Breaking that unwritten poll rankings rule

With the first major upset of the season behind us, some have called for a team unranked in the preseason polls to take Southern Cal's place in the top 5. It's gotten me thinking about the rankings and wondering if those lucky enough to have a say really do their due diligence in picking the best 25 teams in the nation. How much does a team's reputation play into their spot in the rankings? Don't worry. I won't start any campaigns to do away with the BCS or pitch a fix to the system. If that's what you want you need only type 'BCS' into Google and you'll have reading material until the next presidential election. I'll go a step further and not mention those three little letters in that order again in this article. You're welcome.

Not to get into the specifics of who should be ranked where, but it's eerie how much the AP Poll and Coaches' Poll look alike every week. Moving 20th ranked Miami up to #5, as Kirk Herbstreit said he planned on doing on his ballot, would break the unwritten rule that limits the number of spots a team can jump in the week following a win. I guess nobody likes to rock the boat by moving an unlikely team into the top 10, or top 5, even if they've played well enough to warrant the spot.

Anybody who's seen Miami's first two games would have a hard time counting them out against any team in the country. Most would have a hard time submitting that the Hurricanes have looked better than Alabama, Texas or Florida, but might be more willing to admit a more equal relation when compared with Penn State, Mississippi, Cal, LSU, Ohio State and Boise State. Should a team that is obviously as talented, or more so, than teams ahead of them be relegated to wait until those teams lose a game?

One of the most famous instances in which a team has risen or fallen significantly in a single week was following Michigan's loss to Appalachian State in their 2007 opener. They were ranked 5th in both preseason polls (with 2 first place votes in the Coaches' Poll) and fell out of the rankings completely following the loss. Does anybody think that Appalachian State was really a better team than Michigan following the loss? The 2007 Missouri Tigers were the consensus #25 team in Week 5 (Sept. 23) of the '07 season. The same week, the AP Poll ranked Appalachian State higher than Michigan. Who do you think had a better chance of beating the Tigers that year? Michigan or Appalachian State?

To keep things recent, who's the better team? USC or Washington? Most would agree that USC is still the better team despite the upset. But the Huskies downed the Trojans on a last second field goal so they've got to be the better team, right?

You won't see the Trojans fall below the Huskies in the polls at any point this season barring some catastrophic meltdown. Back in 2007, at no time did the coaches put Appalachian State in the rankings. And that's how it should be, because Appalachian State was not one of the top teams in the nation even though they beat fifth ranked Michigan. Clearly, Michigan was not the fifth best team in the nation when they played Appalachian State, so Appalachian State did not deserve to be credited for downing the fifth best team. Make sense?

How does this relate to Miami's ascent to the top 10? Few thought Miami was worthy of being ranked following a string of disappointing seasons. They climbed up to about #20 in both polls following a victory over Florida State. In the win, the Hurricanes looked better than the #20 team in the nation. They were favored over #14 Georgia Tech heading into Friday's game despite the lower ranking, probably voted on by many of those that picked Miami to win. Why would you place a team at #20 when you were going to predict them to take down the #14 team in the nation a few days later? Shouldn't they be ranked higher than 14 if that's where you placed the other team?

The AP Poll was just released and the writers placed the Hurricanes at #9 (Coaches' #13). I know teams have risen higher than 11 spots in a week, but in most cases they beat a top 5 team. Miami, on the other hand, beat the 14th ranked team and the 18th ranked team.

'How could you move a team from #20 to #9 in a week!?!?' more conservative voters may ask. Critics of the decision may also argue that the Hurricanes beat an overrated Georgia Tech team and a volatile Florida State team. You put them at #9 because Miami has played like the #9 team in the nation. Simple, right? - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

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