Updated: Tech somehow falls in AP poll
Updated, 11:52 a.m.: AP voter Josh Kendall of the State in Columbia, S.C., offered his explanation why he dropped Tech out of the top 25 on his ballot:
“The Jackets were absolutely a casualty of Virginia Tech’s stinker. I dropped them solely on the results of the Hokies game, and I realize that’s inherently unfair on one hand. However, I couldn’t rank a Pittsburgh team that lost to Youngstown State and therefore I couldn’t rank a Virginia Tech team that just lost to Pittsburgh and therefore I couldn’t rank a Tech team that lost to Virginia Tech two weeks ago. I realize this kind of transitive logic can’t hold up the entire season but with only three games worth of data on these teams, I think it’s a valid way to rank people right now. The Jackets are definitely on my radar and if they keep looking good, I will put them right back in the poll and even high in the poll if they keep winning.”
Please do me a favor and not flood Josh, a colleague and friend, with nastygrams. Bear in mind that he started Tech out in the preseason at No. 21 and kept them in the top 25 after the Hokies loss. His opinion of Tech, it would seem, is higher than most voters.
So this was unusual. Georgia Tech beat Virginia Saturday in one of its most lopsided ACC wins since it joined the conference and actually lost ground in the Associated Press top 25 poll voting.
After beating Presbyterian two Saturdays ago, the Yellow Jackets ranked No. 35 with 15 points from four different voters, according to the website pollspeak.com. Then, after the Jackets’ 56-20 win on Saturday, only two voters kept Tech on their ballots. Tech fell from No. 35 to No. 40 with three points.
Moreover, eight different teams leapfrogged past Tech. Perhaps the most puzzling jump was by Northwestern, which beat Boston College at home 22-13. The Wildcats went from No. 39 to No. 28, five points to 41. Tech did more or less the same thing as Northwestern – beat a middling-to-poor ACC team at home – but did it in far more convincing fashion and fell backwards, while the Wildcats were rewarded.
Iowa State made a similar head-scratching leap, going from No. 39 (five points) to No. 32 (15 points) after beating Western Illinois 37-3 at home. Like Tech, Iowa State beat an undefeated team in Western Illinois, although the Leathernecks came in 2-0 with wins over Butler and Indianapolis, while the Cavaliers had beaten Richmond and Penn State.
Perhaps the team that should be bothered isn’t Tech, but Virginia.
First off, while I find this interesting, it’s pretty small beans. If Tech continues to win, it’ll get into the poll. I think some of this has to do with the season being a few weeks old and voters moving teams around as they learn more about them.
Second, there is no anti-Tech conspiracy. The poll is made up of 60 voters who don’t have the time or interest to depress Tech’s ranking. To me, Louisiana-Monroe has more of a gripe than Tech. After earning 23 points for beating Arkansas on the road, the Warhawks took Auburn to overtime on the road and then lost all of its votes. Brigham Young was No. 25 and lost 24-21 to archrival Utah on the road when a last-second field-goal attempt bounced off the upright. The Cougars didn’t get a single vote in the most recent poll.
Maybe the conspiracy is against schools with two words in their name.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Virginia Tech’s loss to Pitt probably didn’t do the Jackets any favors in the “good loss” category. Further, Tech simply not being undefeated doesn’t help, either. (Northwestern is 3-0 with wins over Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Boston College.) As Tech’s rise to No. 12 last year for starting 6-0 would indicate, there’s something to be said for winning all of your games.
The win over Presbyterian would seem to not carry much value. So all the Jackets can claim is a home win over an average Virginia team, albeit a blowout. That said, from No. 20 on down in last week’s poll, the only other team to lose and fall back was Wisconsin, which was No. 32 and then dropped to a tie for No. 36 after beating Utah State 16-14, a result that is not similar to Tech’s.
Or maybe it’s the “If Tech beat Virginia that badly, then Virginia can’t be any good” line of logic. (kidding) Personally, I think it’s the Virginia Tech thing or just oversight. I don’t think I’d ever want to be a voter (thankfully, the AJC’s policies prohibit that from ever being a possibility) because it’s a lot to keep track of in a short amount of time and it gets highly scrutinized.
Tech is No. 34 in the USA Today coaches poll. In the seven other ranking systems used in the BCS, the highest Tech is ranked is No. 29 in the Billingsley Top 50 computer poll. They’re not in the top 50 of the Anderson/Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey Ratings, Sagarin and Wolfe Ratings computer systems.
Tech and the eight teams that leapfrogged (with last week’s ranking and point total and this week’s ranking and point total):
35. Georgia Tech (15) beat Virginia 56-20, fell to No. 40 (3)
36. Oklahoma State (13) beat Louisiana-Lafayette 65-24, moved up to tie for No. 30 (19)
39. Iowa State (5) beat Western Illinois 37-3, moved up to No. 32 (15)
39. Northwestern (5) beat Boston College 22-13, moved up to No. 28 (41)
Missouri went from no votes to tie for tie for No. 38 (4) after beating Arizona State 24-20 at home
Texas A&M went from no votes to tie for No. 38 (4) after beating SMU 48-3 on the road
Texas Tech went from no votes to tie for No. 36 (4) after beating New Mexico 49-14 at home
Cincinnati went from no votes to No. 34 (9) after beating Delaware State 23-7 at home
Rutgers went from no votes to tie for No. 30 (19) after beating No. 37 South Florida 23-13 on the road
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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105 comments Add your comment
George Stein
September 16th, 2012
10:24 pm
Pollsters are more concerned with the logo on the helmet than anything else. That said, we haven’t earned a spot in the top 25 yet. Beat the U and MTSU and let’s see how we do when we go to Death Valley.
GT in CT
September 16th, 2012
10:26 pm
If voters only rank 25 teams, you can’t reliably gauge the teams that are 30 and beyond – it’s noise. They would have to rank more than 25. So this is not worth thinking about. Just win.
Ken Sugiura
September 16th, 2012
10:31 pm
good point, GT in CT.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
10:43 pm
Ken,m after reading your write up I am sitting here just cracking up, It just goes to show how little the pollsters pay attention to things with the exception perhaps of “bad” losses. Tech just need to keep the pedal to the floor and do what this team is capable of then the pollsters will have no option but to pay attention!
Go Jackets! Humble the u!
1 4 GT
September 16th, 2012
10:43 pm
Ken….what do you think about me saying the polls are for past performance this early in????
1 4 GT
September 16th, 2012
10:46 pm
If you read my post immediately after your comment about this blog. Ken. BTW….thanks….are you working from home or the office? Either way, I’ll bet your wife & kids think you work too much, LOL
JustinSyder
September 16th, 2012
10:54 pm
It’s all about recognition. All anyone knows about us is that we blew a lead with 44 seconds left. That’s what the country knows about us right now. If we go into Death Valley at 4-1, and pull out a win, then our name will definitely get around town.
424242
September 16th, 2012
11:23 pm
If UGA had done exactly the same thing down to the last play, they would be top 25.
SATX_Jacket
September 16th, 2012
11:28 pm
That proves they are just human! Very likely below average ones.
Don't care...
September 16th, 2012
11:33 pm
Tech always seems to perform better when under the radar anyways…as long as we keep winning games we can be ranked last as far as I am concerned.
Jacket Time
September 16th, 2012
11:57 pm
These are same voters who had USC at no. 2 and Arkansas at no. 8. Either way sounds like good motivation to me. A little chip on the shoulder will only help. I’m with Don’t Care. Lets worry about were we stand come January.
FORMATION 4 SUCCESS
September 17th, 2012
12:01 am
Just a sign that the voters are losing faith in the ACC. Terrible loses this weekend. Again, Again and Again. UNC, VT and Maryland. Embarrassing.
GTBob
September 17th, 2012
12:07 am
UNC lost to a ranked team on the road by 5 points. Maryland is probably the worst team in the ACC and lost by 3. Why are those losses embarrassing? Maybe the bottom feeders of the ACC should start refusing to play teams from other major conferences. Would that help the ACC’s image?
gtfan1951
September 17th, 2012
6:14 am
go 11-1 and beat FLa. State and the polls will show it. How is UGA # 5 when two of their teams could not beat most High school teams in Georgia. Looks like Fla gators are back! The Sun Belt has beaten the mighty SEC so they should be ranked higher or the SEC lower.
brad
September 17th, 2012
6:26 am
It’s because Tech sucks, but Virginia sucks even worse. Beating a AA high school team with a A high school offense won’t get you in the Top 25 losers.
Irishman
September 17th, 2012
6:37 am
Its obvious why Tech fell. The credit Tech got for nearly beating VT in Blacksburg was wiped off the map when VT lost to Pitt.
We Run The East
September 17th, 2012
6:37 am
UGA and Clemson get credit when none is deserved. Both teams had a disaster end of year in 2011 yet both stayed in end of year polls and got all kinds of pub before this year. Not enough bad things can happen to Klimpson or the Mutts!
Jackets81
September 17th, 2012
6:46 am
Ah yes Brad, the usual response from an ignorant fan base. Get a life Loser.
Crazy Robert
September 17th, 2012
6:50 am
The final poll is the one that means the most. Win out and the polls will reflect a great season!!! GO TECH!!!!!!!!!
brad
September 17th, 2012
6:51 am
Jackets81, you almost beat Va Tech, thatgot their a@# handed to them by PITT and you think beating the 2nd best team in Virginia should get you in the Top 25???? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ACC is weaker than Mountain West.
brad
September 17th, 2012
6:53 am
The final poll will show GT at 78.
GTGirl
September 17th, 2012
7:10 am
Brad-go back to the pound. The pollsters must be a bunch of dwags. But I agree with ‘Don’t Care’ in that Tech does seem to do better off the radar.
On another note, Ken is Tevin ACC offensive player of the week? He should be if he wasn’t chosen.
Thakns for the article!
Honestly
September 17th, 2012
7:22 am
Duh???
Pittsburgh 35 – Virginia Tech 17
Your one quality loss lost it’s quality. You have no quality wins. If you aren’t in the Top 25, then you aren’t “ranked”. I though you guys did math at Tech?
old man (but not as old as Supersize)
September 17th, 2012
7:37 am
Yeah, even Vandy shut out Presbyterian while you guys let ‘em kick a field goal – maybe that is why pollsters don’t like Tech!
Jacket Man
September 17th, 2012
7:40 am
It must be that the pollsters think its a typo that BOTH GA Tech’s Offense AND its Defense are ranked in the Top 20 in Total play so far this season. Perhaps they believe an early overtime loss at an away game, to a team THEY had ranked in the Top 15, even if the team was returning a Nationally ranked Top 10 defensive squad, shouldn’t warrant any consideration, either.
And perhaps GA Tech blowing out a team (Virginia) that beat a BIG10 team the previous week (Penn State), which, in turn, the following week, beat a team (Navy) almost as badly as a Top 20 ranked team (Notre Dame) did, and then that team went out the next week, on the road, and blew out their next opponent (Michigan State), a team ranked #10 in the Country.
No, their “rationale” makes perfect sense…
hiveredtech
September 17th, 2012
7:43 am
I have been saying it for years….the first poll’s should not come out until after the first weekend in October. I do not say this because of GT…just in general as you pointed out several good examples of head scratchers. Just the performance of Arkansas alone this year shows how little meaning early polls hold….yet provides huge advantages to those who get a lucky early rank for no reason whatsoever.
Yes C'mon
September 17th, 2012
8:02 am
Remember that these are the same brilliant minds who ranked Arkansas in the top 10.
reebok
September 17th, 2012
8:02 am
Miami is the pivot point of the season. Win that game and then take care of business against MTSU and we are 4-1 with our only loss to VT in OT. Lose to Miami, and we are looking at 7-5 or 6-6 and (it hurts me to say this) irrelevance. The fans need to show up at BDS this Saturday and give our team a real, loud, home field advantage.
Jacket Fan 56
September 17th, 2012
8:02 am
There’s a pecking order in college football, and Tech isn’t high enough to get the recognition it deserves. See Notre Dame, USC, etc. Last year’s 8-5 was nice, but it doesn’t get you ranked. To get te recognition we want, we need to string a couple of double digit win seasons together. That happens one game at a time. BEAT the u. Go JACKETS!!!
Hold On!!!
September 17th, 2012
8:05 am
Tech will be ranked if and only if yall beat Clemson. Yall will not get any votes for beating Miami this week. Beat Clemson, again, and if yall are not ranked, then yall can complain. Finally, yall need to get this we play better “under the radar” mentality out of yalls head. That is not a good thing to say. If yall want to relevant NATIONALLY, yall better learn how to play when yall have a lil hype. If yall enjot going 7-5 or 8-4 then going under the radar must sit fine with yall. I have a lot of Tech friends and Tech family members and they are all fine with winning 8 games and going to a bowl. That is whats wrong with yalls fans and program. Yall are ok with being mediocre….Good luck this weekend.
Wal-Mart Retards
September 17th, 2012
8:09 am
Brad – you rank… Period.
UGA = Yawn
September 17th, 2012
8:20 am
As I have always stated, the pre-season polls set the tone for the season. Because we are rarely ranked in the Top 25 to begin with – it is extremely difficult for us to enter the polls. Plus, losing our first game does not help. It is hard to move up from starting 0-1. If you are 5-0 and lose and become 5-1, you will still be ranked. GT at 5-1 might not be (if we get to that point). In 1990, when we won the National Championship, I think it was near the end of the regular season before we even cracked the Top 10.
bw
September 17th, 2012
8:22 am
It is all about the VT loss. But it’s like there is no credit for beating UVA to a pulp. And I wouldn’t be surprised if some voters saw the GT score flash by on the screen and assumed GT beat Virginia Military or something.
Ken Sugiura
September 17th, 2012
8:42 am
brad – perhaps i’m misreading you, but if you’re here to be irritating, i’ll encourage you to stop. you’re welcome to post even if you’re not a tech fan, but i hope you can do better than “it’s because tech sucks.” consider this a warning.
crackbaby
September 17th, 2012
8:44 am
Thanks for your thoughts and observations, Ken.
Pre-season and early season polls mean nothing and are actually harmful. Remember when Alabama won the NC a few years ago and they were ranked #1 the following preseason despite losing 8 or 9 starters on D? Even Tony Barnhardt ranked them #1 in the preseason.
The Tide had to lose 3 game that year before falling out of the top 25. The point is that totally speculative preseason polls allow the top few teams much more error than other teams.
dawgfan
September 17th, 2012
8:48 am
LMAO @ this blog. Are you crybabies seriously whining about going from No. 35 to No. 40 in the polls? Is this a serious blog or am I on the Onion? Are you freaking kidding me? No, you don’t get any credit for blowing out freaking Virginia. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you dolts that nobody outside of North Avenue cares about all your impressive wins over ACC middle dwellers like Virginia. Beat VT. Beat UGA. Win a freaking bowl game. Do those things and your joke program will get the respect that you so desperately seek.
Unbelievable. This is hilarious.
Ol'JacketFan
September 17th, 2012
8:55 am
Hold on now you know GT CAN’T get QUALITY cheerleaders because the cheer COACH has no SKILLS in EVALUATING AND COACHING up the FEW quality cheerleaders that come to GT! How do you expect GT to bring in QUALITY when their COACH doesn’t know his rear about bringing in TOP TALENT at the D1 LEVEL!
How MUCH is GT PAYING this guy? Is GT getting it’s MONEY’S worth? Come on PEOPLE, WAKE UP, until this cheer COACH is GONE GT will never be more than MEDIOCRE!
Good morning, just a little tongue in cheek humor to start the week
Go Jackets! Humble the “u”!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ol'JacketFan
September 17th, 2012
8:56 am
dwagfan, you think anybody cares what you have to say about any subject? man you are the walking, talking, breathing definiton of a troll.
crackbaby
September 17th, 2012
9:01 am
So who do y’all think is over-rated and under-rated in the polls?
FSU is over-rated @ #4. Hope I’m wrong b/c it’s good for the ACC for FSU to return to prominence but let them prove it on the field.
Notre Dame looks to be the most improved team in Div 1A. Manti Te’o is an impressive individual. (and I am a Notre Dame hater)
Alabama has been dominant.
Should be another great year of college football. Boo Yeah!
gt4ever
September 17th, 2012
9:02 am
It’s about right…. We don’t belong anywhere near the top 25… We beat a terrible Va team, like we SHOULD… We should have beat a terrible VT team, but we didn’t ….. The polls will take care of the polls… Here is hoping CPJ can run the table…. If we beat the U and Clemson, then we can talk about how we should be ranked in the top 25… Go Jackets!
GTman
September 17th, 2012
9:09 am
The AP writers don’t watch the games. They watch ESPN College Gameday and then ESPN Football Final to get their opinions. GT did not get any pub on either show. Like you said it’s not a big deal – just keep on winning.
The two best teams are Alabama and LSU – way ahead of everybody else. I see another rematch NC game coming our way.
gt4ever
September 17th, 2012
9:10 am
@Ken
Surely your not the blog monitor… I mean Good Grief, who cares what Brad says… We are all grown men…. I think… NO NEED TO filter the morons…
Ken Sugiura
September 17th, 2012
9:15 am
dawgfan – again, you’re welcome to post, but hopefully you’ll recall i encouraged you to adopt a more respectful tone. calling people “dolts” and “crybabies” isn’t quite what i was looking for. consider this a warning.
same goes for those who go after dawgfan in kind. let’s be mature.
observer
September 17th, 2012
9:18 am
Polls mean nothing. uga has beaten 3 cupcakes…big deal. They have the weakest schedule of anybody in the country. They even scheduled GA. Southern the week before GT so they would have an extra week to work on the triple option. As for the mighty SEC, I guess LA Monroe is about the 2nd best team in the SEC West and Western KY is about #3 in East. SEC is having a lot of problems with the Sunbelt. Those coaches should check with uga on how to schedule an easier group of cupcakes.
Why is everyone so worked up over the polls...
September 17th, 2012
9:20 am
…we all KNOW that computers are fool proof IF you put correct info in to them –
I mean, how else do you explain Alabama evern getting to play in the MNC Game last year when they DIDN’T EVEN WIN their division, much less their conference…but, they were the best team at the end of the year despite NOT WINNING their division – so, just be patient, it will all work out in the end…
Wow, observer...
September 17th, 2012
9:22 am
…you mean GT’s schedule, so far, is superior to UGA’s so far? RIIIIIIGGGGHHHHTTTT….
buzzwax
September 17th, 2012
9:25 am
I can write with 100% certainty that GT WILL NOT be ranked if they LOSE to Miami!!! BEAT MIAMI!! SCREW THE POLLS!!!
909
September 17th, 2012
9:32 am
Polls are garbage after only 2weeks into the season.
However, if GT is 5-1 after a win at Clemson on Oct 6th, GT will be in Top 15.
Ol'JacketFan
September 17th, 2012
9:34 am
Ken, your comments are noted, but in all honesty I wasn’t posting anything that wasn’t true.
” In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[3]extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[4] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion”.
But if you feel I was out of line, then I apologize and will refrain in the future, OJF
gt4ever
September 17th, 2012
9:37 am
Oh good grief, apologizing for a blog comment… Jeez, what have we come to… A blog is somewhere people can come and blog whatever they want period… I mean, I feel like I’m back in elementary school….