It has been a couple of good years for the SEC in football. We’ve won two consecutive championships over Ohio State. To be fair, this past year, it is hard to say who the best two teams out there were. I figure poor Southern Cal should have been there instead of Ohio State. That is with the benefit of hindsight though. That Stanford game looked pretty bad on the ol’ resume.
February 17, 2008
February 12, 2008
Ranking College Football Winning Tradition
So, the SEC posted a All Time Final AP Football Poll. It is fairly entertaining and takes into all the AP polls since the beginning in 1936. Their methodology is pretty straightforward:
From 1936 to 1961 the wire service ranked 20 teams. From 1962 to 1967 only 10 teams were recognized. From 1968 to 1988 AP again resumed its Top 20 before expanding to 25 teams in 1989. Points were awarded based on a team’s finish in the final AP poll each year. Points were awarded on a 20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis from 1936 to 1988, and a 25-24-23-22-21-20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis 1989 to the present.
They gave out half points for ties which was also a good move. There is a flaw in their methodology though. If you were ranked before1989, you got an 5 points less than you would have if you had received an equivalent rating since then. This is unfair as teams shouldn’t be penalized for playing well before the AP voted for 25 teams. To be an accurate measure, being ranked number 1 in 1950 should weigh the same as 2007.
February 8, 2008
Signing Day 2008
I hate signing day. Auburn almost always has a solid class, but not a top-tier class. The top 2 classes since 2002 came in 2002 and 2007, but not near our wonderful 2004 season. I always try to read things into the rankings that make me feel better. It isn’t helping much this year. Let’s take at look.
Auburn was ranked 20th by Rivals.com and 19th by ESPN. Even with a standard margin for error, that is pretty consistent. ESPN gave Auburn a B for a grade. However, that is FOURTH in the SEC West and Sixth in the SEC as a whole.
