Three human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I-BS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS Standings. At the end of the season, the BCS Standings determines who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.
As the 2007 football season progressed, rankings are updated weekly. The team voted number one in the final AP and Coaches Polls can claim the title of National Champion. The BCS Rankings and Harris Poll do not vote in a final poll as their sole purpose is to determine who plays in the BCS National Championship Game. Other polls exist and may vote for different schools which causes confusion, especially for split titles. But generally, only the AP and Coaches Polls are used in crowning the National Champion.
AP Poll
The Associated Press (AP) preseason poll will be released in August 2007. The AP Poll is the oldest poll still in use. This poll is compiled by sportswriters across the nation. This season was the second season since the inception of the BCS that the AP Poll was not included in the BCS formula. The AP ordered a cease and desist to stop the BCS from using their poll and the BCS complied and created the Harris Interactive Poll in response. The poll operates identically to the Coaches and Harris Polls, except there is no inclusion into the BCS.
Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is the second oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll. It is compiled by a rotating group of 62 college football Division I head coaches. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25 . Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the highest points is then ranked #1; second highest is ranked #2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first place votes noted the quantity next to their name. Any team receiving votes after the top 25 are listed after the top 25 by their point totals. However, these are not real rankings: They are not considered #26, #27, etc. The maximum points a single team can earn is 1550.
Harris Interactive Poll
BCS Ranking
The initial BCS ranking will be released in October 2007. Template:8ColPollTable
USA Today/Gallup Fan Poll
The USA Today/Gallup Fan Poll is a unofficial poll sponsored by the news publisher USA Today and the polling agency Gallup. The preseason poll will be released in August 2007. The poll represents 400 college football fans from across the country that were recruited by Gallup to participate. Fans had to "demonstrate a high degree of interest in and knowledge of the sport and commit to being a serious evaluator of teams as the season unfolds."[1] Unlike the other polls, this poll only included the top 15 teams. This poll has no bearing on any formula for determining post season play and is used merely as a gauge to compare against the similar polls voted on by college football coaches and writers. Template:16ColPollTable
BlogPoll
The BlogPoll is a poll run and voted on by sports bloggers.[2] 2007 is the 3rd year of the poll. Currently, over 60 separate blogs vote in the poll. It is administered by the Michigan blog mgoblog. Template:16ColPollTable
Sportsline 119
The SportsLine 119 is a ranking of all 119 Div. I-A teams in the nation maintained by CBS Sportsline that takes into account strength of schedule rankings and votes from Sportsline writers, editors and producers.[3] The top 25 from the Sportsline 119 are shown below:
Preseason polls
Various publications release their preseason top 25 months before the season commences.
Athlon | Lindy's | Gold Sheet | Phil Steele | Sporting News | CollegeFootballNews | Real Football 365[4] | Sports Illustrated | CFP Users | ESPN[5] | Rivals.com[6] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | USC | USC | USC | 1. | ||||||||
2. | LSU | Florida | Michigan | 2. | ||||||||
3. | Texas | Michigan | LSU | 3. | ||||||||
4. | Florida | West Virginia | West Virginia | 4. | ||||||||
5. | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Florida | 5. | ||||||||
6. | Ohio State | Oklahoma | Ohio State | 6. | ||||||||
7. | Oklahoma | Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech | 7. | ||||||||
8. | Arkansas | Texas | Oklahoma | 8. | ||||||||
9. | UCLA | Ohio State | Texas | 9. | ||||||||
10. | Michigan | California | Wisconsin | 10. | ||||||||
11. | West Virginia | Arkansas | Louisville | 11. | ||||||||
12. | Georgia | Nebraska | Georgia | 12. | ||||||||
13. | Virgina Tech | LSU | Nebraska | 13. | ||||||||
14. | Auburn | Penn State | Auburn | 14. | ||||||||
15. | Nebraska | Texas A&M | California | 15. | ||||||||
16. | Tennessee | Auburn | Arkansas | 16. | ||||||||
17. | Florida State | Georgia | Tennessee | 17. | ||||||||
18. | California | TCU | Penn State | 18. | ||||||||
19. | Boston College | Tennessee | Rutgers | 19. | ||||||||
20. | Texas A&M | UCLA | FSU | 20. | ||||||||
21. | Rutgers | Rutgers | Texas A&M | 21. | ||||||||
22. | Georgia Tech | Wake Forest | Notre Dame | 22. | ||||||||
23. | TCU | Boise State | Hawaii | 23. | ||||||||
24. | Penn State | Alabama | Boston College | 24. | ||||||||
25. | Oregon State | Louisville | Clemson | 25. | ||||||||
Athlon | Lindy's | Gold Sheet | Phil Steele | Sporting News | College Football News | Real Football 365 | Sports Illustrated | CFP Users | ESPN | Rivals.com |
Legend
Increase in ranking | ||
Decrease in ranking | ||
Not ranked previous week | ||
Selected for BCS National Championship Game | ||
Selected AP National Champion | ||
Italics | Number of first place votes | |
(#-#) | Win-loss record | |
(t) | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
References
- "College Football Rankings". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2006-09-11.
- "NCAA Football Polls". CBSSportsline.com. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
- "College Football Polls". SI.com.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|acessdate=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - "Breaking down the Top 25 teams". USAToday.com. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
- "mgoblog: BlogPoll". mgoblog. Retrieved 2006-01-09.
- "Harris Poll". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
Notes
- ^ "USA Today/Gallup College Football Top 15 Fans' Poll". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
- ^ "mgoblog: Blogpoll Central" (HTML). mgoblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
- ^ "SportsLine 119" (HTML). CBS Sportsline. Retrieved 2006-01-09.
- ^ "2007 Preseason Rankings, National Title Contenders - No. 1 to No. 25" (HTML). Scout.com. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
- ^ Schlabach, Mark (2007-01-11). "Booty could return Trojans to No. 1 ranking". ESPN. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ McClellan, Mark (2007-01-09). "Rivals.com 2007 Preseason Top 25". ESPN. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help)