Auburn Poll Rundown
Hey everyone. Auburn (4-0) didn't make the 25-team field in the AP or USA Today/ESPN poll, but the team is making steady progress. I guess you could say that.
- In the AP Poll:
- Auburn is essentially No. 27, receiving 171 points.
- Georgia Tech, which is ranked No. 25, has 185 points.
- Auburn had 100 points last week.
In the USA Today/ESPN poll: - Auburn is essentially ranked No. 28, receiving 103 points.
- Oregon, which is ranked No. 25, has 198 points.
- Auburn had 62 points last week.
Check out the full polls here.
Here's how I ranked 'em on my AP ballot:
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Boise State
6. LSU
7. Virginia Tech
8. Ohio State
9. TCU
10. Cincinnati
11. Penn State
12. Southern Cal
13. Oklahoma State
14. BYU
15. Miami Florida
16. Mississippi
17. Georgia
18. Houston
19. Kansas
20. Georgia Tech
21. Oregon
22. Iowa
23. California
24. Auburn
25. Michigan
posted by Jay G. Tate at
1:49 PM
117 Comments:
First! WDE
Substance
go riskman108.....where is the substance
I need substance on the first posts. It's not a race.
Ok, maybe it is.
Still, we need substance.
where's the substance hotline number?
Jay G.,
I would have kept Ole Miss around 16-20; they lost a road game in the SEC because of problems they haven't fixed. They still have talent.
Oh, and Auburn needs to beat a team with a defense before they should be in the Top 25, in my opinion.
Auburn vs Ole Miss women's soccer starting on ESPNU.
JGT - I dislike Iowa as much as the next guy, but I have to confess I think they've earned a ranking above Joe Pa. They just ran right over the Nittany Lions yesterday.
Don't look now, Auburn's Ranked No. 1 In Total Offense.
Poll seems about right. I'd have kind of suspected that LSU would drop a bit but maybe that's more an emotional reaction.
I do need some help with the logic on the Penn State / Iowa ranking. Iowa has no losses and beat Penn State on the road??? Sorry, but something is flawed with that logic. Please help me understand how and why on that logic?
1-0 AU women's soccer team
Beat UT the rankings should take care of themselves
My fear is all of the big plays the "0"has made would not happen vs. a big time D.
We have some speed on the O but Tenn, ALA, GA have speed to counter. Our special teams will be destroyed by these team.
I agree with Sensi, Auburn does not deserve to be ranked at this point. We have really only beat WVU and needed turn overs. Mississippi State win could be bigger down the road, but still an X factor.
Sensi,
We play a team with a defense this week.
From the previous thread...
Steve,
The problems aren't just catching punts, you are right.
We are the worst in the SEC in punt return average...less than 3 yards per return.
Our kickoff return average isn't that great either.
We don't cover kicks or punts that well at all. Our D is almost always starting around the 40 after a kickoff.
We've had a few kickoffs out of bounds.
Last night twice when we got a good kickoff return, it came back due to penalties.
The only things on special teams that seem to be working are PAT's and FG's.
Yep, RK. We do.
Pollspeak has week 5 up now. Getting some love from the computers, and Ray Ratto is still impressed. He has Auburn at 8.
Ray Rotto must be smoking something.
think how much this blog would have changed if CGC did not Hire CGM....
The fact that Auburn is even in the same conversation with top tier passing schools is AMAZING!!
Its a great feeling...
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Sensi, I think MSU and LaTech had decent defensess.
I read that the Tenn game will be at 7pm on ESPN, last time that happened Tenn. fans were leaving at half time. :P
ESPN guys, whom I consider more credible than most beat guys( no offense to the beat guys, the ESPN guys just spend more time watching games and have crazy resouces, like an analysis staff, that not everyone has) have Auburn at 18 and 19. If they say we should be ranked, I'm listening.
RK, I do agree our special teams have been worse than bad. One of the most glaring things is the kickoffs out of bounds. There is no excuse for that. With the ball being placed at the 40, you are basically conceding the other team effectively a great kickoff return. Even if you aren't wanting to kick to the guy back there, a squib or a high shorter kick that the coverage can get to would make more sense.
That is the thing with our kicking game. The issues are all over the place and many look to be easily correctable, but haven't been.
We really haven't beaten anyone, and our defense is suspect. I understand the slowness to move up in the rankings.
I really don't understand LSU's ranking. They have also not beaten anyone and looked bad while doing it. Still, I hope they keep a high ranking until our game with them. Nothing like high rankings to make games more interesting.
I think there is a good chance that Miami/Oklahoma/BYU/Florida State are all frauds. It is like they have their own little section of college football where one of them has gotten credit for beating or having a close game with another team. When you look at it from that perspective, they have all also done nothing, they have one loss each, and they are still getting respect.
I think 27 is about right until we beat some better teams. Our defense and special teams need to get better. If we don't see some improvement in special teams, Boulware could be in danger of being voted off the island.
This past weekend has given me a peptic ulcer, or at least it feels like it has. :(
I very much like the philosophy of the CFN pole. It basically acknowledges that rankings can change quickly but it is what is done on the field that should determine the rankings, not what someone thinks will happen.
If we beat TN and Arkansas, I want no less than a top 10 ranking. You hear that AP Votin' Haters(this message is only directed at the haters, who make up most of the pollsters right now, not the people who are showing love)? Top 10!
...now Auburn has to go out and beat TN and AR so as to not make Frankenbummer look foolish.
I'm not as down on our defensive performance last night as some.
We didn't give up a lot of yardage at all and out of 17 the starters gave up, 10 of them were set up by special teams mistakes. (Fumbled punt and fake punt)
They had another score set up by the Caudle int.
However if we give up 30 points to UT in Knoxville, no matter how we allow the points, then we will be sitting at 4-1 a week from today.
SteveFC,
I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot "CFN Pole." Just saying.
Redskins about to end the Detroit drought, Lions up 20-7.
Byron, keep in mind that part of your ulcer is because of the number or people we are playing. Yes, it makes us look worse, but it also helps to reduce injuries.
So far I am pleased with our progress, other than special teams. I like how we have reacted each time we have been behind.
The true test will come when we face a defense that stops our offense more consistently. We have scored in every single quarter this season. Three and outs have been rare. If a team such as Tennessee is able to have long sustained drives a few times with our offense going three and out, our defense will likely have issues. There just isn't the linebacker depth, although I know the numbers are there. Just too many of those numbers are true freshmen and walkons.
Not that anyone cares, but I had scored a total of zero points with my TE in fantasy football this year. My third try is turning out to be a charm. 100+yds and a TD by Brent Celek. Woo0hhoo
With our offense ranked number one in the nation and Malzahn's record at Tulsa, how will we ever keep this guy around. With all the upsets this season, there are sure to be some head coach openings. If I am an Athletic Director, I am all over Malzahn.
LSU is ranked 105th in the nation in total offense. That in itself should make the ineligible for a top 10 ranking.
Malzahn is a great OC, but I am not so sure he shines as a HC. Although, as a HC he would probably build a Texas Tech kind of team. One thing is for sure, we are in no danger of loosing Roof to another program.
I can't believe we aren't ranked; it has to be a conspiracy.
That must have been a very impressive FG that CAL made last night in their 42-3 loss for it to keep them in the top 25.
Sheesh.
I don't mind still flying a bit under the radar going into Tenn.
We will not lose Bouleware either. We need a scandle to get rid of him. He is horrible. He is THE SPECIAL TEAMS COACH. Ask around thise in the complex, he hates ebing a positins coach. he wants to be just a ST coach. Well he needs to be a ST coach and flippin' coach. It is not a depth issue. it is a coacjing issue. He has guys on that unit that are not willing to stick a helemt on somebody. He needs to get with the program and get some players on that unit.
That is my opinion and I am sticking with no matter what anyone else sys.
I am very impressed with MSU. They were a couple of stupid calls away from knocking off LSU and being 3-1. With Georgia Tech coming to town, they have another chance to prove themselves, but Mullen has definitely done good things at MSU.
That makes our win over MSU a bit more weighty.
I don't have the time to look it up but how many teams in the top 25 have a better defense, statiscally than AU? I am of the opinion you win championships with defense. A great offense is terrific, but youwill not out score everyone and great defenses will find a way o stop a great offense.
You can't say stuff like that about somebody we've already beaten, Steve. Everybody knows we haven't played anybody.
AU1NO4-Unfortunately, the pollsters will not look back to see who we beat. They are looking week to week, IMO. That game islong sgone in their memory.
wtc, I don't think that the statistics really tell how good or bad Auburn's defense is yet.
I don't think MSU will knock off GT, but they definitely have the potential to hang with them for a while. A little luck and you never know.
The thing is, when we beat TN and ARK everyone will still say that we haven't beaten anybody; Auburn is always held to a different standard than everyone else. See 2004.
I can easily believe that there are 26 better teams in this country than us. However, I have problems with some of the ones that are ranked above us- Cal?
We will see how good this defense is very soon. The first 4 games are poor indicators. We have been rotating in a ton of players on both the defensive line and in the secondary. Part of the defensive stats is directly due to how successful our offense has been. I wouldn't be too quick to get concerned here. The real concern will be the linebackers. Bynes and Stevens are playing very well, but there isn't a lot behind them at the moment.
Cal was the media darling there for a moment. They have had a great program recently, but Oregon really exposed them. My question is how good is Oregon? Apparently they have improved significantly since I saw Boise State thump them.
Miami surprised me. Makes you wonder if any of the polls can be trusted. LSU at 4 - give me a break!
Steve, You're assessment of Oregon is right on. For some strange reason, my eyes skipped right over that one as I was reading the poll- denial maybe? There are several that just don't make sense. The problem is the media darlings- as you call them. Whatever happened to what happens on the field as opposed to who can give the best interviews?
Peter-My point is that our defense, statiscally is not better than most of those ranked ahead of us. I venture to say that AU is WAY down the list on 3rd down conversions by the opponent. Meaning they give up a alot of 1st downs when it comes to 3rd down. That is a stat that will bite any team.
Campbell and the Skins end the long Lions losing streak today.
Jason is on the hotseat at QB in DC.
I'm not sure if he sees another receiver on the field than Cooley, because he never throws it anywhere else.
Braves take a 4-3 lead in the 10th against the Nationals. They can be a game and a half out of the wildcard if they win and the Rockies continue to lose.
is Philip Pierre-Louis hurt or just in the doghouse?
He started last year as a kickoff returner and his highlights contain pount and kick off returns..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpM5YDAMW2k
Jay can you get to the bottom of the PPL story???
punt...
wtc - I agree but at some point computers will kick in as well. That is where the MSU win will be counted.
Also, knowing you don't follow recruiting, how did the weekend go?
yeah, I get it wtc. I just don't know how reliable the stats are right now. Like Steve said, we've had lots of guys on the field because the offense is scoring so many points that probably wouldn't be there otherwise.
Read a story today that Terry Bowden talked to his defense before UNA's game Saturday and told them he wanted a shutout. He got it. I think Chiz would serve himself well to make a similar challenge.
if we had a true playoff system the polls would not matter... just your performance on the field...
BUT
since we do not.. its is all about sucking up the the powers to get "RANKED" higher..
Peter "Big Snacks" Frankenschmidt
Terry also asked for some oatmeal creme pies... he got them too
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PPL is in the doghouse from everything I've seen.
He is one of the people who were apparently involved in the "classroom incident" over the summer, and he was one who wasn't just flat kicked off the team.
I can't beleive you deleted the other Bowden gets what he wants thing.
do I-AA polls have nothing to do with which 16 teams are in the playoff? Or how they are seeded?
I must admit that I have more trouble evaluating special teams than any other area, especially punt coverage, since we do so little of it. Also, I tend to not spend much time reviewing video of the kicking game, so that hurts too. I would much rather look at what the defense is doing. That is what I like to watch when reviewing film.
This is why I am not too stressed about the D.
Auburn held Ball State to 72 yards on 39 plays in the first half when the Tigers' first-team defense played. Ball State's scoring drives in the first half covered 17 and 18 yards. It should also be noted that 27 players made tackles, which shows Auburn used lots of players.
Good point, AU1N04. It is why the defense isn't a big concern at the moment for me, other than linebacker depth. We will see the benefits later on. We have also been pretty lucky in terms of few injuries to key positions this season on defense.
the defensive stats I posted BEFORE we played Ball State are plenty enough reason to keep me gravely concerned.
The argument that using back-ups somehow excuses giving up 30 pts to Ball State ignores the fact that past AU defenses, with second and third string in, would never have allowed Ball State to score that many, whether they got the ball in good field position or not.
1-AA tournament is determined by 8 conference champions and 8 at large bids.
In the past, when has a team scoring 30 points against us been so meaningless?
final on soccer?
We have to understand that Chizik and his staffs mindeset is a 180 from Tub and his staff.
Tub wanted long grid it out drives that kept the D off the field and kept scores low. Our D in his style of football isn't going to give up a lot of points because they aren't going to be on the field a lot.
Chizik wants quick scores and a fast paced offense which will mean that our D will be on the field more and sometimes pretty rapidly after getting off the field, which will unfortunately allow for more points to be allowed.
Yeah, RK, it was probably a little beyond appropriate and and of bad taste. Not that that's ever stopped me before.
Well, just from what I saw watching the replay this morning. I liked the fact that Bates made big hits, we wrapped up and tackled in the open field.
That was an improvement over WVU
Just curious about what everyone sees in LSU this year. Is their high preseason ranking based on beating Georgia Tech last year in the final game? The same team that lost five SEC games last year and has been unimpressive to say the least so far. I believe their offense is ranked about #105 so far this year. If these rankings were based on potential from previous recruiting classes, I could begin to wrap my brain around it. As it stands so far, LSU doesn't deserve the rankings so many are bestowing upon them.
The change in coaching philosophy is the reason we allowed Ball State to score 30? That's ridiculous.
LOL...
Word on the UT boards is that Jonathan Crompton's Dad was removed from the stadium yesterday for getting into an altercation with a fan.
8 teams in the top 15 have 1 loss? What a joke of a poll. OK state, Cinci, Boise, LSU .....Oklachokema have no business being higher than 15.Period.
Just saw the Vikings highlights...
WOW.
Still no one with an AU soccer update? Didn't anyone watch it?
1983 Iron Bowl starts in 13 min on ESPN Classic
BEASLEY!!!
THT - The last I saw it was 1-1 with 34 minutes left in the 2nd half.
You make a very good point in terms of style of play RK. It is when our offense isn't clicking that I will want to see what happens.
Thanks THT for the heads up on the 1983 Iron Bowl. I am betting we take them.
I think the Defense actually improved on tackling and not over running a lot of plays.
Update of Doug Lesmerises Of Clev. Ohio
Alabama 1
Boise St. 2
Houston 3
Florida 4
Iowa 5
Cincinnati 6
Texas 7
Virginia Tech 8
Auburn 9
LSU 10
Oregon 11
Miami 12
Michigan 13
TCU 14
Southern Cal 15
Ohio St. 16
Georgia Tech 17
UCLA 18
Oklahoma St. 19
BYU 20
Missouri 21
South Florida 22
Georgia 23
Oklahoma 24
South Carolina 25
Most other sports writers think he is crazy.
To all of the conspiracy theorists:
Whose butts do we have to kiss in order to go up in the polls? huh?
Who does the "conspiracy" favor and what organized group controls it? huh?
Is it a bunch of coaches in the coaches poll? really?
A certain bunch of reporters in the AP poll? really?
Remember....the voters are rotated yearly, so someone would have to control how the voters are rotated on and off of BOTH of those polls. Not even the Fed could control that.
Every team has a bunch of wild-eyed fans that think the voters are against them....I see that we indeed have ours.
Polls, schmolls, as long as we win, I am happy. Besides, people will take notice of a beat down of Tennessee. Kiffikin has attracted a lot of attention and it makes for an opportunity for us to snatch the attention, while getting a chance to check out Kiffikin's wife.
Voters move teams up and down the polls methodically. Maybe it is a subconscious failure to admit that their previous votes were wrong.
As CFB achieves more parity each succeeding season, the voting will get more rediculous.
Last year AU was in the polls way too long before we were dropped out. Were we the recipient of favoritism last year?
Does anyone have any idea what will happen with Isom? We really need him back.
TN has the best D we will have faced by far. Compton, however, is not a very good QB. Based on how our D has played they will run it on us, controlling the clock to keep our O off the field. It is not going to be easy.
Or, is it Crompton?
The defense still had bad fundamentals. we weren't playing against nearly as good athletes so we looked better. Bates still was failing to wrapup and ElToro is a bunch of fast misdirected motion.
I would like to know what is going on with Isom, too.
Crompton is it and their defense isn't so much better than MSUs.
Eltoro - "a bunch of fast, misdirected motion"
Exactly.
I assume Isom is gone for violating some team rule and we will just have to do without him. Isn't John Sullen the one replacing him?
I am loving Bates, although he will get a lot better. Eltoro is the invisible man to me so far. I think Herring should be starting at this point.
Auburn Soccer loses to Ole Miss, 2-3 in double overtime, penalty kick :(
I like our chances in a shootout with Ark much better than against UT.
We will get enough D stops and TOs against Ark to win. Our O will score profusely.
UT has a front 7 that will stuff us and then we will have to spend the rest of the game trying to throw wherever EBerry ain't. The UT D is better physically and the coaching/gameplanning will be a wash. Our D will have to stuff their run with 8 in the box and still cover their WRs without a lot of help. If we can take what their D will give us, don't turn it over and crush Compton into making mistakes....we can win.
I guess I am still drinking the kool-aid or looking at life through orange colored glasses, but yesterday's game doesn't bother me at all. We are so far ahead of where many thought we would be in many areas. Yes, there are concerns, but so far this has been a successful season and I'm not going to start crying about it until they give me something to cry about. We're 4-0 for pete's sake! Enjoy it while we can.
Regarding the TN game, I think we have a great chance. It is our strength against theirs and our weakness against theirs. We'll see who exploits the other's weakness the most.
I'm reposting this from last night's thread because I really would like someone who knows to give me some insight to this.
OK I just sped read comments and maybe I missed this, but on the first punt, I think the officials totally missed the call. The same thing happened in the Titans game last week, but the officials got it right. If a fair catch is called, the player has the right to catch the ball even if he muffs it, provided the ball doesn't hit the ground. What am I missing?
From the NCAA Rules Handbook:
SECTION 5. Fair Catch
Dead Where Caught
ARTICLE 1. a. When a Team B player makes a fair catch, the ball becomes dead
where caught and belongs to Team B at that spot.
b. When a valid fair catch signal is made, the unimpeded opportunity to catch
a free or scrimmage kick is extended to a player who muffs the kick and still
has an opportunity to complete the catch. This protection terminates when the
kick touches the ground. If the player subsequently catches the kick, the ball is
placed where it was first touched) (A.R. 6-5-1-I-IV).
Bates has a lot of promise, but he is still very raw.
New (long) thread UPZ.
Gulf Shores,
I said the change in philosophy would allow for more points allowed during a season as the D is on the field more.
However, I said the reason we gave up 30 to Ball State is lack of quality depth and the D being put in bad positions to start drives.
However, please feel free to take whatever you want out of what someone wrote.
Cincy...I'm thinkin the UT game is a tossup. I think that we will beat Ark. My preseason pick was 6-7 wins and as many as 8 if everything went great. Conversely, if we had a few too many injuries,only 5 wins was possible. If we don't have injuries and the OL can adjust to losing Isom, 6-8 wins now look realistic.
Steve..the UT D is much better than the MSU D that we played.
I see The Bull running around like a chicken with his head cut off - but not under control and not making very many plays - did Herring play?
I see Bates under control and making plays - VERY impressive for a true freshman.
Not concerned with the final score - gave a lot of young'uns some snaps - can only help us down the road.
Got to focus on TN - they will be dangerous.
Prediction: TN turns the ball over 4 times. We score at least 20 on turnovers. We add 3 more TDs to make it 41. TN scores 3 TDs on short yardage due to special teams miscues. They add another 10 points on busted plays.
AU - 41
TN - 31
Headline: AU RANKED FOR FIRST TIME THIS YEAR.
Warning: when predicting detail, prepare to be wrong more often than not.
RK,
Sorry, I must have missed your larger point. Hopefully, our depth will improve with another year of recruiting.
Hoopie.
You're a jerk.
Penn St. still ranked above Iowa? That's utter rubbish, jay tate.
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