IRVING, Texas — What does it tell you about the validity of the football coaches poll when Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops decides to vote this year to protect his own team?
It tells me this:
One, he doesn’t trust the likes of Texas’ Mack Brown, who voted Oklahoma third in last year’s final poll.
Two, the 59 voting coaches are about as objective as the Theta Chi house after a weekend binge during homecoming.
Three, the Oklahoma-Texas game Oct. 17 in Dallas will have so much bad blood, it’ll give all new meaning to the term Red River Rivalry.
Last week’s Big 12 media days didn’t establish a clear-cut favorite on the field. However, they did establish a desperate need to get rid of the inane coaches poll from the Bowl Championship Series formula.
Stoops didn’t vote last year. Wouldn’t give a reason. Then came last year when Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech finished in a three-way division tie. OU finished ahead of them in the final BCS rankings, so the Sooners won the Big 12 South.
The computers canceled out Brown, who voted: 1, Florida; 2, Texas; 3, Oklahoma; 4, Alabama. Brown had that privilege. Texas beat Oklahoma. Yet if you think Brown would have picked Oklahoma ahead of Texas if the Sooners had won their game, you’re wearing a really ugly burnt-orange shirt right now.
All coaches have an agenda. Their poll is the perfect place to display it.
“I have seen some of the polls, like 2007,” said Mark Mangino, whose Kansas Jayhawks were eighth in that final poll. “I watched some of the voting patterns. I can see areas where guys weren’t voting for teams they probably should have.”
Mangino doesn’t vote. He says he won’t waste two hours of his Sunday on it. Baylor’s Art Briles and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy said the same thing. Brown won’t vote this year.
Some coaches admit they have an administrator do it and merely scan the ballot before it’s turned in. The fate of your team, folks, could be in the hands of a PR flack.
Stoops has an idea.
“To get the agendas out of it, whether you let 50 or 80 or let all the I-A coaches vote, take out the top 15 or 10,” he said. ” ‘You guys are out of it this week. We’re not counting yours this week because you have an agenda.’ ”
I have a better idea. Take out all 59.
