All data in this article is borrowed from collegepolltracker.com
Welcome back for the 2017-2018 edition of Cracking the Code! Here’s a little background on the article (or to my loyal followers, a refresher on how I did it last year):
We all know the AP Poll is the definitive answer to who the best teams in college sports are, right? Ehhhhhhh maybe not. People see the small little number next to the teams with their ranking and don’t think anything of it other than knowing that some random people decided that rank.
I’m here to spread the word on the way the AP poll works. It is on a point scale: 1 point for a vote at 25, 2 for 24, 3 for 23, and so on. This is compiled together into total points and then the teams are ranked based on these points. Sounds simple, right?
But who are these people that are voting? That is often the part that is off everybody’s radar. There are 64 sportswriters across the country who are sending in their polls each week. 61 of these writers are associated with a local publication, and 3 of them are national voters (ESPN, SI, NPR). Luckily, the power of technology lets us look into how each individual voter ranked the teams and see who had the best/worst/craziest votes.
Most Accurate Poll of the Week: Kevin Brockway, The Gainesville Sun
Per usual, there is not much to say here. Brockway didn’t have any extreme picks on his poll, with his biggest difference being North Carolina at #10 (actual: 13). He also had Nevada ranked in the top 25 when they are actually #27, but that is not that extreme of a pick. Congrats to Brockway for being a level-headed AP voter and not having to deal with crazy fans arguing why their teams should be ranked differently.
Least Accurate Poll of the Week: Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal
It is always interesting to me seeing the least accurate poll because they don’t just have a couple bad picks here and there, it is usually just a mess from top to bottom. This weeks worst, Graham Couch, is no different. It starts with Texas A&M at #3 (actual: 9), which isn’t a horrible pick, but I am not exactly that high on them yet. Villanova is ranked #9 (actual: #4) in his poll, despite showing no reason they should have dropped from his original poll. Honestly, I could keep listing his horrible picks but it might make the article too long so please just take a look and prepare to be amazed.
Student Union Award for Best Pick: Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star
The Pick: Alabama at #20
Like last week, it is still a little early to decide which teams I think should be ranked higher than they are. This pick will be better/more interesting later in the season. However, I believe Alabama at #20 is fitting. I know by this point you are well aware of the 3-on-5 half that Alabama had to play. In that game, we saw the star that is Collin Sexton put up 40 points, raising his average to 25.2 points per game. Overall, they look like they absolutely belong in the top 25 and should be a force in the SEC outside of Kentucky and Texas A&M.
Student Union Award for Worst Pick: Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal
The Pick: Texas at #12, Nevada at #14
Graham Couch gets the double whammy for bad polls in this weeks article. Not only does he win the title for least accurate poll, but he also wins the award for worst pick with not one, but two of his horrible picks. He has Texas at #12, even though they are ranked #32 in the actual poll. Only 4 other people have them ranked at all and none of them higher than #23. As for Nevada, they are undefeated, but have not had the toughest of schedules. There is an argument to be made that they deserve to be ranked, however I do not think they should be #14. More than half of voters have them unranked and only 4 have them above #23. Again, just a case of ranking them too high.
My Poll:
New this year at Student Union is our SU25 poll and as one of the voters, I feel like this is the perfect place to post my personal poll. Feel free to put me on blast for my bad picks and like everyone on the internet does, let me know when I pick well (ha, yeah right).
- Duke
- Kansas
- Michigan State
- Villanova
- Notre Dame
- Texas A&M
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Wichita State
- Cincinnati
- Minnesota
- Miami
- North Carolina
- USC
- Gonzaga
- Baylor
- Virginia
- Louisville
- Arizona State
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Xavier
- TCU
- Creighton