While I was looking at the AP polls to try to reinforce my opinion on another thread, I found this and was more bothered by it. Join me in my rage.
Oklahoma gained votes after losing to Alabama. They were 8 votes from rising to #3 even after losing, and trailed Ohio State 1364-1356 in the final poll.
How is this possible? Here's how:
Week 14: Oklahoma is 11-1, and is ranked #5. They have 4 votes for 4th place after getting past West Virginia.
Week 15: Oklahoma beats Texas in the Big 12 championship, and rise to #4. They now have 1 3rd place vote and 46 4th place votes. 12 5th place, 2 6th.
Week 16: Oklahoma loses to Alabama, stay at #4. But with the loss, they now have 22 3rd place votes, 31 4th, and 8 5th.
How exactly does a team get ranked higher on a majority of ballots by losing?
This of course forces me to look at our own rankings, and here's what I found:
Week 14, after the AC loss, we were tied with LSU at #12. 818 points each.
Week 15, the poll that helped determined the NY6 berths - Texas lost to Oklahoma and fell to #14. LSU gained 2 more votes and moved to #11 and left us at 12. LSU got the last NY6 berth, because Oklahoma went to the playoff and Texas got the Sugar bowl.
Bad luck, right?
Nope. Look closer.
In week 14, we had 5 votes at #9, 8 at #10, 8 at #11, 7 at #12, 14 at #13, 8 at #14, 5 at #15, 2 at #16, 3 at #17, and 1 at #19
In week 15, we had only 2 votes at #9, 11 at #10, 11 at #11, 12 at #12, 13 at #13, 6 at #14, 2 at #15, 3 at #16, and 1 at #17
In week 14, our votes at #9 were Ben Jones, Chris Murray, Don Williams, Scott Rabalais, and Tom Murphy.
In week 15, Ben Jones and Don Williams still had us at #9. Chris Murray dropped us to #10, Tom Murphy to #11, and Scott Rabalais to #12.
LSU week 14: Chris Murray, Don Williams, and Tom Murphy had them at #10. Scott Rabalais had them at #11. Ben Jones had them at #15.
LSU week 15: Don Williams and Tom Murphy left them at #10. Ben Jones left them at #15. Chris Murray dropped them to #11, and Scott Rabalais moved them to #10.
So, while neither team played, Scott Rabalais dropped WSU 3 spots, and elevated LSU 1 spot, creating a 4 point differential for no apparent reason. Tom Murphy created another 2 points. The others were neutral.
Tom Murphy writes for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, and went to Louisiana Tech.
Scott Rabalais writes for the Baton Rouge Advocate. He's the author of "The Fighting Tigers 1993-2008: Into a New Century of LSU Football". He's a former senior writer for TigerDroppings.com, the ESPN-affiliated website for LSU. And he spends a lot of time writing about LSU football.
But I'm sure it's just coincidence that these two helped create space between us and LSU.
Oklahoma gained votes after losing to Alabama. They were 8 votes from rising to #3 even after losing, and trailed Ohio State 1364-1356 in the final poll.
How is this possible? Here's how:
Week 14: Oklahoma is 11-1, and is ranked #5. They have 4 votes for 4th place after getting past West Virginia.
Week 15: Oklahoma beats Texas in the Big 12 championship, and rise to #4. They now have 1 3rd place vote and 46 4th place votes. 12 5th place, 2 6th.
Week 16: Oklahoma loses to Alabama, stay at #4. But with the loss, they now have 22 3rd place votes, 31 4th, and 8 5th.
How exactly does a team get ranked higher on a majority of ballots by losing?
This of course forces me to look at our own rankings, and here's what I found:
Week 14, after the AC loss, we were tied with LSU at #12. 818 points each.
Week 15, the poll that helped determined the NY6 berths - Texas lost to Oklahoma and fell to #14. LSU gained 2 more votes and moved to #11 and left us at 12. LSU got the last NY6 berth, because Oklahoma went to the playoff and Texas got the Sugar bowl.
Bad luck, right?
Nope. Look closer.
In week 14, we had 5 votes at #9, 8 at #10, 8 at #11, 7 at #12, 14 at #13, 8 at #14, 5 at #15, 2 at #16, 3 at #17, and 1 at #19
In week 15, we had only 2 votes at #9, 11 at #10, 11 at #11, 12 at #12, 13 at #13, 6 at #14, 2 at #15, 3 at #16, and 1 at #17
In week 14, our votes at #9 were Ben Jones, Chris Murray, Don Williams, Scott Rabalais, and Tom Murphy.
In week 15, Ben Jones and Don Williams still had us at #9. Chris Murray dropped us to #10, Tom Murphy to #11, and Scott Rabalais to #12.
LSU week 14: Chris Murray, Don Williams, and Tom Murphy had them at #10. Scott Rabalais had them at #11. Ben Jones had them at #15.
LSU week 15: Don Williams and Tom Murphy left them at #10. Ben Jones left them at #15. Chris Murray dropped them to #11, and Scott Rabalais moved them to #10.
So, while neither team played, Scott Rabalais dropped WSU 3 spots, and elevated LSU 1 spot, creating a 4 point differential for no apparent reason. Tom Murphy created another 2 points. The others were neutral.
Tom Murphy writes for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, and went to Louisiana Tech.
Scott Rabalais writes for the Baton Rouge Advocate. He's the author of "The Fighting Tigers 1993-2008: Into a New Century of LSU Football". He's a former senior writer for TigerDroppings.com, the ESPN-affiliated website for LSU. And he spends a lot of time writing about LSU football.
But I'm sure it's just coincidence that these two helped create space between us and LSU.