Anyone else think the polls are a total joke?

[Pittx9]

Pitt nowhere to be found, but Penn State receiving votes. Penn State lost to Temple, who does have the most votes of an unranked team and is undefeated (albeit against really bad teams and they struggled with an awful UMass team.) Penn State also has struggled to beat some really bad football teams. Pitt on the other hand, has a loss against an undefeated Iowa team, who IMO at #17 is incredibly underrated.

 

[JHud986]

Feel your frustration. but the bottom line is until we prove ourselves we are not going to catch a break form the
pollsters.

 

[Pittx9]

Feel your frustration. but the bottom line is until we prove ourselves we are not going to catch a break form the
pollsters.

I'm not even saying we should be a top 35 team right now. But anyone who's watched football can tell Penn State is not a top 50 team. Your best win is against Indiana and all of a sudden you get some respect? Totally ludacris.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Feel your frustration. but the bottom line is until we prove ourselves we are not going to catch a break form the
pollsters.

Take heart. Sagarin's computer ranks us higher--or at least it did before last weekend.

 

[Pittx9]

Take heart. Sagarin's computer ranks us higher--or at least it did before last weekend.

Basically that's more what I mean by the polls being a joke. We are clearly better than Penn State (at least from the fact we haven't looked awful against some pretty pathetic competition.) But, they allow coaches, media, etc. to vote and either they play favorites or really just don't know or watch many college football games. Knock on the BCS and other computer systems all you want, but quite frankly I don't care what what the people at the Associated Press think. Missouri was ranked not that long ago. That just proves they aren't watching or have no clue.

 

[JoeScaz]

Feel your frustration. but the bottom line is until we prove ourselves we are not going to catch a break form the
pollsters.

True. But many on the list... have also not "proved themselves".. that is why the OP is absolutely correct.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Correct

PITT - 41
St Penn - 52


USA Today - Jeff Sagarin College Football ratings

Take heart. Sagarin's computer ranks us higher--or at least it did before last weekend.

 

[Pittx9]

True. But many on the list... have also not "proved themselves".. that is why the OP is absolutely correct.

Thank you. That was my only point. We may only deserve a couple votes, but for anyone to give Penn State a vote is just laughable. They must've thought they were playing the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday not the Indiana Hoosiers.

 

[pantherzooh2p]

The little brother syndrome on this site is something to behold!

 

[JS School]

One idiot sportswriter in Baltimore voted for Penn St at # 22, that's where they got their 4 points in the AP poll. Not sure how they got 6 in the coaches poll, maybe Franklin has a vote. Who knows, but it's not like they are getting a lot of respect.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Ohio State will score at will and could be worse than 2 years ago, which was 63 -14 I believe. No votes for St Penn next Monday whereas if we take care of business as we should, we will be receiving votes.

 

[pittdan77]

Penn State suddenly gets votes right before they play O$U?

That's easy. B1G folks know that O$U needs credentials to get into the playoff so coaches vote up PSU this week. Writers do the same because they need access.

Watch how much "respect" we get if we have two losses heading into the Duke game.

 

[PITTLAW]

Pitt nowhere to be found, but Penn State receiving votes. Penn State lost to Temple, who does have the most votes of an unranked team and is undefeated (albeit against really bad teams and they struggled with an awful UMass team.) Penn State also has struggled to beat some really bad football teams. Pitt on the other hand, has a loss against an undefeated Iowa team, who IMO at #17 is incredibly underrated.

The polls are generally a joke until the last week or two of the season. While it is absolutely silly that PSU or Northwestern are getting votes, it will work itself out in the wash as the season progresses. As for Pitt, they certainly do not deserve to be ranked yet. The only wins over P5 schools are against a 3-3 VaTech and a 1-4 Virginia. Hard to impress pollsters with close wins over the likes of that. Should Pitt beat GaTech and Syracuse...you might see a small number of votes--and then it would be earned. Rather than worry about where Pitt is or is not in the polls...focus your worry on the enemic Pitt offense. Hail to Pitt!

 

[Large Panther]

Yes.

 

[upj87]

Pitt nowhere to be found, but Penn State receiving votes. Penn State lost to Temple, who does have the most votes of an unranked team and is undefeated (albeit against really bad teams and they struggled with an awful UMass team.) Penn State also has struggled to beat some really bad football teams. Pitt on the other hand, has a loss against an undefeated Iowa team, who IMO at #17 is incredibly underrated.

You do realize that the Temple game, the Buffalo game, the San Diego State game and the Army game were all aberrations...This is the team that beat the team that played Ohio State tough and, by golly, that should be worth something!

 

[Blue Goose]

just keep winning and the votes will come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PittME75]

Correct

PITT - 41
St Penn - 52


USA Today - Jeff Sagarin College Football ratings

Interesting: Virginia - 80; Youngstown State - 81

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Is Budweiser good? Is it one of the top 50 beers in the world? I say no. But they will be on that list because of brand name. Someone looked and saw "Penn State" and "4-1" and figured, "wow, they have to be ranked".

Same thing happens with the 27 SEC teams that start the year in the polls.

 

[Tomster6758]

The polls are a complete joke!! Texas has 4 votes in one of them for crying out loud!!

 

[ThePanthers]

My favorite is a 2-4 Texas receiving votes in the coaches poll.

 

[Pitt79]

The polls are a joke, mainly because reputation and previous years results factor in, if Pitt stunned everybody and went 11-1, they'd be ranked behind a 9-3 Alabama probably. Sure you could argue strength of schedule and league, But if you said it was Vandy 11-1 in the same scenario, they'd probably still rate 'Bama ahead of them, even if they are in the same league.

 

[deepelemblues]

The polls are a joke, mainly because reputation and previous years results factor in, if Pitt stunned everybody and went 11-1, they'd be ranked behind a 9-3 Alabama probably. Sure you could argue strength of schedule and league, But if you said it was Vandy 11-1 in the same scenario, they'd probably still rate 'Bama ahead of them, even if they are in the same league.

I don't know about a 9-3 Alabama being ranked higher than an 11-1 Pitt, but any 10-2 team from the SEC would be. Even if this is some hypothetical future year where Pitt would again hypothetically have a team actually capable of beating most of those SEC teams.

 

[Pittx9]

You do realize that the Temple game, the Buffalo game, the San Diego State game and the Army game were all aberrations...This is the team that beat the team that played Ohio State tough and, by golly, that should be worth something!

Lol, every team has played Ohio State tough, another reason the polls are a joke. Ohio State started out #1 so they're not moving. They are nowhere near the best team in the country.

 

[wbrpanther]

Pitt nowhere to be found, but Penn State receiving votes. Penn State lost to Temple, who does have the most votes of an unranked team and is undefeated (albeit against really bad teams and they struggled with an awful UMass team.) Penn State also has struggled to beat some really bad football teams. Pitt on the other hand, has a loss against an undefeated Iowa team, who IMO at #17 is incredibly underrated.

That's the Brotherhood of the Big Ten checking in. If they think Pitt is, say, 50th then they should have the Nits in at around 75th. They lost to Temple while Pitt lost to undefeated Iowa on a 52 yard field goal. But time will tell. They are gonna start getting stomped so Pitt just needs to keep winning.

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

I don't care for jokes about the Polls or Polish!

Even though I am Bi-Coastal and Bi-Polar?

I happen to like both the Atlantic and Pacific as well as Arctic and Antarctic as well as Marino and Montana that both had Polish Mothers.

I happen to be Bi-Partisan as well, but not Bi-Sexual? Yet I support such rights for others and for "TransJenners" because I liked the Olympics!!!

I am also not Bi-Postal because I don't believe in shootings in Gun Free Zones and I respect MailWomen!

I am not joking just jibbing!

 

[pitt-girl]

And this is something new?

The polls in college football have always been a joke because of the low number of games (as opposed to college basketball where teams have 25+ games a year). What would rectify this is if there were absolutely NO polls until the 4th week of the season which gives all teams a better chance of establishing themselves. As it is, short of going undefeated, unless you're ranked preseason top 25, breaking into the top 10 is quite hard - see Iowa this year.

 

[pittpitt]

If someone thinks polls mean something and are based in reality, they are a moron who is not to be listened to or taken seriously ever.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

All of you folks are looking to see who is (and isn't) in the polls and you are all talking about the polls, so the polls have done EXACTLY what they were designed to do. At least for this week.

 

[runthewildcat]

Polls are nothing more than a popularity contest. Every year they try so hard to get Texas and USC ranked based on the fact that they are a large market and have previously been bcs contenders, but the fact of the matter is neither have been good in years. Penn state is another example as well.
I think if Pitt can win their next two games they will be close to sniffing top 25.

 

[sherepower]

Thats why i laugh at folks who say perception means nothing. Yet, in college football. It means almost as much as wins and losses.

People look at rank recruiting classes. To base their perception on how good certain programs are..........right or wrong. It is the case

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Polls are nothing more than a popularity contest.

Polls are nothing more than marketing opportunities for the organizations that release them. That's what they were designed to be from day one, and that's what they still are to this day. The more people talk about the polls the more successful the polls are at achieving their true purpose.

 

[Pittx9]

Everyone's made good points. Not only do I think it's a joke that Penn State is even close to the top 25, but once you're at a spot, take #1 for example, it's hard to move down without losing. Case in point this year, it's not even comparable what Ohio State has done to what Baylor has done. Going into this weekend, Baylor is clearly the best team in the country and I don't even know how you can argue against that. The pollsters just try to keep their preseason picks as accurate as they possibly can.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

Pitt needs to win games against teams that have similar talent and records as them. They took care of business against VA Tech and UVA. If they just win games against those types of teams, things will be fine.

 

[Delpanther]

Lot of politics in polling-always have been. As regards the Nitany Scum receiving votes, that's simply because the Big Pretend teams and their coaches stand in solidarity in trying to propagate the view that it's a strong conference. Accordingly, both coaches with votes in the coaches polls and writers in the midwest are Big pretend biased and that's reflected in their votes.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Pitt nowhere to be found, but Penn State receiving votes. Penn State lost to Temple, who does have the most votes of an unranked team and is undefeated (albeit against really bad teams and they struggled with an awful UMass team.) Penn State also has struggled to beat some really bad football teams. Pitt on the other hand, has a loss against an undefeated Iowa team, who IMO at #17 is incredibly underrated.

Us this a serious question? Of course they are a joke. The voters pay very little attention, especially the coaches.

I honestly never even look at the rankings. They are beyond meaningless. The only time I know what a team is ranked is when I see it come across the bottom scroll.

As for Pitt, PSU, Temple, right now it has to be

1. Temple (best win)
2. Pitt (best loss)
3. PSU

That's not even a question.

 

[pitt-girl]

Us this a serious question? Of course they are a joke. The voters pay very little attention, especially the coaches.

I honestly never even look at the rankings. They are beyond meaningless. The only time I know what a team is ranked is when I see it come across the bottom scroll.

As for Pitt, PSU, Temple, right now it has to be

1. Temple (best win)
2. Pitt (best loss)
3. PSU

That's not even a question.

Here's the rub though with rankings - they do play a role in who gets selected for ESPN slots and preferable kick off times. If Pitt was ranked right now, our games would most likely not be on the ACC network at noon.

 

[Pittx9]

As for Pitt, PSU, Temple, right now it has to be

1. Temple (best win)
2. Pitt (best loss)
3. PSU

That's not even a question.

Temple is also undefeated. That would probably lead to their higher ranking. I won't argue with that. Even though I don't call the Penn State win impressive.

 

[heybandguy]

Just win saturday on the road, and I think they get some votes.
A convincing win vs Cuse the following week gets Pitt noticed.
A win over UNC on Thursday night will propel them into the rankings.
Polls are irritating to me at least from the standpoint that there is no way everyone who has a vote is able to look at the box score and really determine if a 4-1 team has earned being ranked. Although Pitt is 4-1, I am not of the opinion they should be a ranked team. That being said, the other school that is located in the center of the state doesn't deserve votes at all (barely beating a service school and losing to Temple? - those are feats reserved for the likes of Middle Tennessee State).

 

[Pittx9]

That being said, the other school that is located in the center of the state doesn't deserve votes at all (barely beating a service school and losing to Temple? - those are feats reserved for the likes of Middle Tennessee State).

That was basically my only point. I really don't even think we'd be ranked unless we win the next 3 and even then we'd be 25. Even though somehow Missouri was ranked this season, and boy are they awful. But my point was Penn State (while banged-up) beats another banged-up Indiana team, and all of a sudden they're near top 25? Is that the only game that counts towards the polls? Every game up to that one they looked like complete garbage. Well, they are complete garbage but you get the point.

 

[pantherzooh2p]

The polls are a joke, mainly because reputation and previous years results factor in, if Pitt stunned everybody and went 11-1, they'd be ranked behind a 9-3 Alabama probably. Sure you could argue strength of schedule and league, But if you said it was Vandy 11-1 in the same scenario, they'd probably still rate 'Bama ahead of them, even if they are in the same league.

Lets be honest if a 9-3 Bama team played an 11-1 Pitt team this year, Bama would probably be favored by 25 and cover.