More Poll Talk

On Friday I made this post to see how my earlier "unbiased" preseason polls were looking this season.

There were a few teams that my polls predicted to be over/under rated that had yet to materialize, but this weekend actually helped to change things quite a bit.

My "slightly overrated" preseason teams included Ohio State, who now has 2 losses and has dropped to #19 in the first BCS poll, and Virginia Tech, also with 2 losses and ranked at #14. Both of these teams are looking, in fact, slightly overrated. Also this category works well with: Oklahoma State, California, and Florida State. Georgia Tech has moved back up in the polls, but I have a feeling they'll also drop later to help out the "unbiased poll" prediction.

As for "very overrated" teams, I had already mentioned North Carolina dropping from the rankings, but now so have Notre Dame (4-2) and Nebraska (4-2). Kansas and LSU were in this category as well and may have some more losing to do.

My "slightly underrated" teams are all doing well and improving their rankings (except for Georgia. Sigh.)

And my "very underrated" teams aren't looking so hot, except for Pittsburgh (#20) and the big one, Cincinnati (#5).

So the main changes over the weekend to help my polls out were the losses of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Virginia Tech.

Is this another "upset" season?

Let me mention here that I think it's a little ridiculous that there are 5 non-BCS conference teams in the BCS rankings right now (Boise State, TCU, BYU, Utah, Houston) while only 2 of them are even undefeated.

But this is possibly just due to 2009 so far being a season of upsets and non-impressive teams. Usually there are a handful of teams that are ranked in the top 10 preseason, look like clear favorites, and stay up there throughout the year. This year? There's no impressive "sure-thing" champion from any division in the ACC, Pac-10, or Big 10 at the moment. Texas, although unimpressive, looks like they should be the powerhouse this season from the Big 12, and the SEC has two teams vying for that title (Florida and Alabama), but Florida has also looked so-so in many games.

Quick Facts

• In the current BCS standings (week 7), there are 7 undefeated teams, 13 1-loss teams, and 5 2-loss teams.
• In the first BCS rankings of 2008, there were 9 undefeated, 14 1-loss teams, and only 2 2-loss teams.
• Compare that to 2007, a year of upsets and a 2-loss national champion. The first BCS standings of that season had only 6 undefeated teams, 13 1-loss, and 6 2-loss.

So far, this year isn't quite as "crazy" as 2007 was, but it's pretty close, and the undefeated teams we have left right now have been very close to losing a game or two along the way.