Final AP and Coaches Poll: Hmmm
Posted on: January 7, 2014
Sorry we’re just not agreeing with the rankings. Not trying to be homers but OU ended the season as well as anyone in the country. We talked about it and our Top 5 (some disagreement but this is general):
Florida State
Auburn
Michigan State
Oklahoma
Alabama
Just our opinion.
48 Comments
Yeah… Auburn loses and doesn’t move a spot. South Carolina being ranked 4th is just absolutely ridiculous.
I have to agree. I felt strongly that your top four were the top 4 at the end. The only reason I don’t have MSU one, is because of the BCS. If you played a playoff, OU wouldn’t have gotten in and I respect that, but MSU would have been my choice to win it all. Auburn was exposed. FSU game them 14 of their points last night on field position and a fumble. Not saying the didn’t earn it, but I cant see them in second place. I don’t really care about the final rankings unless we are number one, but we still earned a ton of respect and it’s helping recruiting.
Exactly! I just don’t understand why Mizzou and S. Car are ranked ahead of OU. Mizzou’s marquee wins are vs A&M @ home, and OSU @ Dallas. OU marquee wins @ Stillwater and Alabama @ Nuetral site. SC has losses to unranked Tennessee and unranked Georgia. OU lost @ ranked Baylor and Texas nuetral site. I’m seeing a lot more positives for OU than the other two teams.
Also, SC didn’t play Bama, Auburn. Mizzou didn’t play Bama, Lost vs Auburn. So they both avoided the two best teams in the conference during the regular season.
It’s a masterful plan manipulated to keep the sec in an advantageous position.
Anyone who believes otherwise is mistaken. Unlike the BIG XII, they spend their time working for each other rather than against.
So….a 2-loss Auburn team is ahead of a 1-loss Michigan team that actually happened to win their BCS bowl?
Yep, makes sense only ESECPN could think up.
I think it’s pretty rare for a team to drop any, when they are in the championship game.
The media was always glad to drop OU to 3rd or 5th after their NC appearances. But I understand what you’re saying. Not the first time they would have done that.
OU hasn’t been liked since Switzer’s time (probably even before that). The way to prevent being dropped, is to win every game.
We drop after wins as well.
The BCS is done and gone. If we win every game, we’ll be in the playoffs.
I agree, but I was referring to 2011, when we started the season ranked #1, beat a top 5 FSU team on the road, and still dropped after we demolished Ball St. Not saying we deserved #1 that year, but we dropped after winning handily.
But OU got smoked in those losses. Auburn lost on a game win inning TD with a few seconds left in the game. I can see them being #3 and MSU #2. OU 4, Mizzou 5.
Not smoked against Florida and they dropped from 1 to 5. However, that year was stacked full of one-loss teams who all had arguments to be playing for the title.
But those other years, I agree. After USC, OU should have been kicked out of the stinkin’ top 10……
“ESECPN”
That should be all that needs to be said…MSU really should have ended @ 2..they all but dominated STanford a top 5 team = move up. Auburn lost national title game as well as LSU game earlier. I understand NC game being close argument, but MSU was just flat out better in all fields USUALLY used. I have no explanation for S Car being ahead of us when looking at schedules and losses at end of the year and the last second win against Wisconsin. Mizzou I feel should be ranked ahead of us for record and opponents. I honestly never expected us to crack the top 5, I did figure the top 5 was pretty well set and then the rest of the field with us at its head for beating bama fairly handily. Anyway the conference bias will hopefully calm down dramatically in the coming years with the reemergence of several other programs including us seemingly on a tidal wave of momentum currently and out of nowhere…can’t say enough about the coaching job our coaches did this year. Truly excited moving forward which I haven’t been able to say for 4-5years now! Also excited for new SEC bowl alliance so we can hopefully display what we’re about to the world and the recruits in the SEC land.
You should trademark/copyright that term: “ESECPN” – one word to sum it perfectly!
Not to mention, the luck of the Irish were the officials in that game protecting that pot ‘o gold for ND.
South Carolina seems to the same Stanford “it doesn’t matter who we lost to” magic that OSU could’ve used in 2011.
I still think MSU should be #2, I thought they should’ve been going in to Bowl Selection. Their only loss was due to terrible reffing against ND, but even that loss was better than Auburn’s 2 TD loss to LSU. MSU may have had a weaker schedule but they dominated the B1G and beat and beat undefeated OSU, I believe they won every conference game by double digits. To me, double digits are more impressive than double miracles. I understand the benefit of the doubt for the SEC and I guess they’ve earned it, but I will always think MSU and FSU were the best 2 teams this year.
As far as our rankings, I’d move SCar out but would put us at 5 behind Mizzou, who I felt also ended looking impressive.
I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking we’re top 5 though.
I agree. MSt could argue for #2. Why is Missouri ranked higher than us? S Carolina barely beat a 9-3 Big Ten team in a non-BCS bowl. Guess they wanted to get into the top 5 as many SEC teams as possible.
I agree but all the more reason for this team to stay hungry. Hopefully us beating Alabama didn’t cause satiety.
Agreed, it the team sees this a slight, then all the more fuel for the fire…so to speak
I agree that OU might win the championship in a playoff, BUT It’s hard to be rated much higher when you lose to Texas.
you do have a point, just bothersome to the SEC love fest continuing to rear it’s bloody head
Anything to still show how “dominant” of a conference the SEC is. Sad thing is South Carolina isn’t the 2nd or even the 3rd best team in the SEC. SMH at this stuff.
It’s all good. OU set out to prove a point, and my guess is they will do the same thing next year.
never understood the love for SC….
I still don’t know what the fascination is with them. Maybe Clowney’s driving ability…
Are they showing how the individual coaches voted?
Doing some research the other day…. did y’all know this? Besides last years SEC Championship game Alabama hasn’t played Georgia since 2003. Alabama also hasn’t played South Carolina since 2005. I know this is off topic but HOW IN THE HELL are they getting away with that? But then again, it is the SEC and it seems like to me that the NCAA and the media are all SEC lovers.
They schedule late season creampuffs in the SEC. They don’t even attempt a modified round-robin like the Big XII used to when we still had a championship game.
Completely agree. Though I think Michigan State should be ahead of Auburn.
It’s almost as if Alabama was dropped to make our win look less significant. Perhaps that’s a little too conspiratorial though.
Having South Carolina and Mizzou ahead of us is ridiculous. Not surprised, though.
South Carolina has NO business being up there.
Auburn barely beats ‘Bama on one of the most miraculous plays of all time and gives an untested FSU team a good game. S. Carolina loses to two un-ranked teams and has fits beating a run of the mill big10 team and cracks the top 5. Mizzou had one of the most favorable sec schedules of all time and beats a flat osu team, cracks the top 5. Nothing to see here!. If OU doesn’t have that un-forgivable loss to texass, after beating the best team in the nation for 3 years, they’re easily top 3. IMO, Clemson would deserve as much respect as any 2 loss team if it wasn’t for the fact that they lost to S. Carolina and beat a paper tiger in Ohio St. I think they’re all in for a rude awakening from this OU team next season!
No top 5 finish after beating Bama and OK State back to back as well as #20 ND and a solid Tech? Oklahoma goes out and beats Alabama by 2 TDs and winds up ranked behind 3 SEC teams. Including one who beat Okie Lite by a smaller margin than Oklahoma did.
SEC gets too much clout for “quality losses.” I can see where S. Carolina has a case for being ranked higher. They beat Vandy, Clemson, UCF, Mizzou, and Wisconsin. I think they get the edge based on quality wins, but I still think OU over Mizzou.
My top 5: Florida State, Mich. State, Auburn, S. Carolina, OU.
And check out ESPN’s “2014 Way Too Early Top 25” Rankings: (Hint: OU & Mizzou get snubbed BIG TIME)
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10246704/florida-state-leads-2014-way-too-early-top-25-rankings
Missouri ends up being 5th?…
http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Jennifer-Lawrence-ok-thumbs-up.gif
Mizzou being #5 is a joke. Beat OSU almost the same way OU did, except they had the benefits of a neutral field and playing in a dome.
Guess it all depends upon one’s criteria for determining said rank. I’m guessing the general consensus is looking at the year’s body of work in win/loss record and strength of schedule but in my opinion, if you want to say who are the best teams, I would want to look more at who looked the best at the end of the season because a team can look much different in the beginning of the year up until at least mid way through the year then what they look like in the end. You have to look at the win/loss but it should not be the end all in my opinion. Having said that, I’d say FSU, OU, MSU, Alabam and then Auburn. That is why a play off system just makes too much sense. : )
1. Florida State
2. Auburn(I think if you’re playing for it all you should finish no lower than 2nd)
3. Michigan State
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
6. Missouri
7. South Carolina
this looks about right. Hate to do it, but I agree about Auburn, they didn’t miss by much, either.
I don’t have a problem with us in the six hole right now, it really means nothing.There will be other poles after signing day, another in spring, summer and fall, and again as the season begins. As long as esbiaspn has input and the sec remains the love child of the media, the only way to get to the top is beat everyone on your schedule and don’t lose to teams like Texass when they aren’t the better team. We will be better next season and they can’t leave you out if you wax the floor with all your opponents.
Just curious how rankings will work next year in the playoff scenario. Winner and runner up are 1 and 2. Will 3-4 be automatic or can they drop to 5 or below if they stink it up
There is not an official connection between the playoff and the polls anymore. The selection committee chooses the four teams, and the rankings of those teams in the the AP or Coaches polls are completely independent. The committee could pick the AP #1, #2, #3 and #5 if it wants. And how the polls rank the teams after the championship is up to them,
I am sick and tired of the SEC favoritism, double standard and perceived greatness that creates a viscous cycle of “dominance” by over-ranking SEC teams, whom then play only each other and no decent non-conference team who could shatter this illusion. Then they have a Bowl Alliance with a weak BIG 10, and naturally win almost all their games and post a great bowl record, which perpetuates the illusion. The also start their conference schedule a week earlier than other conferences to kick start their “marquee games”, get a national TV audience watching their games, and also give the teams who lose time to get over their early season loss and get back in the National Championship race. I could go on, but I will just summarize by saying that they are master marketers, and people don’t see they are being manipulated, which is what great marketers do. I also believe that ESPN has a vested financial interest in perpetuating this facade, especially with the new SEC network on ESPN, which is frustrating to say the least. However, to those blaming these end of the year rankings on the ESPN, I disagree. These rankings come from the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll, and they voted almost identically. These aren’t ESPN staff rankings, nor is ESPN ultimately responsible. I share your frustration, however I think it’s important that we don’t create an exaggerated boogeyman out of ESPN or the media. We struck a blow to the perceived SEC dominance in the Sugar Bowl, as did FSU by beating Auburn, unfortunately by a slight margin, since a bigger margin would have really dented the said perception. It took awhile for the SEC to be viewed as the only conference that plays football, and it will take a little while to destroy that illusion. I for one belief the playoff will speed this process up, but what we need to do is keep winning. I loved the way our guys played with pure heart against Alabama, and people overlooking us played a vital role in that. Who cares how we finished the year ranked? Yeah, it’s frustrating, I thought we should have been top five as well, but so be it. We need to win consistently to overcome the perception of being overrated that has slowly grown over the years. Let the media doubt us. Let them overlook us. Let that fuel our fire in the offseason. I hope they rank us outside the top five in the preseason top 25. Let people doubt us all year next year as well. We will play with a chip on our shoulder, like men on fire. The Sooners are always at their best when they are overlooked and disrespected. The bottom line is if we win all our games then we are in the four team playoff, and it’s on. Imagine what how the media and national perception would change if we are the first “true” college football champion in history by winning the playoff next year. Let our players feed off the doubters. Let these doubters help make our championship dream a reality.
Boomer Sooner!
Well said Mr. Warner, I agree that we are up against a master marketing machine that will take time and effort to disassemble. The sec is a money making machine with their large stadiums and large viewing audience. The master marketers have built an empire that has given them favoritism from most media markets, a large strangle hold on some recruits, and have a partner in espn who do, as you stated, hold a financial interest in the conference. The coaches and media members who vote in the polls cannot possibly watch every game and make objective comparisons between opponents. They can however turn on a T.V. or radio and here how good and powerful the sec is and I believe it has some, not all, influence on how these polls end up in the end. In the end it is the responsibility of each conference who feel slighted to beat these teams any time you can get them on a schedule. Only an overwhelming win/loss record against these teams will change perception and we have done our part this year. Win every game and you will have the opportunity to be crowned champion. Win in style and the voters take notice.
Agreed Sooner Ray. I’m very hopeful that the playoffs will change the paradigm and level the playing field.
You should see ESPN’s poll. They have Bama at #2.