Pretty happy with those rankings. They seem about right. Another poster called it though - there is a real traffic jam south of 15. That happens a lot I guess around this time of year, but it does seem worse to me this year than in the past. Maybe that's because I care more about the Goph's place in line when they are in the thick of it. In the past, it was hard to get that worked up about parsing anything below the top ten. Somebody out there has probably done some sort of volatility study on mid-season, mid-tier rankings and can statistically put this in proper context. I can't.
Not that I think the Gophs got cheated, in the polls but I'm thinking that Texas and Gonzaga are way getting the benefit of the doubt right now. I think Mizzou could take TX this week.
While defending the Irish is something completely new for me, I can't get on board trashing them this year. That schedule of theirs is a real bear! Not sure how you rank them with that many consecutive losses, but jeesh.
Also, yea, I know it's just a bunch of quirky polls and they are meaningless at the end of the season, but they do matter mid-season. It's fun to see the team get the regular national media attention that comes with it. Can't hurt w/r/t recruiting too.
If/when they fall out of the top 25 and we stop seeing and hearing as much about them, we'll recognize the difference. Here's hoping that doesn't happen until Sara Palin is reelected POTUS.