Head-to-Head Only Good for Headaches
Michigan and Washington sport identical 5-1 records, with Michigan’s defeat coming at the hands of the Huskies. Michigan, however, stands at No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the BCS rankings, while Washington is at No. 13 and No. 13, respectively.
Oregon’s only loss came at home to Stanford and is at No. 11 in the AP and No. 13 in the BCS, while the once-beaten Cardinal is at No. 20 and No. 14.
Tennessee is at No. 9 in both ratings with its lone loss at home to Georgia, which has also lost once but is No. 15 in the AP and doesn’t crack the BCS top 15.
It has become painfully clear that the preseason expectations and consequent rankings of teams play a significant role in polls throughout the season, and while I am certainly not suggesting the elimination of such preseason polls, common sense strongly suggests that their influence diminish as the season progresses.
Jeff Shearer
La Verne
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