The AP Pollster Logic: Flawed Thinking Giving Less Deserving Teams Advantage

According to the AP Poll, if the season was over today and the No. 1 and No. 2 team advanced to the BCS championship game, it would be No. 1 Texas vs No. 2 Alabama.

Penn St would get the shaft while an overrated Alabama team would get blasted by a dominant Texas team. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech would get less credit at 7-0 than the one-loss Oklahoma, Florida, and USC teams. The Ohio State Buckeyes would get considered for a BCS bowl over LSU, though OSU was embarrassed by USC on the road by 32 points while LSU also was embarrassed by Florida on the road by 30 points.

Can someone please explain why the AP’s top 10 is as follows?:

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn St
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. USC
7. Oklahoma St.
8. Texas Tech
9. Georgia
10. Ohio St.

NOTE: LSU is ranked 11th.

Why is Alabama ranked ahead of Penn State? 'Bama almost lost against Kentucky and Ole Miss while Penn State has won convincingly each week. Why is USC ranked ahead of two teams that are 7-0? After all, USC did get beat by Oregon State, which is worse than getting beat by Florida or Texas.

The fact that USC did beat Ohio State should be factored in, but do you honestly think Ohio State is better than LSU? A more accurate top 10 would be as follows:

1. Texas
2. Penn St.
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma St.
5. Texas Tech
6. Florida
7. Oklahoma
8. USC
9. Georgia
10. LSU

Either way, the top 10 does not mean much at this point. Next week's matchups will completely shake things up:

Penn St. vs. Ohio St.
Texas vs Oklahoma St.
LSU vs Georgia

If Penn State beat OSU and Texas beats Oklahoma State, both losing teams will not be a factor; this also applies to the team who loses in Baton Rouge on Saturday Night.

So will the AP polls leave Alabama at No. 2 next week if Penn State beats Ohio State? If Oklahoma State beats Texas, will it be ranked No. 1? If LSU beats Georgia, will the Tigers be ranked No. 4?

The game that could be just as interesting is the USC vs. Arizona matchup. If 5-2 Arizona beats USC, they might have a shot to squeeze into the Rose Bowl.