Example of awful poll logic...I hope it gets fixed

[Koolie G]

We have an 8 man SEC dynasty with FL, GA, USCjr, TN, LSU, ALA, AUB, & ARK. It is our 4th or 5th year of dynasty. We had a very interesting season where I believe 4 teams finished 11-1, 2 in each division. Florida and Alabama played in the SEC Championship game and Florida won. Florida went 5-0 in their division as well.

GUESS WHAT? Georgia is playing for the national championship. Georgia did not win their division, they lost to Florida, and they did not win the SEC. Georgia is ranked #2 (Utah is 12-0 and #1, but that is a whole other rant) and Florida #3 in Media poll, Florida is #2 and GA #3 in Coaches poll and both are tied in the BCS at 0.992. However in the BCS poll Georgia is listed as #2 and Florida as #3 even though they have the same point total.

There was also no change in the BCS rankings even though Florida beat #7 Alabama who was 11-1 in the SEC title game. But how does the scenario above even happen? Georgia lost to Florida, Georgia went 4-1 in the division, Georgia did not win the division, Georgia did not win the Conference, Georgia plays for the national championship over Florida. BTW, Florida's loss came against an 11-1 LSU team in double OT. I really hope EA tweaks the poll logic, because it is awful.

[kindella2]

yeah that does happen often...i have the same thing in a dynasty im playing...

[Village Idiot]

In all seriousness, that sounds pretty realistic to me.

I mean, I understand your complaint, but it seems like it has more to do with how teams that don't win their conference should not get a NC bid than it does with NCAA 09's poll logic.

For instance, how did Georgia leap Florida in the first place? Did Florida's loss come after they beat Georgia? Did Georgia play LSU or Alabama? When did Florida beat Georgia? What did Georgia do after they lost to Florida? Are they on like some 7-game winning streak where they killed everyone they played? Did Georgia beat LSU after Florida lost to them, or before? Etc. Point being, you have not provided enough information for anyone to critique the poll logic per se; like I said, your complaint is more about teams not winning their conference getting a bid over a team that did.

Not to mention, the scenario is just like those that happen with the real BCS - every year, it seems.

[youALREADYknow]

Quote: Originally Posted by Undefeated

Not to mention, the scenario is just like those that happen with the real BCS - every year, it seems.

No it doesn't. That scenario is why Texas didn't make the BCS title game while Oklahoma (B12 champ) had the same record and actually lost to Texas head-to-head.

In his scenario, not only was Florida the SEC champ but they beat Georgia. Georgia making it to the title game would never happen in real life because polls dominate the BCS formula.

Luckily, Russ on the NCAA team is addressing poll logic this year and we should see a much better system for NCAA 10.

[jdrhammer]

We had a similar problem in our OD. Late in the season, UGA had 2 L's while UF had 1 and UGA jumped UF in the polls even though UGA lost to UF a couple weeks before. Both team's L's were SEC L's. I'm Ole Miss and I only had 1 L. I finally climbed up into the top 7 or so by the end of the season. I played UF in the SEC champ game and won but didn't jump UGA with 2 L's. Had #1 Va. Tech or #2 Texas lost their Conf. Champ. Game, UGA would have played for the NC.

I moved up to 4th going into the Bowl Season where I won the Sugar Bowl. UGA won the Orange. Texas beat Va. Tech for the NC. I never moved up past 4.

Final Polls:
Texas 1 L
UGA 2 L
Va. Tech 1 L
Ole Miss 1 L

I didn't get it at all. I was under the assumption that winning the Conf. Champ. Game gave a nice boost in the BCS but I never jumped UGA in the BCS. I wonder if EA just made up a BCS process/formula or use the real thing.

[Koolie G]

Quote: Originally Posted by Undefeated

In all seriousness, that sounds pretty realistic to me. I mean, I understand your complaint, but it seems like it has more to do with how teams that don't win their conference should not get a NC bid than it does with NCAA 09's poll logic. For instance, how did Georgia leap Florida in the first place? Did Florida's loss come after they beat Georgia? Did Georgia play LSU or Alabama? When did Florida beat Georgia? What did Georgia do after they lost to Florida? Are they on like some 7-game winning streak where they killed everyone they played? Did Georgia beat LSU after Florida lost to them, or before? Etc. Point being, you have not provided enough information for anyone to critique the poll logic per se; like I said, your complaint is more about teams not winning their conference getting a bid over a team that did. Not to mention, the scenario is just like those that happen with the real BCS - every year, it seems.

Florida lost to LSU and then later in the year Florida beat Georgia. I'm not sure who Georgia beat in the West as far as humans go, but I think they beat Alabama and didn't play LSU. I understand your argument, but if Florida beat Georgia in the regular season and won the division outright and then won the Conference Championship, there is no way Georgia would ever be ahead of them in the polls in real life. If Florida won the division and then lost in the SEC Championship game then I could see Georgia playing for the National Championship as being a possiblity.

They were not on a longer winning streak than Florida at the time. Also, does the BCS not take into account the Championship games? I seriously don't know. I just assumed if Florida had won the SEC Champ game then their BCS % would've moved. What would be the use in having championship games if this were not the case because you would already know who was playing for the national title before the Conf. championship games?

[youALREADYknow]

There is no BCS process really, it's all made up.

To prove your point about the conference championships, I had undefeated USC, Oklahoma, and Alabama fighting for a spot in the title game.

USC was #1 in the Coaches, #2 in the Media.
Oklahoma was #2 in Coaches, #3 in Media.
Alabama was #3 in Coaches, #1 in Media.

Alabama wins the SEC championship game and Oklahoma wins the BigXII championship game, both blowouts against ranked opponents.

What happens in the final polls?

USC suddenly becomes #1 in both polls despite being idle. WTF?!?

Poll formulas killed dynasty mode this year.

[youALREADYknow]

Quote: Originally Posted by Koolie G

Also, does the BCS not take into account the Championship games? I seriously don't know. I just assumed if Florida had won the SEC Champ game then their BCS % would've moved. What would be the use in having championship games if this were not the case because you would already know who was playing for the national title before the Conf. championship games?

The BCS doesn't count championship games any more than a regular game, but it is usually a win over a top 25 opponent which helps schedule strength and computer poll rankings. The main boost is in the human polls because humans value conference champions.