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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College Football Saturday In 500 Words Or Less

A recap of what went down and what you should take away from Saturday's college football games.

This week taught us a lot about the college season; more so than the previous two weeks. It taught us that reputation might play into the polls more than we'd like to think. It revealed which players we should follow as the season progresses. It showed us how important a quarterback is to a team's success and that continuity at the position is a good thing. Week 3 also taught us a few things we already knew or weren't too surprised to see confirmed.

Recapping the day in 500 words or less, here's what Saturday taught us about the season:

- Where to start? Oh! Washington beat USC with three seconds remaining! It really makes you think: How important is the quarterback position!? Matt Barkley, whose ascent to the top of the depth chart was questioned by many, sat out with a shoulder injury. Aaron Corp, whose snubbing at the beginning of the season was questioned by some, got the start. Barkley hasn't been All-World or anything in his two starts, but he's led a couple of two minute drills to close the half and win the game against Ohio State. If Barkley plays, does he let the Trojans lose?

- On the other side of the ball, how big is Jake Locker's return? Washington was 0-12 without him a year ago. With Locker back under center, the Huskies are 2-1 and took down the mighty Trojans. Who would have thought that next week's Washington/Stanford matchup would determine the early leader in the Pac-10?

- Tyrod Taylor is going to have to become more of a passing threat if Virginia Tech hopes to compete for the ACC Championship. I was, however, impressed with his final drive on Saturday to beat Nebraska. His throw to Danny Coale was near perfect and his scramble on third and goal bought him enough time to hit Dyrell Roberts in the end zone to win the game. He'll have to be more consistent with his passing if Virginia Tech hopes to beat Miami next week.

- Eric Decker is tough. In the process of catching his first of two touchdown receptions, Sean Cattouse dealt a crushing blow to Decker's face. Decker was knocked unconscious momentarily, his mouth was bleeding and he couldn't breathe for a moment. The hit was legal, by the way. It was Decker's second catch of the game. He finished with eight.

- Is there any doubt that Jahvid Best is the best back in the nation? I think not.

- Michael Floyd underwent surgery following an attempted touchdown reception that left him with a broken collar bone. Huge blow to Notre Dame, as Armando Allen and Jimmy Clausen must now carry the Irish offense. Equally as crushing was Arizona's loss of Rob Gronkowski for the season. Gronkowski missed the Wildcats' first three games with a strained back and will have season ending surgery this week.

- Was I the only one who noticed the ridiculous amount of instant replays used to confirm or overturn receptions, ball spots, touchdowns, etc.? The NCAA Board of Whatever Panel Commission will soon vote on whether to use instant replay to make sure that players have tied their shoes correctly. I miss the days when a catch was a catch and a touchdown a touchdown.

- Thirty point underdogs, I can't decide if Tennessee should take a partial win out of Gainesville. No, they shouldn't, but at least they didn't give Urban Meyer the chance to run up the score. And Tebow didn't look too hot through the air against Eric Berry and the Volunteers secondary.

The polls have just been released following an interesting week in college football. USC dropped to 12 in the AP and 10 in the Coaches', while Washington climbed to #24 in the AP and remains unranked in the Coaches'. Miami was the week's biggest riser (9th in AP, 13th in Coaches') following another impressive showing.

This week, Jahvid Best Proved He's Worth The Hype. He's had an impressive start to the season, but Saturday's five touchdowns showed why he's considered the best running back, or football player, in the country. Saturday's five scores was roughly one third of his entire scoring production from last season (16 touchdowns). Scary.

The New Household Name for this week is Eric Decker. Decker caught 8 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He became Minnesota's all-time leader in receptions in the process. He even threw a touchdown pass to boot. This all coming on a day where he was knocked out, required stitches and left the game only when he sprained his ankle on Minnesota's final drive.

Some big games await us next weekend. Fourth ranked Ole Miss looks to continue to prove they belong in the top 5 when they take on South Carolina on Thursday night. In Saturday's early games, never-say-die Fresno State takes on 17th ranked Cincinnati and 22nd ranked North Carolina takes on a Georgia Tech team on the rebound. ABC will air a trio of games in the 3:30 P.M. ET slot: #6 Cal at Oregon, #9 Miami at #11 Virginia Tech and Illinois at #13 Ohio State. Top ranked Florida travels to Kentucky at 6 P.M. ET and Arizona State visits 21st ranked Georgia at 7 P.M. ET. Iowa travels to #5 Penn State in the primetime headliner. - 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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Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie Baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship!