2008 Woodie Awards
College football rankings fumble
Hard Hitting with Brandon Howard (sports opinion)
Brandon Howard
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Hold on, wait a minute! Is this right? It doesn't seem accurate that Arizona State is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press polls, Kansas is ranked No. 4 and Hawaii is No. 13.
These schools, like many other unlikely college football schools, are climbing their way up the polls this year. The top prestigious football teams like USC, Texas and especially Michigan are falling to unexpected teams. Not even I, a natural sports writer/fan/addict could have predicted that Appalachian State, I-AA division football team, would have beaten Michigan at Michigan.
Although many people agree that this year has been bizarre, many people do not agree that some of the teams like Kansas, Connecticut or Hawaii deserve their rankings. In week seven of the college football season the computers that calculate all of the votes for the polls had the University of South Florida ranked No. 2 in the nation and a lot of people did not agree with that. Many critics ranked them lower because they had no national status and thought it was a fluke.
However, most people didn't know that South Florida had beaten Auburn and West Virginia, two well-known college football teams this year. So, in a way, they deserved it.
However, some of the other storybook teams are ranked high because they have a good record and the top teams are losing every week. You're probably saying, "Of course they should be ranked high if they have a good record." I agree but if you haven't played against a tough team to prove that you're a real threat then of course you should have a good record.
In week nine of the college season, Kansas was ranked No. 8 in the AP polls. They haven't played a tough team except for Kansas St. and Texas A&M. Those teams haven't been ranked higher than 24 throughout the entire season.
Hawaii is also one of the suspect teams because they are ranked No. 12 and they haven't competed against any ranked teams all season. Their high ranking might be because of their Heisman candidate quarterback Colt Brennan. Too many questions and not enough answers but by the end of the season the true Bowl Championship Series teams will show who is faking it and who is not.
These schools, like many other unlikely college football schools, are climbing their way up the polls this year. The top prestigious football teams like USC, Texas and especially Michigan are falling to unexpected teams. Not even I, a natural sports writer/fan/addict could have predicted that Appalachian State, I-AA division football team, would have beaten Michigan at Michigan.
Although many people agree that this year has been bizarre, many people do not agree that some of the teams like Kansas, Connecticut or Hawaii deserve their rankings. In week seven of the college football season the computers that calculate all of the votes for the polls had the University of South Florida ranked No. 2 in the nation and a lot of people did not agree with that. Many critics ranked them lower because they had no national status and thought it was a fluke.
However, most people didn't know that South Florida had beaten Auburn and West Virginia, two well-known college football teams this year. So, in a way, they deserved it.
However, some of the other storybook teams are ranked high because they have a good record and the top teams are losing every week. You're probably saying, "Of course they should be ranked high if they have a good record." I agree but if you haven't played against a tough team to prove that you're a real threat then of course you should have a good record.
In week nine of the college season, Kansas was ranked No. 8 in the AP polls. They haven't played a tough team except for Kansas St. and Texas A&M. Those teams haven't been ranked higher than 24 throughout the entire season.
Hawaii is also one of the suspect teams because they are ranked No. 12 and they haven't competed against any ranked teams all season. Their high ranking might be because of their Heisman candidate quarterback Colt Brennan. Too many questions and not enough answers but by the end of the season the true Bowl Championship Series teams will show who is faking it and who is not.
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