Polls are not consistent

[Paratrooper]

TexasPrepXtra.com's
Statewide 3A Top 20 Rankings

1) Cuero (6-0)
2) Gainesville (6-0)
3) West Orange Stark (5-0)
4) Wimberley (7-0)
5) Tatum (7-0)
6) Abilene Wylie (6-1)
7) Columbia (5-1)
8) Sweetwater (7-1)
9) Snyder (7-1)
10) Texarkana Liberty Eylau (5-1)
11) Sinton (7-0)
12) Daingerfield (6-1)
13) Cameron Yoe (7-0)
14) Palestine (5-1)
15) Bellville (6-1)
16) Marlin (5-1-1)
17) Wharton (3-3)
18) Liberty Hill (5-2)
19) Graham (4-2-1)
20) Hutto (6-1)

3A Harris Ratings
1. Gainesville 224
2. West Orange - Stark 223
3. Giddings 222
4. Abl. Wylie 221
5. Cuero 221
6. Gilmer 220
7. Cameron Yoe 219
8. Sweetwater 218
9. Snyder 217
10. West Columbia 217
11. Tatum 217
12. Bellville 217
13. Liberty Hill 217
14. Palestine 216
15. Bridge City 216
16. Liberty-Eylau 215
17. Marlin 215
18. Wimberley 215
19. Wharton 215
20. Atlanta 214

3A down low top 20

Week 8 Top 20
1. Cuero (6-0)
2. West Orange-Stark (5-0)
3. Abilene Wylie (7-1)
4. Gainesville (6-0)
5. Sinton (7-0)
6. Wimberley (7-0)
7. Barbers Hill (6-0)
8. Cameron Yoe (7-0)
9. West Columbia (5-1)
10. Sweetwater (7-1)
11. Liberty Hill (6-1)
12. Tatum (6-0)
13. Dallas Madison (6-1)
14. Bellville (6-1)
15. Snyder (7-1)
16. Palestine (5-1)
17. Marlin (6-1)
18. Texarkana Liberty-Eylau (5-1)
19. Giddings (7-0)
20. Daingerfield (6-1)

These polls are really all over the place. I really don't have too much faith in these at the highschool level.

[Old Cardinal]

Most Polls originate in the Greater DFW area so therefore there is a tendency to put their boys in as many good spots as they can. Trouble is each of them have a different set of friends that they tout. Same ole thing each year.

[NateDawg39]

Most Polls originate in the Greater DWF area so therefore there is a tendency to put their boys in as many good spots as they can. Trouble is each of them have a different set of friends that they tout. Same ole thing each year
Thats the stupid comment of the week! First of all partner, most of the top ten are west and south Texas with Gainesville bein the only true metro team in the mix and you know they are good. So dont play the blame game ok?:)

[Paratrooper]

I have to agree with you OC. I looked at the polls. I will give you an example of why I think these things don't mean squat. Look at Gilmer.....they are, not ranked, #6 , not ranked.......then look at Sinton.....they are #11, not ranked, #5 and the last one.......Barbers Hill...they are not ranked, not ranked, #7. All the polls seems to me have their favorites and don't even come close to portraying who is even the top 10 teams in the state. I wonder if you combined them all and split the difference if you would get a more accurate picture.....lol

[Old Cardinal]

Sorry but I disagree with you, ND 39. The Polls originate in the Greater DFW area. Since you are hacked LOL-- I will make another statement. The pressure was on the UIL in the past to move some of the Greater DFW teams over to Region I so that their teams would not eliminate each other in their own Region...and yes they were successful in getting that done. Politics is politics and that is why things end up like they do all too many times LOL.

[HighSchool Fan]

Originally posted by NateDawg39
Thats the stupid comment of the week! First of all partner, most of the top ten are west and south Texas with Gainesville bein the only true metro team in the mix and you know they are good. So dont play the blame game ok?:)

nate, you have to understand old card, he gets the idiot syndrome every now and then, well, most of the time anyway.

[NateDawg39]

I have my own poll for yall!
1. Decatur
2. Smithville
3. Progreso
4. Fort Worth Castleberry
5. South Lake Carroll
6. Manor
7. Snyder
8. Cuero
9. West Orange Stark
10. Cuero
There! that should clear all confusion up right?!!

[3afan]

what the heck do you expect? each poll is just someone's opinion. of course they're going to wildly vary - and each be biased in their own way.

[NateDawg39]

Well...Old Card... Yet again i hate your comment!! Im not tryin to pick a fight but you think the UIL is that low to do something like that? Maybe! but not likely

[Paratrooper]

Originally posted by NateDawg39
I have my own poll for yall!
1. Decatur
2. Smithville
3. Progreso
4. Fort Worth Castleberry
5. South Lake Carroll
6. Manor
7. Snyder
8. Cuero
9. West Orange Stark
10. Cuero
There! that should clear all confusion up right?!!

It's probably as accurate as the other 3.......lol

[Paratrooper]

Originally posted by 3afan
what the heck do you expect? each poll is just someone's opinion. of course they're going to wildly vary - and each be biased in their own way.

My point is that they shouldn't vary that much. I mean look at the college polls, those polls may have a little variance here and there, but not a number 5 team in one poll and not even ranked in another.

[3afan]

Originally posted by Old Cardinal
... The pressure was on the UIL in the past to move some of the Greater DFW teams over to Region I so that their teams would not eliminate each other in their own Region...and yes they were successful in getting that done. ...

OC, you were warned about not taking your medication ....

[LH Panther Mom]

Here's one more for everyone to "ponder" on.

Jerry's (http://www.texasfootballratings.com/20053AStateRanks.html)
1 West Orange-Stark (5-0)
2 Gainesville (6-0)
3 Abilene Wylie (7-1)
4 Sinton (7-0)
5 Cuero(6-0)
6 Wimberley (7-0)
7 Marlin (5-1-1)
8 Tatum (6-0)
9 Liberty Hill (6-1)
10 West Columbia (5-1)
11 Barbers Hill (6-0)
12 Bellville (6-1)
13 Sweetwater (7-1)
14 Giddings (7-0)
15 Gilmer (7-1)
16 Cameron Yoe (7-0)
17 Devine (5-2)
18 Bridge City (4-0)
19 Breckenridge (6-2)
20 Snyder (7-1)

[Old Cardinal]

I once knew a School Administrator that was a part of the official UIL. He was agast at the level of coersive politics that transpired. This was sometime back but I would guess things have not changed a lot...

[Paratrooper]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
Here's one more for everyone to "ponder" on.

Jerry's (http://www.texasfootballratings.com/20053AStateRanks.html)
1 West Orange-Stark (5-0)
2 Gainesville (6-0)
3 Abilene Wylie (7-1)
4 Sinton (7-0)
5 Cuero(6-0)
6 Wimberley (7-0)
7 Marlin (5-1-1)
8 Tatum (6-0)
9 Liberty Hill (6-1)
10 West Columbia (5-1)
11 Barbers Hill (6-0)
12 Bellville (6-1)
13 Sweetwater (7-1)
14 Giddings (7-0)
15 Gilmer (7-1)
16 Cameron Yoe (7-0)
17 Devine (5-2)
18 Bridge City (4-0)
19 Breckenridge (6-2)
20 Snyder (7-1)

Wow, never even heard of this one before

[Old Cardinal]

To Paratrooper: Several years ago I put out the "non-DFW-- Texas HS football Poll" LOL and I had a bunch of them shaking and salivating like a hound-dog passing peach seeds :D LOL

[3afan]

Originally posted by Paratrooper
Wow, never even heard of this one before

FYI ... "Jerry's" is www.texasfootballratings.com (http://www.texasfootballratings.com)

[Txbroadcaster]

One of the biggest reasons IMO that polls especially at the 3A level are so varied is the fact teams do not travel out of their region in non-district as much, so we do not get a good feel of the teams in other regions. I for onr will only see a region One or Four team in the playoffs. So I could not give a realistic poll of the whole state, and that is why I stick to just an East Texas Poll.

Also just the vast amount of teams in 3A make it more likely their will be a variance.


The polls I do not respect are the ones that have teams coming out of no where and being ranked high because of one big win. A big win over a top ranked team does not automatically vault u over other teams who have been there longer.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by 3afan
FYI ... "Jerry's" is www.texasfootballratings.com (http://www.texasfootballratings.com)

Thanks for the "real" link. :)

[Paratrooper]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
One of the biggest reasons IMO that polls especially at the 3A level are so varied is the fact teams do not travel out of their region in non-district as much, so we do not get a good feel of the teams in other regions. I for onr will only see a region One or Four team in the playoffs. So I could not give a realistic poll of the whole state, and that is why I stick to just an East Texas Poll.

Also just the vast amount of teams in 3A make it more likely their will be a variance.


The polls I do not respect are the ones that have teams coming out of no where and being ranked high because of one big win. A big win over a top ranked team does not automatically vault u over other teams who have been there longer.

Good post. Actually makes sense. My point of this whole thing was I read quit a bit about the polls, but when I actually looked and started comparing them I found A LOT of discrepancies within them all.

[RMAC]

I think everybody has a poll. And polls are so overrated!!! GAH!

[Paratrooper]

agreed

[Gobbler Fan]

Originally posted by NateDawg39
I have my own poll for yall!
1. Decatur
2. Smithville
3. Progreso
4. Fort Worth Castleberry
5. South Lake Carroll
6. Manor
7. Snyder
8. Cuero
9. West Orange Stark
10. Cuero
There! that should clear all confusion up right?!! I like this one we get 2 spot's .....:hand: :p

[OlineCoach34]

Isn't it a good thing that Texas High School Football has a playoff system, and doesn't rely on a myriad of polls and computers to decide who will play in the state championship games? That would be rediculous to rely on peoples opinions and what a computer says to determine who the best teams in Texas High School Football are, don't you think?

So, take the polls for what they really are........opinions!

[hata_hurta06]

It seems to me alot of these polls go by the teams record not even thinking about the teams the have faced!!

[3ABirdMan]

Originally posted by 3afan
FYI ... "Jerry's" is www.texasfootballratings.com (http://www.texasfootballratings.com)

The thing I like about this poll the most is that it is truly unpersonal because it is calculated using a mathematical formula, although I haven't ever found the exact calculation. There was another poll called DataPoll a few seasons back and that guy posted his calculation.

Most of the calculated polls use a formula to calculate an expected outcome based on who else the two teams have played - If team A played team B, and then team B played team C, there would be a resonable way of calculating an outcome of a game between team A and team C, using team B as a common opponent. As the season goes along, corrections are made in the formula to 'narrow in' for accuracy.

I trust a formula a whole lot more than I do a bunch of sports writers who have their "favorites"!

[garageoffice]

We tend to be a little loose with our terminology, I think, and that causes some confusion as to the viability of the various rankings. There are essentially three ways to come up with a ranking list:

1) POLL - opinions from a representative set of knowledgeable individuals; they are only as good as the individuals that are polled; very few individuals can gain enough knowledge to even begin to give fair consideration to all of the teams in the state.
2) FORMULA - statistics-based formula, poll(s) may be a component; probably the most fair, but some assumptions must be made that can negatively affect accuracy.
3) INDIVIDUAL OPINION - no explanation required; only as good as the individual.

Many lists are presented here as polls, but in reality many of them are just opinions (not that there's anything wrong with that). The big problem with polls like the Harris Poll is that there is always some bias based on familiarity with programs or reputation of the coach.

Rankings are fun to talk about, as long as everyone keeps them in perspective. The great thing about any sport is the fact that they still have to play the games and the surprises sure are fun every year, don't you think?