AP Voter SEC Puzzle

632 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Rusty GCS
Rusty GCS
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
AP Voter thoughts on his ranking of SEC teams. From The Athletic

Quote:

I could not help but be a slave to the transitive property this week. The actual AP Top 25 did the opposite.

My ballot:

13. Texas A&M
14. Kentucky
15. Florida
16. LSU

AP Top 25:

13. LSU
14. Florida
18. Kentucky
22. Texas A&M

Let's remember some things that have happened in recent weeks. As recently as Saturday, in fact.

Florida beat LSU. Kentucky beat Florida. Texas A&M beat Kentucky.

Now, this is where you can remind me that Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech, Maryland beat Texas and BYU beat Wisconsin, and that, really, there is no foolproof logic in a sport in which upsets happen and teams' performances vary from week to week. This is true, and I don't begrudge anybody for thinking that Florida would beat Kentucky in a rematch or LSU will have a better season than Florida. I think both of those statements are likely to be true, too.

Still, right now, with all four relatively even Texas A&M has two losses, but approximately 125 FBS teams would have gone 0-2 against Alabama and Clemson I don't have a problem with letting head-to-head results dictate the rankings, and I don't doubt that others would feel the same about Kentucky if it were renamed "Texas" or "Michigan" or "Notre Dame."

Consider the Wildcats' accomplishments: They own double-digit victories against Florida (which counts just as much in Week 2 as it would in Week 6), Mississippi State and South Carolina, and they have yet to lose in regulation. Their only loss came in overtime at Texas A&M, where Clemson was a successful Aggies two-point conversion away from going to overtime, too. They rank third in the SEC in defensive yards per play. Yes, an argument can be built against Kentucky it failed to run a play in Texas A&M territory until overtime and has significant passing game questions but in a season in which everybody outside the top five has flawed rsums, the Wildcats' body of work remains impressive.

And though I do not believe that LSU will end up being the worst of those four teams, its one-point win against Auburn has been devalued by Auburn's collapse on offense, and its win against Miami came before the Hurricanes decided to make a quarterback change to try to save a clearly broken offense. Has LSU really played well enough to be ranked above Florida?

Alabama and Georgia appear to be a step ahead of the rest of the SEC. Having said all this, perhaps Georgia will lose to LSU or Florida, one of these teams will collapse and we'll be dealt a whole new set of SEC logic problems in a matter of weeks. I am comfortable with my logic above, but I also recognize that it could be rendered irrelevant as soon as next Saturday.



He has the Ags #13 so obviously he's smart and informed!
Panama Red
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
This his ranking of travel destinations?
Rusty GCS
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
That's from his ballot this week. He has Ags ranked over all the other SEC teams besides Bama/UGA. And lists his reasons why.

It's good to see actual thought process from a voter.
Rusty GCS
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Just realized I'm on the wrong forum
Wicked Good Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
But we should rank the SEC in terms of travel and since many are college towns the nearest good size city
Rusty GCS
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I've always heard Athens is the mist go-to SEC college town.

Guess I'll be verifying next season.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.