Meet the Two AP Voters Who Think LSU Is Better Than Notre Dame

It is always a back and forth match between Notre Dame fans, media and the rest of the college football world that can't stand the leprechauns.

The fans of the Irish always think they are being hated on and disrespected, while the rest of the fans wouldn't be impressed with this program if Ara Parseghian returned as head coach and won the next five national championships.

The media tries its best to balance issues out between the two sides that will seemingly never get along.

However, with the recent AP poll being released, there are a couple of voters that seem to have a little bit of hatred for the Irish as well.

While most voters became believers last week after Notre Dame knocked off Oklahoma, there are still two voters who think the Irish don't deserve the Top 3 ranking they currently hold in the BCS.

But what makes matters worse is that the LSU Tigers have found a way to jump the Irish on those same ballots.

Yes, the same LSU team that didn't even play last week has somehow leaped over a Notre Dame club that is fresh off a victory against a Top 10 program.

I guess since Florida let everybody down last week, voters had to find the next top SEC program to enter the Top 5.  

Let's take a look at the two AP voters who think LSU is better than Notre Dame.

Tom Murphy

Affiliation: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock

Twitter: @TomMurphyADG

Where ND Was Ranked Last Week: No. 5

Where ND Is Ranked Now: No. 5

Murphy is currently an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Razorback beat reporter and a former Press-Register Alabama beat reporter.

Maybe that explains his love for the SEC, so he felt obligated to squeeze another school from the conference into the Top 5.

Or maybe he is upset that the Arkansas Razorbacks couldn't beat a community college this season, so he decided to take out that frustration on the poor Irish.

When the rankings were released by Jeff Sagarin (one of the many ranking systems that the BCS uses to determine the overall average), Murphy tweeted how shocked he was with some of the positions.

"

Seriously, Bama defeats an unbeaten 38-7 and is jumped by idle LSU and 2-loss OU in Sagarins? Seriously? cbsprt.co/S5H7Wx

— Thomas Murphy (@TomMurphyADG) October 28, 2012"

You have a point there, and nobody said the BCS was a flawless system, but having an idle LSU team jump a Notre Dame team that took it to Oklahoma is worth questioning as well.

Did I forget to mention that the game took place in Norman, OK?

Mark McCarter

Affiliation: Huntsville (Ala.) Times

Twitter: @markmccarter

Where ND Was Ranked Last Week: No. 5

Where ND Is Ranked Now: No. 5

Can we really make this SEC love fest any more obvious?

McCarter has spent much of his time in SEC country, as he is currently a columnist at The Huntsville (Ala.) Times, covering teams such as Alabama and various pro teams.

Before that, McCarter was a sports editor for The Chattanooga (Tenn.) News-Free Press, which would likely explain why the Tigers have magically jumped Notre Dame without playing anybody last week.

McCarter recently wrote a column on how complicated the AP voting gets once the SEC begins to beat up on one another. The problem is that LSU shouldn't be in that mix just yet, as the Tigers have struggled against teams such as Auburn, Towson and were dominated on both sides of the ball by Florida.

Maybe McCarter is afraid of Notre Dame and would prefer to see Alabama play any team besides the Irish.

Although the AP poll doesn't count towards the BCS rankings, putting LSU above Notre Dame is the least he could do to prevent that matchup from taking place.