Dear Old Gold
Fansided

Iowa Football: If playoff rankings only reflected resume through Week 9

By Matt Opad

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 23: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions visits with head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes before their match-up on September 23, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 23: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions visits with head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes before their match-up on September 23, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
LINCOLN, NE – OCTOBER 5:Linebacker JoJo Domann #13 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers tackles wide receiver Riley Lees #19 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE – OCTOBER 5:Linebacker JoJo Domann #13 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers tackles wide receiver Riley Lees #19 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

Key Observations about Resume Ranking System

I have been critical of the polls this season, so I want to make a few observations about the polls relative to this system:

  • Iowa, as the 18th best resume, is not far from the AP or Coaches Poll (both 19th). Iowa football fans sometimes assume the worst, but there is no bias right now against the Hawkeyes.
  • While there isn’t a noticeable bias against Iowa, there is in fact bias towards the SEC. The SEC is given the benefit of the doubt. Alabama, maybe more than any other team, is given more leniency in the polls.
  • Clemson, on the other hand, is penalized because of the perceived weakness of the ACC. While this system does not rank conferences as a whole, there is some truth to this perception. Outside of Clemson, there is only one ACC team in the top 30 (23-ranked Wake Forest).
  • The only team that appears on my top 25 and is not ranked in the AP Poll is Air Force (ranked 25). The team in the AP Top 25 and not in my ranking is number 22 Kansas State (31 ranked resume).
  • Group of 5 teams are ranked higher on the resume ranking system than in any of the polls. However, because the system accounts for Power 5 wins, they are likely to drop in the resume ranking system by the end of the season.

Overall, I am actually a little surprised that the AP Polls are not that far off from my Resume Ranking System. I will continue to post these rankings once a week and will compare the Resume Ranking System with the Playoff Rankings rather than the AP Polls.

Home/Iowa Football