Penn State's poll rankings point to college football parity

USA Today

2 days ago

Without definitive explicit evidence, the US LBM coaches poll and preseason AP Poll have both revealed their thoughts on parity in college football. Penn State could certainly be at the center of this case study. After being considered a potential candidate for the no. 1 overall ranking in both polls, the voting systems and discussions surrounding how deep college football is this season may have altered their preseason perception. At least enough to anger fans and cause debate among analysts on whether or not the topic of parity has gained real momentum within the college football landscape.
Consider the fact that the Nittany Lions were just two first-place votes behind the Texas Longhorns in the AP poll but still lost out to them because of the overall point system. While the Longhorns garnered 1,552 overall points, the Nittany Lions only had 1547 points, coming up just sort in a system that proves that there are so many votes that can go around to the best teams. In the coaches poll, at least the discrepancy was larger as first-ranked Texas garnered 28 first place votes to second-ranked Ohio State's 20, but the AP poll had the benefit of time on its side. This begs the question: would both polls have looked similar had they come out around the same time?
Penn State's ranking certainly lends itself to more intrigue surrounding that question. After all, being perhaps the most experienced of the top 5 teams in both polls, would it not make more sense that given more time for decision-making, voters believed in them more for the AP poll over the coaches poll? Or is it just because the AP poll has more room for more votes, therefore inflating ANY team's chance of higher rankings and more votes? Penn State are not the only team that may have either benefitted or have been slighted once the AP poll came around. Consider the Big 12 where because of their highly spilt vote share, Arizona State found themselves outside of the top 10. Meanwhile, teams such as Michigan or South Carolina, who have a lot of faith from pundits, yet still have more questions than answers in their squad, have benefitted highly from the split committee, remaining squarely in the top 15.
Overall, while many teams can make the case that parity will be the key to this college football season, Penn State's tenuous rankings tell the average fan a lot about how what many consider the best team in college football can both fall victim to and benefit from baffled voters. While fans may be displeased now, there may be a myriad number of chances for the Nittany Lions to prove themselves on the field. What these preseason poll rankings most importantly offer us is a chance for this college football season to be much more unpredictable than previously imagined.