BYU's Effective Rankings--Week 7

BYU moved up several spots in each of the major polls this week, as we are all aware at this point, and combined to debut at number 16 pretty much across the board—AP, Coaches, Harris, BCS. However, the relative “rank” is not what matters in these polls, as was pointed out last week in my introduction to the “effective” rankings (www.byucougs.com/2009/10/inside-polls-byus-effective-ranking.html). All that really matters is the votes received and the percentage of votes of the total possible votes. Keeping in mind that each 4% gain in votes is one increase in “rank”, and that the “effective” rank can also be thought of as the average ballot slot given by voters. Based on this approach, I have updated the rankings to reflect BYU’s actual positioning each week and provided the effective AP poll.

BYU in AP
wk opponent  record  rank votes  %votes    gain      eff
P   ----            0-0     20    267    17.8%    ----      21.55
1   Oklahoma   1-0      9     984    65.6%    47.8%   9.60
2   Tulane        2-0      7    1122    74.8%   9.2%     7.30
3   Florida St    2-1     19   349    23.3%   -51.5%  20.18
4   CSU            3-1     20   349    23.3%    0.0%     20.18
5   Utah St       4-1     18   403    26.9%    3.6%     19.28
6   UNLV          5-1     18   490    32.7%    5.8%     17.83
7   SDSU          6-1     16   601    40.1%    7.4%     15.98

The effective increase was just under two spots, putting BYU above 40% for the first time in 5 weeks. And the second consecutive week of significant gains in votes.

BYU in Coaches
wk opponent   record   rank  votes  %votes    gain       eff
P    ----            0-0       24    178     12.1%    ----       22.98
1    Oklahoma   1-0      12    755     51.2%    39.1%   13.20
2    Tulane         2-0      9     941     63.8%    12.6%   10.05
3    Florida St    2-1      20    279     18.9%   -44.9%  21.27
4    CSU            3-1      21    298     20.2%    1.3%    20.95
5    Utah St       4-1      20    353     23.9%    3.7%    20.02
6    UNLV          5-1     19     441     29.9%    6.0%    18.53
7    SDSU          6-1     16     577     39.1%    9.2%    16.22

Of the three major polls, BYU is effectively ranked the lowest in the Coaches Poll at 16.22, but also experienced the largest increase in the Coaches poll gaining 9.2% over last week.

BYU in Harris
wk   opponent      record   rank  votes  %votes    gain    eff
4     Colorado St    3-1       19     796    27.9%    ----     19.02
5     Utah St          4-1      17      847    29.7%    1.8%   18.57
6     UNLV             5-1      17      963    33.8%    4.1%   17.55
7     SDSU             6-1      16     1210    42.5%    8.7%   15.39

Although ranked similarly in the Harris Poll as the other two polls at #16, BYU is effectively still ranked highest in this poll at 15.39 with 42.5% of the vote, effectively offsetting the Coaches poll in the BCS rankings. Also, despite only moving up only one official spot, they gained 8.7%, which is effectively more than two places.

Effective AP Rankings
Eff     Team        Votes   AP  Last
1.88  Alabama   1447     1    2.17
2.10  Florida      1434     2   1.17
3.25  Texas        1365     3   2.75
5.78  USC          1213     4   6.65
6.62  Cincinnati  1163     5   8.70
6.73  Boise St    1156     6   6.02
7.80  Iowa         1092     7  10.68
8.40  Miami       1056     8    9.83
9.10  LSU          1014    9   10.22
9.32  TCU          1001   10  10.72
11.65 GA Tech    861   11   18.45
11.85 Oregon      849    12   13.07
13.45 Penn State  753   13   16.05
14.50 Okla State  690   14   16.68
14.60 VA Tech      684   15     4.62
15.98 BYU            601   16    17.83
18.03 Houston      478   17   22.80
19.78 Ohio State   373  18    8.53
20.17 Utah            350  19    24.73
20.50 Pittsburgh    330   20      --
21.23 Texas Tech  286   21      --
22.58 West VA      205   22      --
23.35 So Carolina 159   23    20.68
24.00 Kansas        120   24    16.82
24.05 Oklahoma    117   25    18.80

The biggest changes were at the top and bottom of the poll. Alabama didn’t move up as much as Florida moved down. Texas, despite remaining #3, dropped a half a spot. Cincinnati, Iowa, and Georgia Tech had the largest gains. The gap between BYU and the team ahead of it widened from about 1.2 to 1.4.