App getting some AP25 votes

[bigdaddyg]

Anytime an event is determined by a vote it is always subject for debate. I am not a gymnastics fan by any means but enjoy watching it during the Olympics. I used to hate the fact that a gymnast performing early had no chance of attaining a perfect 10 because there was no room left for an even better performance. Evidently the method of voting was changed to allow for "perfect" routines early in a competition. The same madness had been evident in college football for years. We allowed the eye test to be the sole determining factor in deciding the best team in the country, then it was the method for determining the best 2. Then we added computer models (several) to reduce the eye test. Now we have added several sets of eyeballs and I think we are pretty close. As far as the weekly rankings go we still (for some unknown reason) have a coaches ranking. Does Saban really keep up with App State football? Somehow some writers (probably not West Coast guys) know enough about our team to figure they are at least in the top half of the FBS, schedule not withstanding. Are we the 33rd best team right now? Are we #50? Who the hell knows. Outside of the top, say 10 teams you can typically juggle the next 15 or so and on any given Saturday they can knock each other off. The same typically goes for college basketball as well.

[EastHallApp]

Preseason rankings are notoriously poor when it comes to predictive value. They're not meaningless, however. A preseason Top 25 App State team might see a HUGE spike in season and single ticket game sales and create media buzz we've never seen before.

Same for in-season polls. While the final poll is all that really matters in terms of what the team accomplished, getting ranked during the season - with the accompanying increase in media coverage, fan interest, etc. - might actually be more significant for the program.

[bigdaddyg]

Preseason rankings are notoriously poor when it comes to predictive value. They're not meaningless, however. A preseason Top 25 App State team might see a HUGE spike in season and single ticket game sales and create media buzz we've never seen before.

As far as internal buzz goes, I completely agree. A top 25 preseason rank for App would allow us to thump our chests and hopefully boost ticket sales in anticipation of something possibly great. What I would hate to see though, would be a preseason rank of 25 next year, a very close loss to UT knocking us out, then never sniffing the rankings again even if we got to say, 6-1 like this year. But I guess that is how it goes when you are in our position and fighting for notoriety.

[APPdiesel]

I would be ecstatic to see a preseason ranking (again just talking hypothetically not beating my chest). It would be immensely important to ticket sales, buzz, and most importantly RECRUITING. You're an undervalued 3* and both App and GASO are recruiting you...you're probably going to choose the ranked team. Sustain that over multiple seasons and it's the "rich keep getting richer" adage.

twitter.com/DieselOnRadio

[hotrod2001]

Preseason rankings are notoriously poor when it comes to predictive value. They're not meaningless, however. A preseason Top 25 App State team might see a HUGE spike in season and single ticket game sales and create media buzz we've never seen before.

As far as internal buzz goes, I completely agree. A top 25 preseason rank for App would allow us to thump our chests and hopefully boost ticket sales in anticipation of something possibly great. What I would hate to see though, would be a preseason rank of 25 next year, a very close loss to UT knocking us out, then never sniffing the rankings again even if we got to say, 6-1 like this year. But I guess that is how it goes when you are in our position and fighting for notoriety.

On the other hand, we could get the best of a Tennessee team who may have not done their homework. Just ask Auburn, Ole Miss and Arkansas about what happens when you're too busy thinking of SEC business and not the task at hand. Winning out and beating UT in the opener would almost guarantee a top 25 ranking.