Week 7 Polls

[Sniper]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankings?pollId=1

Discuss

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida

[Turtlepower]

Wow to Oklahoma State's huge jump. I hate how BYU is now going to start falling in the polls. =(

[wicket]

I dont get why OU only dropped to 4

[bearsfan_51]

I knew Oklahoma State would make the big jump, no reason why they shouldn't. Minnesota at #28, I'll take it.

[iowatreat54]

wait, why isn't Iowa ranked?

[Babylon]

I'd have SC ahead of Florida.

[iBoldin]

Eh, I don't know if I like the fact that Georgia doesn't move up with Florida and SC again, but what can ya do. I'm still awaiting Minny and Tulsa at the bottom of the 25.

[Babylon]

Eh, I don't know if I like the fact that Georgia doesn't move up with Florida and SC again, but what can ya do. I'm still awaiting Minny and Tulsa at the bottom of the 25.


I dont want to give these pollsters any credit for actually knowing what they're doing but Georgia doesnt look like a team that should be moving up the ranks. I think injuries on both sides of the ball have hurt them and they could get it together but right now they would be just ok in my book.

[Iamcanadian]

Coaches Poll: The one that counts for BCS purposes!

1 Texas
2 Alabama
3 Penn State
4 Southern California
5 Texas Tech
6 Oklahoma
7 Florida
8 Brigham Young
9 Georgia
10 Oklahoma State
11 Ohio State
12 Missouri
13 Utah
14 LSU
15 Kansas
16 Boise State
17 Michigan State
18 Virginia Tech
19 Wake Forest
20 South Florida
21 North Carolina
22 California
23 Vanderbilt
24 TCU
25 Ball State

Unless 2 teams go undefeated which I seriously doubt, it still looks like a wide open race to make the NC game.
A classic example of nobody wanting to move BYU up because while ranked, nobody is willing to say they are a great team.
Georgia and Texas Tech look like they are just hanging on to a top 10 ranking.
5 schools from minor Div 1 conferences now ranked in the top 25.
I have to wonder if Penn St. will be able to stand up with a relatively inexperienced QB over the course of a season.

[Iamcanadian]

I dont get why OU only dropped to 4

They actually dropped to 6th for BCS purposes. See Coaches Poll.

[LonghornsLegend]

Texas has 4 games left vs top 15 teams, 5 if you include the Big XII championship game...I really hope if we end up with 2 losses that those quality wins help us out in the BCS polls.

[M.O.T.H.]

I was expecting SCAR to get more votes...oh well, maybe next week. Going to have to beat LSU, though. haha.

3rd ranked defense in the Nation against an inexperienced LSU Qb. meh...we gotta shot atleast.

[wicket]

They actually dropped to 6th for BCS purposes. See Coaches Poll.

Still dont get why they are in front of florida, they tripped at their first and only hurdle thusfar, florida has lost but beaten a great team to redeem itself.

[Iamcanadian]

Still dont get why they are in front of florida, they tripped at their first and only hurdle thusfar, florida has lost but beaten a great team to redeem itself.

It is pointless to worry about it. Florida has a much better road to the NCG than Oklahoma does.

[Michigan]

so uh, what exactly has Texas Tech done to earn a #5 ranking?

[SuperKevin]

so uh, what exactly has Texas Tech done to earn a #5 ranking?

Gone undefeated. Other than that pretty much nothing.

[P-L]

Still dont get why they are in front of florida, they tripped at their first and only hurdle thusfar, florida has lost but beaten a great team to redeem itself.
And Florida tripped over a rock.

[TCU]

so uh, what exactly has Texas Tech done to earn a #5 ranking?

they did a good job making sure they didnt play anyone and having all their tough games at the end so they can be ranked high.

They will lose 2 games this year for sure.

[wicket]

And Florida tripped over a rock.

I think a team winning the big ones and bleeping one game up is a better team than a team that takes care of bussiness but crumbles when the stakes are high, I know I am overstating it a bit but you get my point

[DragonFireKai]

Still dont get why they are in front of florida, they tripped at their first and only hurdle thusfar, florida has lost but beaten a great team to redeem itself.

Oklahoma lost on the road to an undefeated team that was ranked 5th at time of play, and is ranked 1st now. Florida lost at home to an unranked team, that is currently unranked. Niether team has really beat anyone with a solid win on their record yet. We don't know a whole lot about LSU, all we know is that they're better than ASU and they struggled to beat Auburn, which looked like an accomplishment at the time. However, Auburn has had the curtain pulled away, and revealed that their attempt to bring a new offense into the world turned into a partial birth abortion. Until we see more SEC games, we will have no clue what that win over LSU actually means. Until we know more, we can see that Florida's loss is probably the worst of the one loss NC contenders. They shouldn't be ahead of USC, and certainly should be behind OU.

[BuddyCHRIST]

I don't know if losing that hard fought game with Texas was crumbling when the stakes were high. Losing at home to an un-ranked team is crumbling. As far as I'm concerned UF doesn't have a great win because LSU is overrated a playing off name, they have no offense and haven't beaten anybody. Auburn is horrible.

[MaxV]

Oklahoma St. should be ahead of Texas Tech, BYU and all of those 1-loss teams.

I know they probably won't go undefeated, but they are so far and already have a win over a great team.

They should be top 5.

Preseason rankings should not exist. It's a joke that a team is forced to climb out of a hole that, so called, "experts" put them in before the season even started.

[Sniper]

And Florida tripped over a rock.

But they play in the SEC! If a bottom feeder upsets a favorite, it's conference strength! If any other conference does it, it's LOLZ SUCKYZ CONFERENCE!

[Babylon]

Oklahoma lost on the road to an undefeated team that was ranked 5th at time of play, and is ranked 1st now. Florida lost at home to an unranked team, that is currently unranked. Niether team has really beat anyone with a solid win on their record yet. We don't know a whole lot about LSU, all we know is that they're better than ASU and they struggled to beat Auburn, which looked like an accomplishment at the time. However, Auburn has had the curtain pulled away, and revealed that their attempt to bring a new offense into the world turned into a partial birth abortion. Until we see more SEC games, we will have no clue what that win over LSU actually means. Until we know more, we can see that Florida's loss is probably the worst of the one loss NC contenders. They shouldn't be ahead of USC, and certainly should be behind OU.


The Texas Oklahoma game was on a neutral field.

[themaninblack]

But they play in the SEC! If a bottom feeder upsets a favorite, it's conference strength! If any other conference does it, it's LOLZ SUCKYZ CONFERENCE!

Just the Pac-10.

Georgia should be right about where they are. Struggled a bit with UT but the game was never really in doubt and it is a rivalry.

[SuperKevin]

But they play in the SEC! If a bottom feeder upsets a favorite, it's conference strength! If any other conference does it, it's LOLZ SUCKYZ CONFERENCE!

Your forumspeak buggs the crap out of me.

[DragonFireKai]

The Texas Oklahoma game was on a neutral field.

Was it at home? No. I never said in Austin. And playing UT in Dallas is hardly a neutral field.

[Turtlepower]

Was it at home? No. I never said in Austin. And playing UT in Dallas is hardly a neutral field.

They are really almost the same drive distance wise and it is almost split completely in half with UT fans and Oklahoma fans. It is definitely a neutral site game in the best sense of the word.

[DragonFireKai]

They are really almost the same drive distance wise and it is almost split completely in half with UT fans and Oklahoma fans. It is definitely a neutral site game in the best sense of the word.

Do you think there are more UT or OU fans living in Dallas? Going on the road for a division I game isn't just about the stadium crowd, it's about the atmosphere of the whole trip. Do you think that the OU team feels comfortable in Dallas? It's like Penn State playing Boston College in Philly, the stadium crowd might be split down the middle, but I promise you BC won't enjoy stepping outside the stadium.

[LonghornsLegend]

Do you think there are more UT or OU fans living in Dallas? Going on the road for a division I game isn't just about the stadium crowd, it's about the atmosphere of the whole trip. Do you think that the OU team feels comfortable in Dallas? It's like Penn State playing Boston College in Philly, the stadium crowd might be split down the middle, but I promise you BC won't enjoy stepping outside the stadium.

That comparison doesn't add up trust me, I've been to the game, and its literally a 50/50 split in the crowd, I don't care who lives in Dallas, inside the stadium packed are die hard OU fans and UT fans, and each equally get seating inside, doesn't really matter who is 'home' and 'away' that week because you get the same excitement from both crowds.


It really doesn't matter how many fans of OU live in Dallas, what matters is the atmosphere at the stadium, now it would be different if UT had 65% fans there because it was still in Texas but I can guarantee you that's not the case, the field splits at the 50.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/drubenst/DSCN7189.jpg


You will have to blow it up a little more to see the detail but you won't see just a mix of fans scattered around, UT fills one entire half with burnt orange and their entire fans and the other half is crimson red with their fans and there is no such thing as homefield advantage in this rivalry...Its actually closer to Dallas from Norman then it is Austin.

That's my point about the whole "does OU feel comfortable", were not talking who lives in the outskirts or any of that, but the stadium itself is filled with fans of each, don't ask me how it ends up like that or if it's special seating but you will never see an unbalanced amount of fans, so yes it is in Texas but they have the same amount of screaming fans as we do.

[SuperKevin]

Was it at home? No. I never said in Austin. And playing UT in Dallas is hardly a neutral field.

Did you not see the sea of crimson? There were a ton of OU fans at that game

[DragonFireKai]

It really doesn't matter how many fans of OU live in Dallas, what matters is the atmosphere at the stadium, now it would be different if UT had 65% fans there because it was still in Texas but I can guarantee you that's not the case, the field splits at the 50.


That's where you're wrong. Is the Oklahoma team magically transported into the stadium via Star Trek-esque teleportation? No. They're in the city long before they're in the stadium. Every moment they spend is in a hostile city. If they leave the hotel, they know they're in Texas. If they're a Freshman who doesn't know, the people of Dallas will educate them real quick. If you honestly believe that playing in Dallas is no different for OU than playing in Norman, then you're the Simple Jack of football fans. It is a completely different atmosphere than gameday for Florida in the Swamp.

[LonghornsLegend]

That's where you're wrong. Is the Oklahoma team magically transported into the stadium via Star Trek-esque teleportation? No. They're in the city long before they're in the stadium. Every moment they spend is in a hostile city. If they leave the hotel, they know they're in Texas. If they're a Freshman who doesn't know, the people of Dallas will educate them real quick. If you honestly believe that playing in Dallas is no different for OU than playing in Norman, then you're the Simple Jack of football fans. It is a completely different atmosphere than gameday for Florida in the Swamp.


Have you ever been around Dallas during the weekend of this game? Seriously I don't think you understand the atmosphere that is in the entire city itself, and how is OU supposed to feel? Are they going to play better because the people they are walking around during the course of the day are OU fans? I'm not getting your point, the facts are that when an offense wants to call an audible its loud as hell no matter who is home and away, the same "advantages" you get from homefield advantages, both teams get in this game.


I'm not buying that OU plays down because this game is in Texas, what's their excuse for winning all the games they did? I mean really it's not like their are an abundance of UT fans here man, UT took a plane here, OU drove, they go to the hotel, then show up at the fair, from the moment you hit the fair your getting both sets of fans, what sort of advantage is Ut getting out of this?

[Babylon]

How many players on that OU roster are from Texas? my guess is more than from Oklahoma.

[DragonFireKai]

Have you ever been around Dallas during the weekend of this game? Seriously I don't think you understand the atmosphere that is in the entire city itself, and how is OU supposed to feel? Are they going to play better because the people they are walking around during the course of the day are OU fans? I'm not getting your point, the facts are that when an offense wants to call an audible its loud as hell no matter who is home and away, the same "advantages" you get from homefield advantages, both teams get in this game.


I'm not buying that OU plays down because this game is in Texas, what's their excuse for winning all the games they did? I mean really it's not like their are an abundance of UT fans here man, UT took a plane here, OU drove, they go to the hotel, then show up at the fair, from the moment you hit the fair your getting both sets of fans, what sort of advantage is Ut getting out of this?

There's more to home field advantage than what's merely in the stadium. There's the atmosphere as a whole. If you're being taunted, snubbed, and generally made uncomfortable by every tom, dick, and harry on the street, it creates an atmosphere of unease. Routine is broken, and the players are uncomfortable. For a lot of people, that discomfort affects their play.

As for the advantage UT gets, they get not having to play in Norman. The overwhelming majority of the UT fans there would not be there had OU been at home. That was the whole point. I said OU was on the road, and babylon feels the need to point out that it wasn't in Austin. That's unimportant, if you're not at home, you're on the road, and that's all there is to it. Playing in Dallas slants the edge more in Texas' favor than if it were played in say, Stillwater, but the fact remains that Oklahoma traveled on the road to a city populated mostly by fans of a rival team that does not like them. That's an entirely different animal than Florida playing in the cushy confines of Ben Hill Griffen.

[DragonFireKai]

How many players on that OU roster are from Texas? my guess is more than from Oklahoma.

You think UT fans care if a player went to high school in Texas? Is Adrian Peterson warmly welcomed in Austin? I don't think so. Maybe in Palestine, but not in Texas at large. That tends to be the rule in college sports. Kevin Love is persona non grata in the majority of the state of Oregon. To the point of getting hundreds of death threats when UCLA came to play UO. That's in Oregon. Do you think Texas is more forgiving?

[diabsoule]

Oklahoma St. should be ahead of Texas Tech, BYU and all of those 1-loss teams.

I know they probably won't go undefeated, but they are so far and already have a win over a great team.

They should be top 5.

Preseason rankings should not exist. It's a joke that a team is forced to climb out of a hole that, so called, "experts" put them in before the season even started.

Last I checked BYU was undefeated. Too bad they play in the Mountain West and the only good teams aside from BYU are Utah and TCU. They should add Fresno St., Boise St., and Tulsa and make the conference legit.

[LonghornsLegend]

There's more to home field advantage than what's merely in the stadium. There's the atmosphere as a whole. If you're being taunted, snubbed, and generally made uncomfortable by every tom, dick, and harry on the street, it creates an atmosphere of unease. Routine is broken, and the players are uncomfortable. For a lot of people, that discomfort affects their play.

As for the advantage UT gets, they get not having to play in Norman. The overwhelming majority of the UT fans there would not be there had OU been at home. That was the whole point. I said OU was on the road, and babylon feels the need to point out that it wasn't in Austin. That's unimportant, if you're not at home, you're on the road, and that's all there is to it. Playing in Dallas slants the edge more in Texas' favor than if it were played in say, Stillwater, but the fact remains that Oklahoma traveled on the road to a city populated mostly by fans of a rival team that does not like them. That's an entirely different animal than Florida playing in the cushy confines of Ben Hill Griffen.


Not buying that, for one you act like these guys are here on a vacation, most of the time is spent in the hotel until they are at the game which they are made to feel just like a home team.


Secondly your basing this whole thing off of a theory that isn't true in itself, for one when OU is here their not treated like some out of state crap school, because again the same days they are here so are THOUSANDS of their fans...They stream the malls, the highways, the local stores, again I'm speaking from experience of being here during the weekend every year and not just guessing what I think it would be like...You will go to a mall and see a huge crowd of OU fans, you will see UT fans, this is Dallas and you realize SMU and TCU are here right?


It isn't some huge UT crowd here trust me, the people your claiming would welcome the longhorns in open arms hate UT, their fans have to travel here just the same...We don't get news on their team here like its our team, but we don on SMU and TCU, we don't get every game they play either like Austin does...The fans here could care less about OU or UT, your painting some picture like because OU has to play here they feel uncomfortable and its totally false I'm sorry.


One of my friends in HS Glenn Jackson was an OU recruit in 02' and we walked on the field with the players(all the recruits got free game tickets) with most of the players who were Texas recruits that were from local schools, the OU fans treated every single UT player they saw like crap, booed, threw things, you get the same icy feel walking up and down the fair and through the area...You can't paint this picture of OU feeling uncomfortable and UT feeling so much easier about the game with things that don't even happen, anyone who lives in this area can attest to this, there is no such thing as homefield advantage here...Not before the game, and certainly not during.

[Babylon]

You think UT fans care if a player went to high school in Texas? Is Adrian Peterson warmly welcomed in Austin? I don't think so. Maybe in Palestine, but not in Texas at large. That tends to be the rule in college sports. Kevin Love is persona non grata in the majority of the state of Oregon. To the point of getting hundreds of death threats when UCLA came to play UO. That's in Oregon. Do you think Texas is more forgiving?

My point is most of these guys are probably going back to their home state. Let's face it this is a neutral site with most likely an equal number of fans rooting for each team. To use a basketball analogy this isnt Duke going to Madison Square Garden to play St Johns in the NIT.

[DragonFireKai]

Not buying that, for one you act like these guys are here on a vacation, most of the time is spent in the hotel until they are at the game which they are made to feel just like a home team.


Secondly your basing this whole thing off of a theory that isn't true in itself, for one when OU is here their not treated like some out of state crap school, because again the same days they are here so are THOUSANDS of their fans...They stream the malls, the highways, the local stores, again I'm speaking from experience of being here during the weekend every year and not just guessing what I think it would be like...You will go to a mall and see a huge crowd of OU fans, you will see UT fans, this is Dallas and you realize SMU and TCU are here right?


It isn't some huge UT crowd here trust me, the people your claiming would welcome the longhorns in open arms hate UT, their fans have to travel here just the same...We don't get news on their team here like its our team, but we don on SMU and TCU, we don't get every game they play either like Austin does...The fans here could care less about OU or UT, your painting some picture like because OU has to play here they feel uncomfortable and its totally false I'm sorry.


One of my friends in HS Glenn Jackson was an OU recruit in 02' and we walked on the field with the players(all the recruits got free game tickets) with most of the players who were Texas recruits that were from local schools, the OU fans treated every single UT player they saw like crap, booed, threw things, you get the same icy feel walking up and down the fair and through the area...You can't paint this picture of OU feeling uncomfortable and UT feeling so much easier about the game with things that don't even happen, anyone who lives in this area can attest to this, there is no such thing as homefield advantage here...Not before the game, and certainly not during.

Let's say they were to take a census of the Dallas area. If forced to choose between UT and OU, what percentage do you think would swing which way? I highly doubt there are near as many OU fans in Dallas as there are people sympathetic to UT. UT is the premiere public university in the state, and as such, will have a large amount of alumni and family, and fans in general in any major metropolitan are in the state.

The split on game day might be much closer to even in the area immediately around the stadium, but the teams spend time outside ouf that immediate area, and in the end, the Cotton Bowl is essentially Cold War Berlin. It might be close to even nearby, but in reality, you're still in the heart of enemy territory.

My point is most of these guys are probably going back to their home state. Let's face it this is a neutral site with most likely an equal number of fans rooting for each team. To use a basketball analogy this isnt Duke going to Madison Square Garden to play St Johns in the NIT.

But it's not Duke in Durham. And that was my point. All these pointless semantics aside, OU was not at home, they were on the road. Florida was at home when they lost. A road loss is more forgivable in the eyes of the voters than a home loss to an equivilent team.

[LonghornsLegend]

Let's say they were to take a census of the Dallas area. If forced to choose between UT and OU, what percentage do you think would swing which way? I highly doubt there are near as many OU fans in Dallas as there are people sympathetic to UT. UT is the premiere public university in the state, and as such, will have a large amount of alumni and family, and fans in general in any major metropolitan are in the state.



I guess you missed the whole part about the OU fans coming here in herds for the entire weekend? The OU fans from Norman, they don't come down here just a few hundred, they come in the thousands, so if you polled those people in the area you would get mixed response...If you took a poll of people on this area now I honestly couldn't tell you who would win, but I do know it wouldn't be dominating one way or another...


The bolded section, is fine and dandy, but again what does any of that relate to home field advantage on a football field? So because there are more UT alums in the state then OU alums that means OU players won't feel as comfortable? Your reaching on that.



The split on game day might be much closer to even in the area immediately around the stadium, but the teams spend time outside ouf that immediate area, and in the end, the Cotton Bowl is essentially Cold War Berlin. It might be close to even nearby, but in reality, you're still in the heart of enemy territory.



And once again in that immediate area OU feels just like they are at home...Just like Babylon pointed out more then half of OU's roster is Texas football players, those guys are just as excited to come here and play as anyone...Your making it seem like this is some battlezone, and if an OU player went out for a soda he would get hazed, then feel depressed, and play bad because of it...I know in theory it might sound ok but tis not the case in real life.