College Football Polls 2012: Week 6 AP and Coaches' Poll Comparison

The latest Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls are out—which you can view here—with both agreeing that the Alabama Crimson Tide is the best team in the country. 

However, after that, the polls agree to disagree.

Which teams are overrated and which teams are underrated in the AP and Coaches polls? 

Click through to see how these polls compare after five weeks of college football. 

Who's in and Who's Out?

The polls did agree on two teams that should not be in the polls. Gone in both polls are Michigan State and Baylor. However, the coaches' poll also saw the departure of Wisconsin, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State, three teams that were not in last week's AP poll.

The Associated Press welcomed UCLA, Northwestern and Washington to its poll. The coaches' poll brought in Texas Tech, Cincinnati and Northwestern. 

Comparing No. 21-25

The only team that the AP and coaches came close to agreeing on is Rutgers. The AP has Rutgers at No. 22, while the coaches have the Scarlet Knights at No. 21.

However, after that, these polls differ a great deal.

	AP	USA Today
No. 21	Nebraska	Rutgers
No. 22	Rutgers	Northwestern
No. 23	Washington	Cincinnati
No. 24	Northwestern	Texas Tech
No. 25	UCLA	Boise State

Boise State dropped out of the AP poll after its 32-29 victory over New Mexico, while as you can see, the Broncos stayed in the coaches' poll.

While the polls do disagree, they do have one thing in common. They seem to agree that this is the range where teams new to the poll should reside.

Comparing No. 16-20

The only similarity between the polls is where the coaches and AP have ranked Stanford. Both have the Cardinal at No. 17. 

	AP	USA Today
No. 16	TCU	Louisville
No. 17	Oklahoma	Oregon St.
No. 18	Stanford	Stanford
No. 19	Louisville	Miss. State
No. 20	Miss. St.	Nebraska

As you can see, the AP has come down harshly on the Oklahoma Sooners, dropping them almost out of the top 20. The coaches have not been as impressed by the recent streak of wins by Oregon State.

However, the coaches are higher on the Big East and Big Ten, They have Louisville and Nebraska ranked higher than the AP does.

Comparing No. 11-15

In this range, it seems Clemson is the only team these polls can agree on. The Tigers are No. 15 in both polls. 

	AP	USA Today
No. 11	Texas	Florida
No. 12	Ohio State	USC
No. 13	USC	TCU
No. 14	Oregon State	Oklahoma
No. 15	Clemson	Clemson

Because of Ohio State's NCAA probation, the AP is the only poll that can rank the Buckeyes.

The coaches still believe in the Oklahoma Sooners, while the AP was more impressed with Oregon State's 3-0 start. 

Comparing No. 6-10

The bottom five in Top 10 in both polls has a number of the same teams, just in a different order. However, just like every other section that we've broken down, there is only one team that both polls can agree on. 

That is South Carolina at No. 6.

	AP	USA Today
No. 6	South Carolina	South Carolina
No. 7	Kansas State	West Virginia
No. 8	West Virginia	Kansas State
No. 9	Notre Dame	Texas
No. 10	Florida	Notre Dame

As you can see, the only big discrepancy is the coaches' love for Texas. If the Longhorns can defeat West Virginia next week, both polls will have them in the Top 10. 

The Top Five

The one thing that both of these polls can agree on is that Alabama is the best team in the country. 

With that being said, the AP voters think Alabama is the only team that deserves a first-place vote, while the coaches also gave LSU and Florida State first-place votes. 

	AP	USA Today
No. 1	Alabama	Alabama
No. 2	Oregon	Oregon
No. 3	Florida State	LSU
No. 4	LSU	Florida State
No. 5	Georgia	Georgia

As you can see, the top five is where the voters in each poll have the most agreement. They agree that Georgia should be No. 5, Oregon No. 2 and Alabama the team that everyone is chasing. 

However, it is interesting that the coaches and AP differ on the relative strength of Florida State and LSU.

The AP has moved LSU down a notch from third to fourth, while the coaches still feel that LSU is the third-best team in the country. 

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