I'm actually surprised this wasn't even a bigger story this week. I feel like if Lane Kiffin commented about it, maybe then it would've had a bigger buzz. (The coaches had voted anonymously until 2005, when, relenting to calls for transparency, they decided to reveal their final ballots.) Let's backtrack a bit: The coaches had been pressured into going public after 2004, when Texas and California lobbied for votes in some ersatz version of poker for a spot in the Rose Bowl with UT winning.)
I think it's a ridiculous decision the American Football Coaches Association made involving their final USA Today poll of the season. If their logic was really due to the advice of the Gallup people, they got some bad advice. And if that is the truth, Gallup doesn't understand the dynamics of the AFCA at all because it's overrun with agendas, back-slapping, vendettas and the spirit of self-preservation. Not to mention millions of dollars. We all know how much coaches hate being second-guessed, but when their votes were public, it pulled back the curtain too much on it and they simply couldn't handle it.
There were some interesting votes last year when it was public: Two of the coaches who ranked Texas No. 1 were Iowa State's Gene Chizik, a former UT assistant coach, and North Texas' Todd Dodge, a former UT QB. Hal Mumme had Texas Tech, coached by his protégé, Mike Leach, at No. 3, one slot ahead of Texas. Notre Dame's Charlie Weis, who has seen Urban Meyer snag a couple of his recruits lately, had the Gators No. 2 behind Oklahoma. Ron Zook had Oklahoma No. 1, ahead of his old team, UF (No. 2).
Would anyone be surprised if some of the coaches really downgraded a team it didn't want to see play in a certain game by dropping them a half-dozen slots?
Of course, this has led to talk that this is the AFCA beginning a process to get out of the BCS formula. The AFCA denies that, although I heard from one coach who said that it wouldn't surprise him if the coaches were maneuvering to get in the clear. Then again, he added that this is really just about the AFCA tiring of people skewering them for their decisions.
