(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
Three other AFCA Board members voted their teams into the top 25, though final voting totals left their teams out of the top 25. Using final total vote rankings, Greg Schiano (+11), Butch Davis (+7) and Bo Pellini (+4) significantly self-promoted their team’s rankings.
Schiano evidently did not consider Fresno State, who beat up Rutgers 24-7, a better team—nor Boston College, Iowa, Florida State or California, all of whom had better records and many more votes.
Including all fifteen AFCA coaches who voted for their teams in the final poll, the average Self-Promotion was 2.5 spots!!
Big 12 coaches (4) won the top spot in Self-Promotion by elevating their individual teams by an average of an overwhelming +4.0 positions, followed by the WAC (1) - +2.0, Mountain West (2) and ACC (2) – +1.5, Big 10 (2), Pac-10 (2) and SEC (2)– +1.0! (If I include Schiano’s voting, the Big East would have taken the top spot with 11.0.)
The AFCA coaches do not feel that coaches should not be able to vote for their own teams.
"By keeping things confidential, I think there will be less hidden agendas," said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, AFCA Board member. More secrecy, less hidden agendas, Rich?? Lewis Carroll would have loved that one.
Coaches also had a clear tendency to boost teams in their conference both for the Poll’s Top Spot and for the Top 25 rankings.
Conference Boost – Top Spot Voting
Six of the seven SEC coaches with a vote voted Florida to the top spot. Steve Spurrier had the Gators at number two to Big 12 Oklahoma. Urban Meyer had Florida and Alabama 1-2 after the SEC Championship.
Four of seven Big 12 coaches (Chizek, Hawlins, Pellini, Pinkel) had Oklahoma and Texas 1-2. Mike Leach had Oklahoma and his Texas Tech 1-2 with Florida No. 3. Art Briles (Baylor) had Oklahoma and Florida 1-2. Mack Brown was the Spurrier of the Big 12, picking out of conference SEC Florida No. 1 and his Texas Longhorns No. 2.
Of the seven Big Ten coaches voting, only one (Lynch) had Florida No. 1, four (Bielema, Dantonio, Rodriguez and Zook) had the Gators No. 2, and the other two (Tiller and Tressel) had Florida No. 3.
With 26 of the 61 first place votes for the Gators, an average percentage for a block of seven coaches would have netted Florida two or three top spot votes.
Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said of the change: "My personal feeling is that a person is more free to vote his conscience instead of worrying about what the public is going to think about his vote."
Bobby, you mean in secret balloting more SEC coaches would vote for a Big 12 champion instead of the SEC champ? How will we know?
Ranking Boost by Conference – Top 25 Teams
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