BCS voters' secret is out, and it's . . . hilarious
CHRIS DUFRESNE / ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The final ballots of some coaches' poll voters are revealing. Also strange, self-serving and, more often than not, funny.
The final Bowl Championship Series standings turned out the way they did because coaches and Harris poll voters put their biases aside and made decisions based strictly on the cold, hard facts.
(We'll pause here until you've finished laughing.)
Ever since the controversy of 2004 involving Texas and California shamed voters into revealing their final ballots the following year, picking apart the final USA Today poll has become the best day in December between bowl announcements and Christmas.
Harris voters had to reveal their final ballots, too, but we don't hold ex-jocks, former athletic directors, sportswriters and doughnut shop workers to the same standards.
The only scarier thing than seeing how some coaches voted is thinking back to all the years when we couldn't see how they voted.
The 61 coaches this year picked Oklahoma and Florida as the top teams, but those weren't their only decisions.
* Oh, what fun, but what about your credibility?
Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel, incredibly, had Utah No. 15 and Boise State No. 16 while putting Georgia Tech at No. 9.
Memo to Pinkel: Utah and Boise State are a combined 24-0 this year and both schools have won BCS bowl games in the last four years.
At the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State scored a shocking upset over Oklahoma, a team that annually pummels Missouri. Last weekend the score was Sooners 62, Tigers 21.
Georgia Tech did not even make it to the title game of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a league that is 1-9 all time in BCS bowls. Virginia Tech, which won this ACC this year, is No. 25 on Pinkel's ballot.
* And then there's Hal . . .
Last year, New Mexico State Coach Hal Mumme put Hawaii at No. 1 on his final ballot only to watch the Warriors get pounded by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
This year, Mumme voted Boise State (12-0) and Utah (12-0), teams vastly superior to Hawaii, at No. 8 and No. 9.
New Mexico State just fired Mumme, but we think it had more to do with on-field issues.
* Well, of course the Scarlet Knights should be ranked.
Rutgers received two Piscataway pats on the back, both at No. 25. One was from Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano and the other was from Fresno State Coach Pat Hill, whose team opened the season with a win at Rutgers.
* Maybe he's just smarter than we are.
Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach thought the national title game should have been Oklahoma vs. his team, which he voted No. 2. Leach voted Texas No. 5 (ouch).
- Bowled over by college football Dec 30, 2002
- Penn State-Pitt Football Series Will End in '92 Apr 12, 1991
- Graduation Rate at USC Best Among BCS Teams Dec 23, 2003
