Coaches Poll this week

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 1:03 pm

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... atpoll.htm

Obviously we dropped out of the Top 25, even the top 30. Funny thing is, we've still got 23 more votes than UT.

BelieveNBG · Post by **BelieveNBG** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 1:18 pm

Alot of artiacles that I read after that game indicated that UT had more to play for and that Omar had a rare off game. No one seemed to indicate that UT was the better team. They also recognized that UT was at home. I think alot of folks believe that the better team lost that day...including myself.

GO BG!!!

Falconfreak90 · Post by **Falconfreak90** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:03 pm

I disagree UT had more to play for...BG had lots to play for.

If Omar had an off game going 36 of 60 for 400+ yards, man I'll take that any day!!

I agree the better team lost....but like Doyt Perry said..."the better team doesn't always win. The team that plays better does". UT played a better overall game and took home the win.

BG #34 in the coaches poll and there are 4 MAC teams still receiving votes!

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:16 pm

I don't think there's a great deal of difference between BG, UT, NIU, and Miami this year. I think Akron and Marshall are a cut below those four and everything else is dreck.

(Wow...Denver and the Raidahs are playing in the snow in Denver...a 290 DT for Denver just intercepted a pass and ran it in for a TD)

I'm not sure any of the top four in the MAC deserves to be ranked this year, but I'm glad we can say we've been ranked for parts of the last three.

Who knows, if we can snag a bowl bid and then win impressively enough, maybe we can sneak back relatively close to 25. Then we have a shot of starting the year ranked in 2005.

BelieveNBG · Post by **BelieveNBG** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:32 pm

Having only 3 losses, with one against Oklahoma, why don't we deserve to be ranked? Look at the rest of the polls and look at the teams that are ranked. Look at the teams they've lost to and take a serious look at the rest of their schedule. While we may play several teams ranked below 100, the basement teams of the B10, SEC, B12, Big East, aren't much better. Any team that can win 8 games is a good team and we deserve everything we get. We already get a mark against us for just simply being in the MAC.

Cork · Post by **Cork** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:18 am

Flipper wrote: I'm not sure any of the top four in the MAC deserves to be ranked this year, but I'm glad we can say we've been ranked for parts of the last three.

You are correct sir.

And hopefully next year every other post won't be: "why aren't we ranked?" At least until after we win an away game.

orangeandbrown · Post by **orangeandbrown** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:33 am

This program is good enough and deep enough and talented enough to do what Miami did last year, if we could finish the job on the road and get the defense stepped up.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:32 am

BelieveNBG wrote:Having only 3 losses, with one against Oklahoma, why don't we deserve to be ranked? Look at the rest of the polls and look at the teams that are ranked. Look at the teams they've lost to and take a serious look at the rest of their schedule. While we may play several teams ranked below 100, the basement teams of the B10, SEC, B12, Big East, aren't much better. Any team that can win 8 games is a good team and we deserve everything we get. We already get a mark against us for just simply being in the MAC.

We were 1-3 against teams with winning records. As impressive as the wins were, I have a hard time saying that record justifies a top 25 ranking.

orangeandbrown · Post by **orangeandbrown** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:02 am

I agree. The MAC wasn't strong this year, and we finished third in our division. I never worry too much about being ranked, because that's a game with no rules and you can't control. Let's hope we win our bowl game big, and springboard to the MAC title in 2005.

NWLB · Post by **NWLB** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:04 am

Nice to see the mood moderating here after the weekend.

UT still sucks.

BelieveNBG · Post by **BelieveNBG** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:24 pm

We can't control who we play. We also played all of those games on the road. Good teams find a way to win at home, as did NIU and UT. As far as being ranked goes, I believe we are just as good as any team ranked #20 - 25. Look at those teams and their losses. Most of them also have losses to winning teams. The sad thing is that some of those teams have a loss to teams with a losing record. We have to stop thinking that in order for a MAC team to be worthy, we must go undefeated. If we don't think better about our own conference, how can you expect anyone else to??? It's very hard to win on the road, I don't care what conference you are in. Look at what happened to Wisconsin with losses at MSU and Iowa, after being ranked in the top 10.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:04 pm

You're assuming I have some sort of built in bias against the MAC and that it is clouding my judgement. Don't do that...it's irksome.

I would feel the same about our shot at being ranked if we played in CUSA or the MWC. We don't deserve it because we didn't earn it when we had the chance to.

(BTW, good teams...teams that deserve a national ranking, find a way to win on the road, not just at home)

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:20 pm

BelieveNBG: Agreed that we can't control who we play, but we have to win the right games.

Take SEMO State out of the equation, and the winning percentage of teams we beat is ... .298 (23-54). Now that number is pretty dismal. Beating up on teams like that will not get you into the top 25.

But beating up on those teams and winning at least ONE game against a pretty good team (Marshall does NOT qualify this year) does. We didn't.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 2:31 pm

1987alum wrote:
But beating up on those teams and winning at least ONE game against a pretty good team (Marshall does NOT qualify this year) does. We didn't.

That is right on the money. Take OSU, for example since everyone here loves to hate them. They had a pretty dismal season, and I think that we're probably a better team. However, when it comes time to rank that signature victory over a very good UM team is really going to weigh heavily on the minds of the voters. We do not have a single signature win this season, and that's going to cause us to drop.

We were ranked on the merits of playing the softest part of our schedule all right in a row, and rang up a long winning streak because of it. The voters took notice. We didn't go higher because we hadn't beaten anyone worth a crap during that streak. Then when we do lose we drop back down out of the rankings. Makes perfect sense to me.

BelieveNBG · Post by **BelieveNBG** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 2:34 pm

Hammb,
I am not saying that it doesn't make sense. I expected that we would not be ranked and your comments are correct. I just get irritated when folks say we didn't and don't deserve things, like being ranked and getting a bowl game. My thoughts are that we deserve it, just as much as some of the other teams that get those things.

I think you were missing my point. I believe that we are being held to higher standards. Take Ohio State...they are 7-4, with only one decent B10 win. They also beat Cincinnati and Marshall, but all other wins are against teams with losing records. Yet, Ohio State is ranked with 4 losses. Look at Florida with 4 losses. They have only one decent win and that was against Florida State. They lost to Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, and Miss. State, a bottom feeder 3-8 team. Yet, they are ranked. Whether or not you deserve to be ranked, should also depend on who you lost to. At least we have not lost any games to any team that does not have at least 8 wins. Yes, we need to win more of those games, but we only played in 3, with 2 on the road. And note, I am not talking about the Oklahoma game, because that was one that we weren't supposed to win anyway.