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AP Poll: Six SEC teams ranked and Ohio State falls to 11?

By Charlie Lockhart

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on against the Clemson Tigers during the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on against the Clemson Tigers during the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Another week and SEC is still good, Ohio State not so much according to the voters in the AP Poll.

What a great gig it must be to vote in the AP Poll. Evidently you don’t have to actually watch any games, just vote for a half-dozen SEC teams and you stay in the club as an AP voter. It also helps if you can find a way to move Ohio State down a notch or two.

This season, even long time SEC fans in the media have said the conference is down. That hasn’t had any effect on those who vote in the AP Poll as there are six teams in the top 25 again this week.

The proof is in the pudding that many of the voters didn’t watch Ohio State’s win over UNLV, or didn’t care about the outcome. They would have found a reason to move the Buckeyes down anyway. At halftime it was 44-7 Ohio State and quarterback J.T. Barrett was already on the bench after throwing five touchdown passes.

Two fumbles at the one yard line cost the Buckeyes two touchdowns. How would the voters have justified moving the Buckeyes out of the top 10 if they would have scored 60+ points?

I’m certain they would have their reasons for doing so, but Ohio State only winning 54-21 allowed the voters to move the  Buckeyes down a notch.

You can check out the Top 25 teams in the AP Poll if you want but I  just want to point out the media darlings from the Southeastern Conference this week:

  •     (1) Alabama
  •      (7)  Georgia
  •      (13) Auburn
  •      (21) Florida
  •      (24) Mississippi State
  •      (25) LSU

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I can think of one team in the Big Ten I would give at least an even chance to defeat Florida, Mississippi State or LSU at a neutral site. Iowa’s two point loss to No. 4 ranked Penn State is the Hawkeyes only blemish to their season and they appear to be strong.

A hard-fought battle like that would probably have moved an SEC team into the top 25. But no, Iowa is left out again this week.

Okay, that’s my SEC rant for this week. Quite frankly, I’m tired of the voters in the AP Poll having preconceived notions about teams and conferences. I played a little ball myself, so I actually pay attention to how teams perform on the field instead of just going along with the herd.

If you think these things don’t matter, just wait untill the College Football Playoff Committee picks their final four teams. They will take into consideration how a team fared against a ranked team at the time they played them, not taking into consideration if they should have been ranked at all.

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