Tucson Citizen.com
AG's Wildcat Report - Dispatches on the Wildcats, from Anthony Gimino

Arizona nearly ranked by USA Today … and who voted for the Sun Devils?

by on Aug. 06, 2010, under Sports

Mike Stoops is one of 59 coaches with a vote in the USA Today poll/Photo by Kirby Lee, US Presswire

The Arizona Wildcats will begin the season knocking on the door of the USA Today college football poll.

Arizona was fourth among “others receiving votes,” putting them at No. 29 overall. There are 59 coaches voting in the poll, including UA’s Mike Stoops.

Arizona is one spot behind Brigham Young and one spot ahead of Mississippi, no doubt boosted by the recent news that ex-Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has joined the team for this season as a graduate student.

Masoli decided to leave Oregon after coach Chip Kelly suspended him for the season following his involvement in a theft at a fraternity house.

Even without Masoli, the Ducks were the pick of the Pac-10 media to win the league, and they are the highest ranking Pac-10 team in the USA Today poll, coming in at No. 11.

Oregon State is No. 22. USC will not be ranked by the coaches because the program is under NCAA sanctions that include a postseason ban.

Stanford, Washington, Arizona State and Cal also received votes. Wait a minute … Arizona State?

How did the Sun Devils — coming off a 4-8 season, with a new quarterback, already dealing with more injury issues on the offensive line and picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 — receive six points? Hard to believe they would have been listed on six ballots.

Here’s my guess: Somebody listed Arizona State at No. 20 (which translates to six points), mistaking the Devils for Arizona. Either way — honest mistake or ranking the Sun Devils — somebody needs to have his voting privileges revoked.

Wouldn’t an editor at USA Today call the coach who voted for ASU and give them the Seth and Amy treatment: “Really? Really?

Say what you will about bizarre voting in the AP media poll, at least those ballots are available on line every week, so there is full accountability. There is no such concept in the coaches poll, which doesn’t release individual ballots until the final vote of the season.

Even then, with the potential for bias being exposed, coaches turn in some unusual — and often self-serving — ballots.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 6th, 2010 at 9:47 am and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

RSS feed for this post (comments)
  • Carlos J. M.

    Great stuff as usual Anthony. 

    Personally, I like that the respect is slow in coming from our 12-PAC brethren, be they on the field or in the media.  As sure as it is Sunday, August 8, 2010, at 9:49pm, we all know that Kelly, Sarkisian, Harbaugh, Erickson and Kiffin think they have it all over Coach Stoops, and I’m not talking about their bank accounts, either.  And neither are they.  That might be the only thing they’re not talking about. 

    You can see it in their faces, their mannerisms, their, well, disregard for The Pride of the Old Pueblo.  But that’s OK because Coach Stoops has always been an improve-and-the-proving-will-take-care-of-itself kind of Coach.  After what Coach and his charges have been through over the past 6 years or so, and taking into account the lighter – much lighter – situations the above mentioned waltzed into, I’ve got to go with my gut and my head and say Coach Stoops is the man.  And his team is the one. 

    Hard work, perseverence and knowing what it takes to be successful at every facet of the game – the game of football and life – trump:

    A) riding the coattails of famous mentors who once coached where you’re now coaching

    B) banking on the prestige of the football factory that now employs you

    C) parlaying an ill-gotten record into a fleecing of grand larceny proportions

    But we shall see.  That’s why we play the games, right?      

    As to your headline-ending question – that’s easy. There most definitely are better looking cheerleaders around in them there parts of Mill and University, but there are no bigger cheerleaders for the Marooned and Galled than these 6: Boivin, Bickley, Somers, Metcalfe, Haller and Obert.  Six reporters, 6 votes.  That explain it?   

  • Steve C.

    Carlos,
    It’s not reporters for the Republic or Tribune that had the votes in the USA Today poll, its coaches.  Read the third sentence:  “There are 59 COACHES voting in the poll, including UA’s Mike Stoops.”  As biased as some of the reporting up in the valley of the sun is, they couldn’t have had a vote in the poll.   

  • Carlos J. M.

    You’re right Steve C., and I stand corrected.  I was thinking media and their history of banging the drum and not so slowly regarding Love, Koetter and Erickson’s exploits as they’d feast on cupcakes 4 in a row at home pre-conference season and then gift them a top 25 ranking heading into conference play.  But I digress. 

    Anthony surmises that some coach out there must’ve picked Arizona St. 20 thinking he was choosing Arizona.  Could be.  All it would take, though, for the other 58 coaches aside from Stoops to get this picture of ASU – a pic where the Devils are somehow that good, considering… – would be to read the Republic and Tribune daily.  They’d sure as I’m here and you’re there be compelled to pick ASU 20th or higher.

  • Pingback: Arizona ranked 35th in AP poll — who voted for the Cats? - AG's Wildcat Report

«
»