is the poodle blowing these guys on the side or what. The were being dominated and OSU let up and made mental errors. I have had it, ND gets penalized for close games and others get rewarded for "hangin in there" or "having a great come back". Such a double standard right now.

What I want to know is how in the hell is Texas 4th? They have basically an IDENTICAL schedule to ND, all things considered. One game they should have lost to Nebraska. One game they were behing by 21 in the first quarter.

It is an absolute joke. If anyone can convince me that Texas deserves to be 4th, compared to ND at 10 or 11, please do so...

 

[FleaFlicker]

Notre Dame's loss was an absolute de-pantsing. The coaches dropped us 10 spots from #3 to #13.

USC's loss was a 2-point nail-biter. The coaches dropped them 7 spots from #2 to #9.

...oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to get upset about this? Is this some grave injustice on-par with the Holocaust, Watergate, and hot dogs coming in packages of 8 while hot dog buns come in packages of 10?

WAY too much whining going on around here lately. It's like an epidemic or something.

And Auburn's loss? What was that?

They lost by almost the same margin at home.

The team we lost to is the No.2 team in the country, and still undefeated. Arkansas got blown out by USC (which I'm sure wouldn't happen again).

Seriously, there is huge bias going on right now.

It isn't just about being blwon-out at home, to a nail-biter away...

Look at the teams that won those game. UM would blow USC out of the water too.

 

[FleaFlicker]

If you're not vying for #1 which ND won't be this year, I don't care enough about the polls to complain. But some of the stuff that's happened to ND stinks. C'mon, Cal jumping us after we win convincingly and they are off?

It's definately not organized bias. But read some of the stuff the hacks write and listen to some of the windbags on ESPN over the weekend. There are some guys out there with votes who just don't like ND.

And yes, there is an anti-ND bias in the coaches poll. It's natural. It's called voting for your own conference. Look at Spurrier voting ND in the low teens last season. Look at the effort of the Big 12 coaches a couple years ago in getting Texas into the BCS by voting Cal low. The coaches poll is biased by design. The more teams they get into big bowls, the more money conferences, and therefore the coaches, get. But, that's a burden ND chooses as an independent.

I look at it this way. A no loss ND will NEVER be kept out of a title game. I don't care who else is available. Also, a ranked ND will always get bowls because they bring money. So the bottom line is take care of business and things will work out well for ND. Grinding our teeth over it every week won't accomplish much.

Right, but in the situation we are in this year.... When there are many teams with one-loss, and only one of them will get in the NC game, then the bias matters.

I know we aren't at the end of the season yet. But my contention is that I have major issues with USC and Texas being ranked where they are. Auburn should be ahead of us, but not by that much. Way too much credit has been given to USC and TExas' teams from last year. That is the only reason they are sitting where they are.