Pac-12: Top 25 Coaches Poll – Eastern Bias or Western Apathy
Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers, Coaches Poll voter. (Photo by LambeauLeap80, via Wikicommons)
How it works
The effects of conference representation show up in the poll results.
Six SEC schools are among the Top 25 (and a seventh just missed). As a matter of fact, they are all ranked between 3–13. Seven of fourteen conference coaches, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, voted.
Six Big Ten schools are ranked. They also had seven coaches vote. Four ACC teams made the list (five others got votes). Seven of their fourteen coaches plus conference associate member Notre Dame voted. Finally, the Big 12 has six of ten coaches voting. They put four teams in the Top 25, as well.
Now we get to the Pac-12. For some reason, only four conference coaches, Kevin Sumlin, Arizona; Jonathan Smith, Oregon State; Clay Helton, USC; and Kyle Whittingham, Utah, are voters.
I’m not saying that the teams who are ranked don’t belong there or Pac-12 schools do. But it’s human nature to go with what you know. The teams that coaches watch the most are the ones in their conference. And there aren’t enough people familiar with Pac-12 teams in the pool of voters.
So, for example, teams 7–9, Penn State (1,189), Florida (1,176), and Oregon (1,164) are separated by 25 points. If there was one less Big Ten or SEC coach, and one more Pac-12 coach on panel, who knows UO, maybe they pick up some places. Oregon gets a little more consideration, and a team ahead of them gets a little less. Suddenly, the Ducks start the season ranked seventh.
Who is to say that Iowa State (135 points) ranked 25th is better than Arizona State (88). But 60 percent of Big 12 coaches voted as opposed to a third of Pac-12 coaches.
Three #Pac-12 teams were included in the college football preseason Amway Coaches Poll. #ASUfootball was not one of them. Is that a mistake? https://t.co/htJSMoUKHg
— Jeremy Cluff (@Jeremy_Cluff) August 6, 2020