The case for and against Utah getting the AP #1 vote

[horses]

Hmmmm...

Paul, if we went by who would be favored on a neutral field at the end of the year, USC would have 6 of the last 7 BCS MNC's. It doesn't matter one iota what the spread would be if utah played whoever on a neutral field; they were 10 point dogs to 'Bama...and guess what...the spread was never in doubt. they dominated...spin it anyway you want; alabama wasn't interested...blah, blah, blah. what makes you think it would be any different with the other teams you mention if Utah played them? otherwise, why not just let the lvsc decide the national champion...hell, we wouldn't even need to PLAY the games, we'll just decide them in a back room in vegas.

 

[ddk997]

A Playoff would be nice, look at the match ups

Utah vs TCU
Texas vs Oklahoma
Florida vs Penn St
USC vs Alabama

 

[bersrker]

A Playoff would be nice, look at the match ups

Utah vs TCU
Texas vs Oklahoma
Florida vs Penn St
USC vs Alabama

2 of those games were already played in the "regular season playoff"

 

[JPicks]

Utah #1 in 4 of the 6 BCS computer rankings

Massey: Utah 1, Florida 2
http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cf

Anderson Hester: Utah 1, Florida 2
http://www.andersonsports.com/football/ACF_frnk.html

Peter Wolfe: Utah 1, Florida 2
http://prwolfe.bol.ucla.edu/cfootball/ratings.htm#first

Billingsly: Florida 1, USC 2, Utah 3
http://www.cfrc.com/Ratings_2008/WK_17.htm

 

[pstone]

Interesting thread with a lot of solid cappers

chiming in, but Utah just doesn't deserve to be No. 2 in the final poll. IMO, the Utes clearly benefitted from the "system" since (1) they played a disinterested opponent in their bowl game and (2), perhaps more importantly, they actually benefitted from pollsters who chose to reward them for an undefeated season against mediocre, at best, competition.

I do power ratings and believe in them strongly. The teams, in my mind, are team 'A', 'B' C' and so on, meaning I am not swayed by the name on their jersey.

Most on this board are familiar with Kenny White, chief operating officer for Las Vegas Sports Consultants which puts out their own version of the "Top 30" in college football each week during the season.

In the 1/12/09 edition of the Las Vegas Sun, White expressed his opinion that he views Utah's season in much the same manner, saying he had the Utes ranked No. 19 entering the bowl season.

I actually had Utah higher than Kenny, but share his opinion of their overall body of work. A team should not be penalized for its overall schedule and conference affiliation, but, folks, they part of our job as handicappers when we slot teams in relation to one another.

Again, Utah was good to me all season long, including the bowl game win over Alabama, but it is not the No. 2 team in the nation.

What would Southern Cal have done with Utah's schedule? What about Oklahoma? Texas? So forth and so on.

I love the fact that college football does not follow the "one size fits all" approach by bowing to the collective pressure of creating some type of national playoff system. On the contrary, it disappoints me when scribes and throats, who I can promise you know less than most on this board, vote undeserving teams so high just because it is the vogue thing to do.

The debate rages on...

Good luck in hoops guys,
Paul

 

[RetroVK]

What would Southern Cal have done with Utah's schedule? What about Oklahoma? Texas? So forth and so on.


i know usc played oregon st away and utah got them at home , paul but it isn't fair to say that usc would go undefeated with utahs schedule.

i agree that i dont think utah is the second best team but i don't know that for sure. Their schedule was tougher than usc in my opinion.

without a playoff i have to vote for the team that accomplished the most and that is utah objectively. the ole miss loss for florida , the texas tech loss for texas and obviously the common opponent loss for usc to the beavers has to hold a TON of weight. We are talking the mwc here which was arguably the third or fourth best in the nation this year... proven superiority over the pacten.

do i think utah beats usc if they play ?? hell no. but that isn't the point nor should it be.

after watching the championship game i would take ou straight up against florida heads up if they were to play in two weeks. Does that really matter that i now have them power rated higher or does it matter that florida actually won the game ?