With NO Coaches Voting ...

[Bishop of Bulltown]

if we're up big and we stick with the ground game, that may be a form of running up the score in this game considering how much andre hates them

[E.T.]

It's up to the players to "run up the score"  8)

Agree with being happy with four 1 point wins  ;D

[BiggTipp]

who needs the votes we only need the W's. thats how you get respect..screw 'em.

[E.T.]

Published Saturday, November 19, 2005

Ratings' Reasons Simple

By Rick Brown

rick.brown@theledger.com

There are some who are wondering why the South Florida Bulls got only one vote in the Associated Press Top 25 weekly college football poll and no votes in the coaches' poll.

What really has the USF fanbase in an uproar is that the University of Central Florida has more votes in both polls. This is the same UCF squad that only recently snapped a 17-game losing streak and got crushed earlier this year by those same USF Bulls.

There's no way UCF is better than USF, Bulls fans clamor.

USF, slow your roll. In other words, chill, calm down.

The answer is quite simple. Look at the records.

The Golden Knights are 7-3. The Bulls are 5-3.

There is no conspiracy against USF.

It's simple math. One has seven wins. The other five.

Sure, Dr. Evil and the other organizers of the Bowl Championship Series don't want USF to win the Big East. A BCS bid by USF would net the school and conference between $14-$18 million. That would nearly double USF's $18-million athletic budget.

A school that is just in its ninth year of existence, fourth in I-A and first in the Big East, should realistically not have a shot at winning the conference and being the league's representative.

Yet, it could happen and only a loss in USF's three remaining games -including today's tilt against Cincinnati -will prevent that from happening.

Many are saying if that happens, it could begin the destruction of the BCS, but that remains to be seen.

What is known, however, is the polls have nothing to do with that.

Repeat after me: UCF has two more wins than South Florida. UCF has seven wins, USF has five.

Sure, two of USF's three losses have been to schools -Miami and Penn State -ranked in the top 10.

Just remember, seven vs. five.

Really, it's that simple.

It's understandable why being in the polls is a big deal.

First, it shows that nationally, the team is being recognized, even if it's just also receiving votes. That in itself goes a long way when it comes to recruiting.

Then, it is a pride factor.

While they don't really have a rivalry, USF and UCF are always compared to one another. Plus, they appear to be in a race to see who becomes the fourthbest team in the state behind Miami, Florida State and Florida.

Still, there is always some controversy with the polls.

Every year, heck, almost every week, there is talk about whether one team deserves to be ahead of another.

Does Notre Dame (6th), with two losses, deserve to be ranked ahead of Virginia Tech (7th) and Alabama (8th), who both have one?

Is Penn State really that strong, to be ranked fifth?

Now, if the Bulls run the table and finish with an 8-3 record and UCF is still ahead of them in the polls, then there will be time for arguing.

But not now. USF still has work to do.

If USF handles its business, in the end, the rankings will take care of themselves.

Rick Brown can be reached at rick.brown@theledger.com or at 863-802-7569.