Poll Controversies Revisited: 1984 - How In The World....

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Recent discussions of the alleged College Football Playoff Committee "snub" of the University of Central Florida Golden Knights have almost unfailingly brought up BYU's 1984 national championship. In an effort to provide some context as to why this is a specious argument, this post is presented to clarify exactly what happened in 1984. BYU's national title was the culmination of a perfect storm of competing forces brought into collision at the same time. It literally has no relevance to the current discussion of UCF.



As difficult as it may seem to believe now, there was once a time in college football when there was relatively little controversy over which team was the national champion. Indeed, many of the first national champions won the only game played between schools or were retroactively awarded titles long after many players on the teams had passed away. The first recognized selector of national champions was the Dickinson System, created by a University of Illinois economics professor at the instigation of the Big Nine (at the time). Frank Dickinson's system was to determine the ranking of the teams within the conference. A Chicago clothing manufacturer created a trophy and encouraged Dickinson to determine not only the Big Nine rankings but a 'national champion.' Dickinson's first two championships were retroactively awarded to Notre Dame (1924) and Dartmouth (1925). Dickinson's system was in use from 1926 to 1940, and he is credited by the NCAA Football Records Book as being the author of the first system recognized as a "national selector" of champions. Any list of champions is going to show retroactive titles awarded, and there was simply no controversy at the time. There was no television, travel was severely limited, and quite frankly most fans in any particular region of the country who had heard of almost any other team owed that knowledge to either the print media or the radio. Quite simply, there was no controversy of "we're champions, they're not."



In 1936, the Associated Press delivered it's first polls. By 1940, the AP was THE recognized selector of national champions. In 1950, United Press - notably a competitor to the AP - began issuing their own national championship declarations. In most cases early on, the AP and UP selected the same champions despite being rivals with one another. In fact, in the first fifteen years of selections by the two groups, they only disagreed twice: 1) 1954, when the AP selected Ohio St and the UP selected UCLA; and 2) 1957, when the AP chose Auburn but the UP selected Ohio St. This last selection is defensible because the UP had a very explicit rule against selecting teams on probation for the national championship. In 1958, the UP added the International News Service and changed their name to the UPI. This selector would later be renamed the Coaches Poll.



Despite two selectors, there was limited controversy. Both selectors chose their national champions at the conclusion of the regular season. There were justifiable reasons for this stance. In 1957, just to pick a year at random, there were only seven bowl games. These games tended to be regional affairs with big money teams brought in to boost the local economy. Indeed, television was just coming of age and most games were not shown on the tube. Furthermore, the Big Ten conference had a very explicit "no repeat" rule that forbid schools from playing in the Rose Bowl (the only game their conference permitted teams to play in). It's not difficult to see how including a bowl game could persuade some voters to override a previous on-the-field result. National champions were determined by end of the regular season vote, and the bowl games were merely exhibitions. Indeed, it was baseball at the time that was the national sport. The rise in national interest in football came during the infamous 1958 Giants-Colts overtime NFL championship game.



The first genuine controversy came in 1964. When Notre Dame lost to USC, 20-17, the final AP vote showed Alabama as the national champions, the same result as the UPI gave. The Tide then went to play the game that launched the TV era, a prime time night game against Texas. In a controversial ending - did he score or did he not? - Texas prevailed, 21-17. Forty million people - 13 more million than voted for Barry Goldwater in the previous month's election - tuned in to watch the thriller. This game, in fact, would be the catalyst for ABC to begin "Monday Night Football" in 1970 after the NFL-AFL merger. But that wasn't the controversy. The media created a controversy with a telling narrative thus stated:

a) Alabama lost to Texas

b) Arkansas was undefeated and BEAT Texas, therefore...

c) Arkansas was robbed of the national championship



It is likely that politics played at least some role in the controversy. Alabama was in the national news nightly and not exactly in a positive light. Indeed, had Arkansas not had as problematic a past as Alabama did, who knows how this would have turned out. The FWA, consisting of many of the same voters as the AP poll, selected unbeaten Arkansas as national champion after the bowl games were complete. In fact, the state of Arkansas shut down the entire state for a holiday on February 5, 1965, honoring the FWA national champions.



So the AP made the same mistake that the BCS would later make: they decided to experiment in 1965 with taking their poll after the bowl games. Thanks to this one-year experiment, Alabama won yet another controversial national championship, only because of the carping of a few. In 1966, the AP reverted to form for two seasons and then in 1968, the AP opted to include bowl games in their final poll. Although it must certainly be a convenient coincidence, Notre Dame almost immediately surrendered their "no bowl games" policy while the Big Ten removed the "no repeat" rule.



As a result of another controversy involving Alabama in 1973 - when the UPI awarded the Tide their title only to see Alabama lose a thrilling Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame - the UPI followed the AP's lead, starting with the 1974 national title. Of course, there was an immediate controversy when Oklahoma won the 1974 AP title despite being on probation. UPI selected USC instead, and the next decade saw controversial national championships crowned four times in the next nine years. One of the most egregious, in fact, occurred in 1983, when #5 Miami edged #1 Nebraska, 31-30, in a classic Orange Bowl and pole vaulted over #3 Auburn to win the championship. A huge part of the controversy stemmed from the fact that not only was Auburn's schedule tougher (.688 vs .514, and most of that created by one team, Nebraska), they had beaten the team that beat Miami rather handily. The AP vote saw Miami get 47.5 first place votes to 7 for Auburn, who finished third. In a truly bizarre vote, Nebraska still managed to get 4.5 first-place votes to finish second despite losing the game. It was this fourth controversy in nine years that set the stage for what occurred in 1984.


HOW WE GOT TO THAT POINT



The pre-season 1984 poll looked thusly:

1) Auburn

2) Nebraska

3) Pitt

4) Clemson

5) UCLA

6) Texas

7) Ohio St

8) Notre Dame

9) Alabama

10) Miami



This poll is rather bizarre when you remember that Auburn was losing its quarterback while Miami was keeping theirs. ELEVEN teams ranked in the top 20 received first-place votes, including three - Iowa, Arizona St, and Michigan - who were ranked 12-14. Alabama even had one first-place vote, which was as many as the defending champion Hurricanes.



And in the opener, the entire controversy of 1983 was laid to rest as far as the press was concerned. Matching up the twin claimants of 1983, Miami and Auburn met in the second annual version of the Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Miami prevailed, 20-18, and immediately shot up the polls to the number one spot, pole vaulting everyone. The other strange game during the opening week was BYU shocking #3 Pitt, 20-14. Nobody paid much attention at the time, but the result would later play a role in the discussion of just how good this BYU team really was.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

PART 2:



Auburn fell to number eight, one spot ahead of Alabama, when a trio of upsets immediately showed that 1984 was not going to be a normal year for college football. Trailing 31-14 at Legion Field, Boston College QB Doug Flutie put his entire team on his 5'9" back (and injured left shoulder) and shocked the favored Tide, 38-31. It was a memorable performance that thrust Flutie to the front of the Heisman Trophy race almost immediately. The other upset may have been the result of unfortunate scheduling. Miami opened 1984 with the additional Auburn game and then had what was usually their traditional opener with Florida, winning that one as well. But they went to the Big House in Michigan and lost, 22-14. These three games against three power teams were played in a 12-day span and would affect Miami for the rest of the year. The other result should not have been quite as shocking given the previous three years in South Bend - Purdue knocked off Notre Dame, 23-21, in the first college football game ever played in the Hoosier Dome. Eight teams still had votes from the AP crew, and Nebraska was back on top, where they'd spent almost the entire 1983 season.



On September 15, Alabama lost a horrible game to Georgia Tech, 16-6, while Auburn not only lost the revenge game against their 1983 conqueror Texas, they also lost Bo Jackson for six weeks with a separated shoulder. The two teams had begun 1984 both in the top ten and now both were 0-2. To say this was stunning to the state is an understatement. But if the state of Alabama had problems, they paled in comparison to the bombshell that hit the sport the very next morning.



This particular story had begun on August 26, a few days before the season began, when Florida Gators Coach Charley Pell submitted his resignation effective the end of the 1984 season. In the letter Pell acknowledged that he had gone above and beyond NCAA rules in a misplaced drive to win no matter the cost. A new incoming Florida President concurred with the outgoing one to let Pell finish the 1984 season. In a desperate attempt to delay the eventual carnage, the University of Florida sued to prevent the release of documents relating to the scandal enveloping the athletic program. Two days later, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the university must release the 1,700-plus pages of documents relating to the NCAA investigation that was still ongoing. Five days later, the NCAA delivered the "official letter of inquiry" that detailed a stunning 107 NCAA violations, including paying players, ticket scalping, and spying on other team's practices (similar to the later New England revelations). The media scrutiny descends upon Gainesville at the speed of light, and it becomes obvious something must be done. Just hours after drilling Tulane for their first win of the season - to go along with a loss to Miami and a tie to LSU - Florida fires Pell, effective immediately, and also notified two assistants - Dwight Adams and Joe Kines - that their services would be terminated at the end of the season. Florida almost immediately submits a substantial (356 pages) response to the NCAA inquiry and replaces Pell with assistant Galen Hall. Florida appears dead in the water at this point in more ways than one.



Still in the state, the following week saw Florida State pulverize defending champ Miami, 38-3, and end their hopes. The team that now looked to be the most complete team through the first month was Texas, and the polls rewarded them with a #2 ranking. This ranking only lasted one week. Nebraska took their high powered option offense attack to the Carrier Dome against Syracuse and left confused, befuddled, and beaten by a stunning 17-9 final score. Texas was back on top for the first time in seven years. Four number ones had already risen and fallen. The top five entering October was as follows:



1) Texas 2) Ohio St 3) Washington 4) Boston College 5) Oklahoma



Ohio St then went down to future NFL Jim Everett and the Purdue Boilermakers, 28-23. This upset combined with their win over Notre Dame shot Purdue all the way up to 14 in the rankings. After two weeks on top, Texas became the fifth different team to fall from the top spot - but it was unlike any of the previous four.



UPI rankings showed the Red River Rivalry as a 1 vs 2 tilt in Dallas. Trailing 15-12, Texas QB Todd Dodge tried to hit a game-winning TD to WR Bill Bryant. Oklahoma tipped it and then seemingly intercepted it in bounds. The official, however, ruled the interception as a non-catch out of bounds. Rather than taking the risk again, Texas then stunned an entire nation of fans watching by intentionally playing for a tie via a 32-yard field goal. Replays - and the NCAA - would admit later in the season that Oklahoma had, in fact, intercepted the ball cleanly. Voters punished both teams, Texas by dropping them to third behind Oklahoma, and the Sooners by not elevating them to the top spot that was now occupied by Washington. The following week saw Boston College (and Flutie) blow a 20-6 second half lead and lose to West Virginia by a point, thus ensuring the Eagles had no chance at a national title. Washington then managed to somehow escape the curse of the 1984 number one ranking by beating Oregon, 17-10, in what can only be called an amazing performance when one considers that the Huskies had only three first downs and only 109 yards of total offense. But perhaps the most shocking upset of the season occurred the very next week in Lawrence, Kansas, when the Jayhawks not only beat #2 Oklahoma, they absolutely shredded them, 28-11. In fact, the game wasn't even as close as that score indicates - Oklahoma's lone touchdown came with three seconds left in the game, followed by a somewhat ridiculous two-point conversion. As if losing wasn't bad enough, OU had two starting DBs injured in a horrific car accident that same night. The thumping of OU meant that October ended with the top five as follows:



1) Washington 2) Texas 3) Nebraska 4) BYU 5) South Carolina



Two teams began to get minimal press coverage for their unbeaten (thus far) seasons, perennial WAC champion BYU and Independent South Carolina, whose ascent was one of the three great stories in a dreamlike 1984 for fans of "less than blue blood" programs. The others were Flutie heading toward the Heisman and the stunning turnaround at TCU, where Jim Wacker had 1-8-2 TCU in the hunt for the SWC title with a 6-1 record heading into November.



The end of October had witnessed another development as the NCAA announced their sanctions against Florida: two-year bowl ban, two-year TV ban, 20 lost scholarships over two years, and a reduction to no more than 85 scholarship players in 1985 and 75 in 1986. Two questions lingered: 1) would the SEC let Florida play in the 1985 Sugar Bowl; 2) would the conference schools permit them to be recognized as conference champions even if they didn't play in the bowl game.



Nebraska's thrilling beatdown of Iowa State impressed the voters enough to make the Huskers a legitimate number two team. Buried below the top teams, however, Florida was rising like a comet towards embarrassing the sport. And just to make it even more complicated, Washington fell by the wayside. USC took down the Huskies, 16-7, and Nebraska's dazzling offensive performance resulting in a 41-7 win over the OU conquering Kansas Jayhawks saw one-loss Nebraska rise to the top of the rankings. The simple fact was that the AP vote as a whole had no respect whatsoever for BYU. Fortunately, BYU was having to divide the fans' attention between the refreshing story out of South Carolina and the even more amazing one behind quarterback for Boston College. And then it happened.



On November 17, the absolute worst fears of the college football braintrust suddenly were realized. First, South Carolina checked out mentally when they showed up for a game with 4-5-1 Navy, falling behind 35-7 en route to a humiliating 38-21 defeat that ended hopes in the Nutmeg State. Even worse, Nebraska somehow lost to Oklahoma, 17-7, when they endured their own goal-line stand trying to flip a 10-7 deficit into a lead in the fourth quarter. And to make matters even worse, the SEC was nationally embarrassed when not only did Florida beat Kentucky but LSU somehow managed to lose to an overmatched Mississippi State, 16-14. This debacle meant that Florida was the SEC champion for 1984. The conference as as whole then decided that Florida, whose case was under appeal, would go ahead and serve their bowl ban beginning in 1984. This announcement suddenly made the Iron Bowl, which had fallen below the radar in terms of conference interest given Alabama's 3-6 record at the time, was a play-in game for Auburn. An Auburn win meant a second straight trip to New Orleans while a loss would send LSU. Of course, there'd now be no problem with the new #1 Oklahoma.



But there was. Oklahoma had both a tie and a rather crippling loss on their resume. BYU now was getting all of their and South Carolina's previous votes plus a substantial portion of Nebraska's votes, which were also now going to both Oklahoma AND Oklahoma St. But surely the most maddening development had to be the seven AP voters placing 8-1-1 Florida at the top of the rankings. How could this possibly happen? A week later, Doug Flutie clinched the Heisman with a scintillating performance against Miami that ended on a Hail Mary bomb to his college roommate, Gerald Phelan, that was perhaps the most recognizable college football image of the entire decade of the 1980s. OU beat Oklahoma State in Bedlam, and the rankings showed BYU (losing first-place votes), OU, Florida, and Washington. This topsy-turvy season, amazingly enough, was not yet over.



The season ended on December 1 that year. The Iron Bowl kicked off in the late morning, relegated to being called by Al Michaels and Lee Grosscup while Keith Jackson was in Tallahassee for the Florida-FSU showdown that was already being mockingly called "the Sunshine State Pro-Am" (in regards to the revelation that Florida coach Charley Pell had paid $935 direct to one of his players). Florida wound up their season at 9-1-1 in the rain and headed home to await the NCAA ruling on their appeal that would eventually be denied.



In Alabama, meanwhile, Alabama and Auburn squared off at Legion Field, and Auburn rushed out to a quick 7-0 lead that chewed up much of the first quarter. Alabama then responded, and a classic battle of scrappy underdog versus heavy favorite got underway for the rest of the morning. Playing their best game of the year, the Tide held a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter when the shoe finally dropped. Auburn's "other" halfback Brent Fullwood torched the Tide defense for a 60-yard TD, and Pat Dye's successful call of a two-point conversion left Auburn needing only a field goal to win. After an ensuing turnover gave the Tigers a short field, Auburn wound up at the one-yard line with a fourth and goal to set up the field goal he had played for earlier. For reasons still unclear to this day, Dye opted for a running play to his 'second' back (Fullwood), who was stopped cold and tackled by Alabama's Rory Turner, in perhaps the most memorable play in the series since 1972. When Auburn missed a final play field goal, Alabama scored the biggest upset in the history of the Iron Bowl and sent the Tigers - the LSU Tigers, that is - to the Sugar Bowl.



During the Iron Bowl, ABC Sports ran a poll (50 cents per call) regarding whether BYU should be ranked number one or not. The Cougars lost that poll by a 54-46 count. Nobody was impressed with BYU and yet they were number one. The final regular season poll set the stage for controversy:



1) BYU

2) Oklahoma

3) Florida (6 first-place votes)

4) Washington

5) Nebraska

6) Ohio St

7) S Carolina

8) Boston College

9) OK State

10) SMU

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

PART 3:




As it turned out, it was Barry Switzer who would gin up interest in the New Year's Day bowls.



BYU was contractually obligated to play in the Holiday Bowl, the standard arrangement in those days for the WAC champion. The Orange Bowl, lucky recipients of the Oklahoma-Washington game, made a then almost unheard of offer: if either Oklahoma or Washington wanted out of the contract to go play BYU for a national championship in San Diego, the Orange Bowl was willing to let them do so. Of course, the Holiday Bowl payout was less than half of the Orange Bowl monies, so there was no chance this would happen. Switzer spent much of December running down BYU's schedule by referring to their opponents as "Puddins." He went further by declaring that the winner of the Orange Bowl should be named national champion, a stance he no doubt took only because he was certain his Sooners would handle the Huskies. Nineteen AP voters (out of 60) stood right up and admitted even before the bowl season began that under NO circumstances would they vote for BYU as number one. BYU then won a lackluster Holiday Bowl over 6-6 Michigan, although part of that could be chalked up to losing Heisman candidate Robbie Bosco to injury. With the Orange Bowl tied at 14 in the fourth quarter, Sooners kicker Tim Lashar hit a 22-yard field goal that was called back due to a false start. At precisely the same time, the Sooner Schooner wagon roared out onto the field to celebrate the field goal.....because they didn't see the flag. The officials flag OU for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (later mocked by the press as "unhorsemanlike conduct"), turning Lashar's 22-yard attempt into a 42-yard attempt that was blocked by Washington. The Huskies would fall behind, 17-14, on a later field goal, but they seized the momentum and won the Orange Bowl, 28-17. When the final votes were cast, BYU had a national championship, Washington was second with 16 first-place votes, and in what had to be the final embarrassment to the season, Florida finished third with six votes. Had those votes gone to Washington then the Huskies would have won the national championship. This fact enraged Huskies Coach Don James, who snorted that if you gave him a suitcase full of money, he could go out and build a pretty good team. When all was said and done, BYU had won it all, the only non-Power 5 school in history to so prevail.





BUT WAS IT THE RIGHT CALL?



BYU's national championship was undoubtedly the most controversial of all of my years watching the sport. Only Colorado's 1990 title approaches it for sheer heat of discussion and controversy. Those citing the BYU example as proof the G5 can topple the P5 fail to take into account the fact that a unique set of circumstances that no longer exists enabled this to happen the one time it did.



1) There are no longer tie games in college football.



This is important because ties affected two teams in the hunt, Florida and (more relevant) Oklahoma. In the modern day and age, OU never has a tie against Texas on their escutcheon because if a replay was conclusive in 1984, you can bet the house it would be conclusive today, with additional camera angles. Thus, one of the two marks against OU falls by the wayside. Given the AP's willingness to put one-loss Nebraska in the top spot over BYU, there is no question they would have done so with Nebraska's conqueror, Oklahoma. And that fact sets the stage for another one....



2) Washington's defeat of OU would have made the Huskies national champions.



This may be the more relevant point. Had OU been number one rather than number two when the teams met, the AP voters would have felt justified in placing Washington ahead of BYU after a win over the Sooners. This happened in 1977 with Notre Dame, 1978 with Alabama (despite a head-to-head loss at home to USC), and 1983 with Miami. Once again, this was set in motion by the tie with Texas.



3) No team in the hunt had any sort of difficult schedule anyway - except Florida.



Florida played a whopping seven bowl teams in eleven games in 1984. While that is hardly a rare occurrence nowadays, there were only 16 bowl games back then, and Florida played 11 games, not 14. Yes, BYU did play a rather light schedule, ranking 96th of the 98 teams playing. However, neither Washington nor Oklahoma played anything resembling a tough schedule. The Huskies, in fact, only played two ranked foes and lost one of them; the other ranked foe was Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. And Oklahoma didn't exactly face a murderer's row, either. More problematic was something else: Switzer was simultaneously trying to argue that BYU's schedule was full of weaklings while confronted with the fact his own team had been manhandled by one of the "Puddins."



4) Florida was undoubtedly the nation's best team but.......



Florida won the so-called titles awarded by both "The Sporting News" and NYT. Much like Auburn in 1983, Florida had played a substantially tough schedule. Unlike Auburn, though, Florida tore through their wins over teams not named Kentucky by an average of 26 points. Had this story unfolded today then it is likely that Florida wins the title and is later stripped of it a la USC.



5) Teams were given the opportunity and chose money over championship



In all the hub-bub, this point is often overlooked. Either Washington or Oklahoma could have challenged BYU in the Holiday Bowl. The circumstance was there. They chose not to do so. There is nothing wrong with that choice but it is a fundamental reality of the situation. If either team actually was concerned with a national title (as opposed to money) then they could well have played BYU and settled the issue. They chose not to do so despite BYU already being #1. Consequently, the choice of BYU made against this backdrop and including the Florida debacle was the only right and responsible choice.



And it will never be that way again.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Strength of schedule is an invention of idiots and applied by morons. I basically have no respect for anyone who puts any stock in it. In Las Vegas I never knew one reputable handicapper who incorporated it or paid any attention.

It is laughable slop by the younger generation to believe such a simpleton patch is of any value, let alone a see-all. The backfitting aspect is most hilarious of all. You never come close to catching all the variables of real time. That's why some of the results and decisions of the time frame apparently don't make sense. They made perfect sense in real time, with all variables front and center. The goofs decades later try to replicate and have no chance. But it hilarious to witness the flailing. I constantly mock them on college football forums, where some genius is invariably trying to announce the real national champion of 1936, or whatever.

It is a sad commentary on how backwards sports handicapping and sports analysis has become. Horse racing has moved in exactly the opposite direction. That's the best example I can think of. In the early days that sport was all about strength of schedule, or so-called class. You evaluated horses based strictly on level of opposition. Beginning in the '60s and dramatically increasing in the '70s until today, that strength of schedule approach has been all but phased out. Speed ratings from Andy Beyer and others was the first breakthrough. Then more sophisticated versions from Ragozin. And recently a blend that includes trip handicapping and exactly how far each horse ran in the race, right down to the foot.

So essentially horse racing handicappers figured out the lame stupidity of a strength of schedule approach, just as the lazy college football and elsewhere world was suddenly fixated on it. I'm not sure I can identify anything more hilarious and pathetic.

BTW, the Canes team that properly won the 1983 national title led the nation in pass defense with a phenomenal 4.7 YPPA allowed. That figure has seldom been matched although the robbed 2008 USC team did slightly at 4.6 better along with the all-time modern king Alabama squad of 2011 at 4.3, a number that may never be matched.

Pass defense dictates outcomes. Frankly I have even less respect for analysts who ignore pass defense that the ones who rely on strength of schedule. I would not be able to stop mocking anyone in that committee room who obsessed over strength of schedule but never mentioned pass defense at all. In fact, I'm sure the term pass defense never surfaces in those meetings. That's how primitive and ignorant the process is. Meanwhile, whenever a fraud pass defense is allowed into the Final Four that team is abused immediately, like Florida State against Oregon and Michigan State against Alabama. I do give Oklahoma credit for hanging in there against Georgia last season despite a weak pass defense but eventually the gap was glaring, with Mayfield afraid to risk downfield in key moments against a far less lenient pass defense than he was accustomed to seeing.

 

[BobDole]

SOS only doesn't matter to people who root for teams outside of the SEC. It's the definition of convenient.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

SOS only doesn't matter to people who root for teams outside of the SEC. It's the definition of convenient.

Absolute truth.

However, I will allow Awsi Dooger's argument regarding YPPA and pass defense, and how it correlates to championship caliber football. Not only will I allow it, I agree with it 100%. Where I disagree is that he doesn't seem to see room for both arguments (YPPA/Pass Defense and Strength of Schedule) in the discussion. I don't care what him and his buddies do when handicapping games - we're not handicapping future games here. You simply cannot talk about past poll controversies without centering the discussion on SOS. These threads are more meant to provide a road map for how we got where we are....the College Football Playoff, and matching #1 vs #2 in the BCS.

Lastly, the YPPA argument solidifies what my point was, and what this particular thread was all about. Three of the four teams in the CFB this past year were all first, second, and third in the country in YPPA defensively (Alabama 5.4, Clemson 5.7, and Georgia 5.8). As Awsi Dooger mentioned, Oklahoma was the one that didn't belong, with a YPPA of 7.5....good enough to rank 80th in the country.

Defensively, UCF had a YPPA of 7.4....which ranked 74th in the country. That won't get it done against the big boys week in and week out....

Wait, that sounded like we were headed towards Strength of Schedule again.....Morons.

 

[BobDole]

Absolute truth.

However, I will allow Awsi Dooger's argument regarding YPPA and pass defense, and how it correlates to championship caliber football. Not only will I allow it, I agree with it 100%. Where I disagree is that he doesn't seem to see room for both arguments (YPPA/Pass Defense and Strength of Schedule) in the discussion. I don't care what him and his buddies do when handicapping games - we're not handicapping future games here. You simply cannot talk about past poll controversies without centering the discussion on SOS. These threads are more meant to provide a road map for how we got where we are....the College Football Playoff, and matching #1 vs #2 in the BCS.

Lastly, the YPPA argument solidifies what my point was, and what this particular thread was all about. Three of the four teams in the CFB this past year were all first, second, and third in the country in YPPA defensively (Alabama 5.4, Clemson 5.7, and Georgia 5.8). As Awsi Dooger mentioned, Oklahoma was the one that didn't belong, with a YPPA of 7.5....good enough to rank 80th in the country.

Defensively, UCF had a YPPA of 7.4....which ranked 74th in the country. That won't get it done against the big boys week in and week out....

Wait, that sounded like we were headed towards Strength of Schedule again.....Morons.

I'm with ya. Have to stop the pass in today's game so it's only logical the best teams do.

Plus it helps to have a QB ... hard to put up those impressive numbers when the defense is on the field the entire game. They get gassed eventually. I could make an argument that pass defense is the only reason UF has remained slightly relevant even with some of the most putrid offensive production in college football for the last 10 (!!!) years.