Some BlogPoll Fallout

Well, yesterday Brian from mgoblog got the preseason BlogPoll tabulated and posted for all to see. When putting together my ballot last week, I honestly didn't expect to generate the reaction that picking Cal first seems to have. mgoblog says:

It's chaos. No doubt many are wondering who the Cal vote is from. Let's introduce everyone to A&M poll newbie Off Tackle. He justifies his selection like so:

Cal returns a plethora of talent on offense and the defense should be the best in the Pac-10. This pick is a wild guess, and I'm hesitant to pick a Pac-10 first overall, but the chief weakness on offense appears to be at QB, a position that Jeff Tedford seems to be able to coach pretty well. Ask me again who the best team is after about four games.

I dunno about that defense. They didn't exactly stop any of the good offenses they opposed, and by "didn't exactly stop any" I mean "were massacred by all."

Well, in my defense I didn't say that the defense was good but rather that they should be the best in the Pac-10. (Thanks, I'll be here all week.) Seriously though, I think that the Cal defense is better than they are being given credit for and I stand by my conviction that somebody else will find themselves in this #1 slot by the time the conference games are in full swing.

The Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries also chimed in:

In a shocker, Cal got one first place vote from Texas A&M blogger Off Tackle. You can read his defense here. From what I gather, Cal is just the team he hates the least.

A lot of ballots had Cal in the top 10 and Stewart Mandel called them a contender, so I think calling my decision to go with Cal in a preseason poll a shocker is a little harsh. While I've already acknowledged having a soft spot for the Bears, calling them the team I hate the least is telling in another way. Every team in the country seems to have a glaring weakness somewhere, and I felt that Cal's worst case scenario was the best of all the worst case scenarios so I went with them. I'm confident that several teams will more than adequately fill their holes and give me a better option at #1. It could be Texas getting solid production out of a freshman quarterback or Michigan deciding to play defense in the fourth quarter or even Ohio State having a number of new starters step up on defense, but somebody will prove themselves worthy and that is the glory of the college football.

I've said before that the real strength of the BlogPoll is the flexibility of its voters, their willingness to move teams around rather than relying on the conveyor belt effect that rules the AP and Coaches Polls. With virtually no evidence to base these things on, preseason polls are supposed to be wildly inaccurate, that's what makes them fun. I just can't wait for the season to start so I can get to work sniffing out the real #1.

And finally some reaction from USC affiliated Conquest Chronicles:

Cal got a first place vote form a Texas A&M Blogger, here's his reasoning.

California - Cal returns a plethora of talent on offense and the defense should be the best in the Pac-10. This pick is a wild guess, and I'm hesitant to pick a Pac-10 first overall, but the chief weakness on offense appears to be at QB, a position that Jeff Tedford seems to be able to coach pretty well. Ask me again who the best team is after about four games.

OK, well we're all entitled to our opinions.

Hey, thanks guys! I always appreciate review from totally unbiased sources!

I'll be back to posting actual content about the actual Aggie Football team this weekend.