The actual AP poll

1. Ohio St. (64) 11-0 1,624 1 3-0 55-52 Another 1-2 matchup for OSU
2. Michigan (1) 11-0 1,561 2 1-0 62-44 1-2-1 vs. a No. 1 Ohio St.
3. Florida 9-1 1,436 6 2-1 60-34 First meeting W. Carolina
4. Southern Cal 8-1 1,433 7 2-0 51-33 Carroll 18-0 in November
5. Arkansas 9-1 1,331 11 2-1 48-43 9 straight wins
6. Notre Dame 9-1 1,302 9 1-1 54-39 11 straight wins over Army
7. Rutgers 9-0 1,212 15 1-0 42-31 Shutout Cards in 2nd half
8. West Virginia 8-1 1,075 10 0-1 40-30 6-4 last 10 vs. Panthers
9. LSU 8-2 1,074 12 1-2 52-38 6-4 last 10 vs. Ole Miss
10. Louisville 8-1 1,028 3 2-1 50-31 1-2 vs. South Florida
11. Texas 9-2 965 4 2-1 59-37 QB McCoy gets knocked out
12. Wisconsin 10-1 930 16 0-1 51-46 7-1 in B10 for third time
13. Boise St. 10-0 805 14 0-0 42-38 Squeaked by Spartans
14. Wake Forest 9-1 777 18 1-1 34-46 First time Deacons are 9-1
15. Auburn 9-2 751 5 2-0 58-43 Outgained 446-171 by Dawgs
16. Oklahoma 8-2 746 17 2-2 51-42 15-0 vs. Baylor
17. California 8-2 595 8 2-1 49-35 Bears blow a 17-3 lead
18. Georgia Tech 8-2 563 19 1-2 52-39 ACC Coastal Division champs
19. Virginia Tech 8-2 413 20 1-1 44-38 7-3 last 10 vs. Deacons
20. Boston College 8-2 350 22 2-1 48-34 Top passing offense in ACC
21. Maryland 8-2 309 23 1-2 46-34 Tied for lead-ACC Atlantic
22. Tennessee 7-3 276 13 2-3 58-33 Fulmer 12-1 vs. Commodores
23. BYU 8-2 216 25 1-1 42-46 Clinched share of MWC title
24. Nebraska 8-3 197 _ 0-2 58-34 Won B12 North title
25. Clemson 8-3 57 _ 2-0 54-46 RB Spiller 154 yards & a TD
Others receiving votes: Hawaii 39, Oregon 36, Kansas St. 8, TCU 7, Texas A&M 6, Georgia 3.



So, a reader finds it online and e-mails me pronto:

"Hey, JD, ask your cohorts in the media why Rutgers, West Virginia and Louisville are ranked where they are in relationship to each other! Didn't Louisville lose a close game on the road to an unbeaten team only after a missed field goal was wiped out by a penalty, and the kicker made the next one? And didn't Louisville decisively beat West Virginia? I guess I shouldn't complain, because Auburn beat LSU and is behind LSU in the poll, but come on! The poll is a joke!"

The rest of the e-mail makes it clear he doesn't realize the AP poll isn't in the BCS formula, but I promised our concerned reader I would ask my cohorts.

Cohorts?

 

The funniest line is the Rutgers' comment "shutout Cards in second half."

That's the best line they could come up with?

 

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough if Arkansas is better than Florida, but they look pretty sharp and I'm disappointed to find them below Florida. I will plead ignorance, though, because I don't think I've seen Florida play at all this year, so they may very well be better. I don't think so, but they could.

 

Hey, 12 straight wins over Army should get Notre Dame into the title game. No questions asked.

 

And don't they know it should be "shut out" -- two words?

 

exactly.

 

I don't know, I think their blanking that offense for a half is worthy of the one-line mention for the 13 newspapers who use that version of the poll. I guess they led a page designer write the blurbs </dyepack>

For all this talk about Rutgers, where would Wake Forest be had they not imploded against Clemson? I don't know that they don't deserve a top 10 spot, perhaps more so than Louisville or West Virginia.

 

What kind of world is it when Rutgers is unbeaten, and Wake Forest seeds on Florida State 7 ways till Sunday in Tallahassee, and Boise State is unbeaten but has no remote chance in hell at playing in a good bowl?

 

Which K-State grad put the Wildcats at No. 17?

 

Boise State will play in a BCS bowl, but I see where you're coming from Mystery Meat

 

MM:

If they had let a designer write the blurbs, they'd be filled with unintentional hilarity.

As it is, we'll have to settle for AP's foibles.

Just remember: Michigan State is just 16 conference wins away from clinching the Big 10 title.

 

But the AP Poll is a joke!