Question about polls

[lion75]

I don't know the answer to this, but am curious. Is a poll usually designed to reflect how good a team is at that time or is it supposed to be a reflection of how good that team has been on average throughout the year. (1)If it is the present state of the team, then an old loss or 3 old losses shouldn't matter. Example: Vernon is 4-5 at this time last year and ranked 63rd in the state. Six weeks later they are in the top ten because of a semifinal appearance and a hot streak. This would indicate that recent success is the main factor. (2) If, in fact, it is the entire body of work, then old losses from earlier in the year should be considered, and I think in many cases they are. I'm not positive if the criteria for polls in high school football has been clearly defined. Any thoughts?

[kepdawg]

Originally posted by lion75
Is a poll usually designed to reflect how good a team is at that time or is it supposed to be a reflection of how good that team has been on average throughout the year.

Yes

[lion75]

Originally posted by kepdawg
Yes Both?

[charlesrixey]

well, this is slightly skewed because teams have different motives at different parts of the season

district games are much more important than non-district games and playoff games are even more so

that's why more emphasis is placed on later games

if a team goes 10-0 in the regular season and is ranked #7 and then gets beaten by an average team then obviously they should be ranked lower than the 6-4 team that beat them and advanced to the quarterfinals

the playoffs are all about finding out how good the good teams really are

thusly, if Anthony goes 9-1 in 1-3A, is that really as impressive as if they go 9-1 in 23-3A or 24-3A?

computer polls rank teams by who they think has the best chance to be #1, or a derivative thereof

human polls are based on what have you done for me now

this is why Omaha Paul Pewitt was in the top 3 by computer rankings in 1998 despite a 7-3 record in the regular season, when the AP poll had them gone early, or not at all

(another good example is Atlanta with their 12-4 record a few years ago)

i personally rank based on who i think is the best (in the end) and who could beat who, not just who they have already beaten

[Ranger Mom]

I think a poll is created to cause disharmony and stir the pot!!!:)

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Ranger Mom
I think a poll is created to cause disharmony and stir the pot!!!:)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[sinton66]

The criteria for polls depends greatly on who creates them. Few of them go strictly by football data. Most are nothing more than popularity polls.

[Texasfootball2]

Originally posted by sinton66
The criteria for polls depends greatly on who creates them. Few of them go strictly by football data. Most are nothing more than popularity polls.

The only place where polls have any meaning is college football, Division 1 only. Everybody else on the planet just plays till the last man is standing and may the best man win.


Division 1 college football is the only sport I know of where you can win your last game in the post season, of the so call BCS tournament, and still not finish first.:foul: :foul: :foul:

[Sweetwater Red]

Sweetwater drilled Canyon back on Sept. 21. That is Canyon's
only loss so far while Sweetwater is 5-4. It appears that win
might have been a case of Canyon playing badly for one game.
At this point it apears that Canyon is a better team.:thinking:

[bigron15]

i think that everyone but D1 college football should do away with polls because they dont mean anything. at least college uses them for something. they just cause too much trouble for something that means nothing