College Football: Ranking the Rankers [J. Mark English]

Russell Adams of the Wall Street Journal came out with a report yesterday ranking the top 12 rankers in college football.

Here are his findings (from 1 to 12):

• Lindy's - 1. Notre Dame 2. Ohio State 3. West Virginia 4. Texas 5. Florida
• CPA Rankings - 1. West Virginia 2. Notre Dame 3. Texas 4. Ohio State 5. USC
• Phil Steele - 1. Oklahoma 2. Auburn 3. Louisville 4. USC 5. Texas
• AP Poll - 1. Ohio State 2. Notre Dame 3. Texas 4. Auburn 5. West Virginia
• Sporting News - 1. Notre Dame 2. Ohio State 3. Auburn 4. LSU 5. West Virginia
• Playboy - 1. Ohio State 2. West Virginia 3. Notre Dame 4. Texas 5. USC
• Street & Smith's - 1. Ohio State 2. West Virginia 3. Texas 4. Notre Dame 5. Florida
• CBS Sportsline - 1. Ohio State 2. West Virginia 3. Auburn 4. LSU 5. Texas
• Game Plan - 1. Notre Dame 2. Ohio State 3. Texas 4. Florida 5. West Virginia
• ATS Consultants - 1. Notre Dame 2. Ohio State 3. Florida State 4. Texas 5. Auburn
• Sports Illustrated - 1. Ohio State 2. Notre Dame 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. USC
• Athlon Sports - 1. Oklahoma 2. Notre Dame 3. USC 4. Ohio State 5. Florida

So why does all this matter? Adams says "For coaches, the preseason rankings are a double-edge swrod. On the one hand, the free publicity that a high ranking can provide is invaluable. As early as February, athletic-department staffers hit the phones and fire off emails to preseason publications with updates and talking points about their teams. On the other hand, coaches whose teams rank low have a harder climb to the top. In 2002, 2003 and 2004, Bousie State University entered the season off forecasters' radars - and needed several lopsided victories to claw its way into the top 20...

"One this is clear: For teams that don't make the preseason list, their chances of winning a national championship are almost zero. 'You can go undefeated and beat the Green Bay Packers, and you'r not going to be No. 1.' says Bill Doba, Washington State's head coach."