Remember that next week is the submission date for our bracket seeding contest. You can still submit ballots that contribute to your participation quota after next week, but I obviously encourage more participation as opposed to less.
Pretty much! It doesn't have to be a computer poll, it can be just your opinion, or a hybrid.
I do a computer poll, because a) I don't watch enough games to make an informed ranking and b) it's a fun exercise in coding and tuning the algorithm(s) for me.
You also don't need to share your ballot in the comments, but I also enjoy sharing and explaining what my algorithm is doing and if/where I disagree with it.
!WVbrU@lemmy.world took the words right out of my mouth. I agree that it can be pretty intimidating at first. Either to put together a computer poll (which I still haven't done as I haven't found one that represents my big orange bias well enough) or to put together a human poll. I would say if you're interested in the former most of the commenters around here are huge nerds (no offense y'all) and would likely be willing to show you a thing or two. Putting together a human poll is probably easier, but at least for me starting out I was certainly worried and sometimes blocked by my own perceived "correctness". Remember though, there are no right or wrong answers.
Part of the reason we have this open poll is to get as many ballots as possible, and smooth out any noise from strange rankings. We also have a lot of fun with those strange rankings, at least once a season we get a ballot with someones favorite team taking the top spot with no justification other than "Go <team>" and it always brings a smile to my face at least. Again some advice if you're interested in starting your own human poll, a good place to start is by "correcting" the AP poll so that you think it's good. After a few weeks of this you start to get a hang for your own ranking system and again, there are no right or wrong answers. As an added bonus we're doing a cfb bracket prediction contest next week that you still have time to become eligible for! More information in the pinned post here.
My ballot this week, late as with everything else as I play catch up. Poll will be up in maybe a few hours as I gotta bust out some work before I have time for that.
Oregon
Georgia
Miami (FL)
Tennessee
Texas
Indiana
Iowa State
Ohio State
Army
LSU
Clemson
Notre Dame
Penn State
Illinois
BYU
Texas A&M
Boise State
Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
Alabama
Kansas State
Washington State
UNLV
Nebraska
Arkansas
Also ngl, as a gator hator, they are probably on my short list of missing the ballot this week. If they manage an upset at TWLOCP...
Here are the results from my computer poll. Oregon overtakes Indiana, and Notre Dame gets a big boost. Navy sadly falls out of the Top 25, but still on the bubble.
My ballot. Computer poll. My Longhorns fall out of the top spot. Womp womp.
I genuinely checked USC about 5 times over the past couple days to make sure I didn't input any data incorrectly or screwed up the formula, but it actually has them tied for 9th. It's super nutty, but everything else checks out. The reason the Trojans are so high is mostly their schedule -- they didn't play any FCS teams, which get heavily docked in my algorithm. Although they've lost 4 games, they're all by 1 score. But with ND at the end of the year, that schedule is just brutal. It's like they're trying to get Lincoln Riley fired.
Oh I feel like it always places A&M too high (even trying to compensate for the Burnt Orange Bias), but this season it feels right. I'm surprised your computer has y'all as low as 12th -- although that is a very A&M number.
The hype for that game was always going to be off the charts, but I really hope we both run the table getting there to up the ante. It also becomes a de facto play-in game to the SECCCG. It would be awesome if that game could be a rematch, although unfortunately one of the teams will likely be Georgia. :/ There is good rematch potential in the playoff though. Salivating at the idea of beating A&M twice in one season...
Computer poll, resume ranking. Ohio State/Penn State gonna make things interesting this weekend. Also, Liberty fell 41 rankings with their loss to the Kennesaw Hoots, which is a huge change this late in the season.