Tag: polls

Media picks Michigan football to win Big Ten in annual poll

Is this good news or too much hype? #GoBlue

The last time Michigan football was picked to win the Big Ten, it was 2019. However, it did not go so well for the Wolverines, who were trotting out an injured Shea Patterson at quarterback after he suffered a torn oblique on his first snap, and with a defense that was starting to lose its luster. The maize and blue are hoping not to repeat history.

The history that the Wolverines are hoping to repeat is to win a third-straight Big Ten Championship, which is what the media is predicting via the annual Cleveland.com poll.

37 voters from across the Big Ten participated and the Wolverines got the most first-place votes in the East (27) while also getting 27 votes indicating it would beat whichever team made it out of the West.

Predictions

Big Ten East

1-Michigan (27 first-place votes) 248

2-Ohio State (8) 226

3-Penn State (2) 192

4-Maryland 143

6-Rutgers 74

7-Indiana 48

Big Ten West

1-Wisconsin (20 first-place votes) 233

2-Iowa (16) 232

3-Minnesota (1) 176

4-Illinois 152

5-Nebraska 116

6-Purdue 89

7-Northwestern 38

Big Ten championship game predictions

Michigan over Wisconsin (15)

Michigan over Iowa (11)

Michigan Minnesota (1)

Ohio State over Iowa (4)

Ohio State over Wisconsin (4)

Penn State over Iowa (1)

Penn State over Wisconsin (1)

However, the poll does not have a good track record at predicting the eventual winner of the conference. Only three times in its history has it been correct, all three times being picks for Ohio State.

2022: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan.

2021: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan.

2020: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.

2019: Pick: Michigan. Actual: Ohio State.

2018: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.

2017: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.

2016: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Penn State.

2015: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan State.

2014: Pick: Michigan State. Actual: Ohio State.

2013: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan State.

2012: Pick: Michigan. Actual: Wisconsin.

2011: Pick: Nebraska. Actual: Wisconsin.

As said, they play the games for a reason, but not in modern history have the Wolverines had so much returning talent with so much upside while other teams are breaking in key pieces, such as the starting quarterback.
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Alabama baseball receives votes in latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll

Alabama baseball receives votes after a three-game sweep over Missouri.

With seven SEC teams in the top 25, the conference is an absolute gauntlet. The Crimson Tide have an overall record of 29-12 but are even against conference opponents at 9-9.

After a strong three-game series sweep against Missouri, Alabama receives votes in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but still aren’t all too close to cracking the top 25.

The Tide’s upcoming schedule is a tough one as they’ll travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU and then head back to Tuscaloosa to play Vanderbilt. With roughly a month to go in the season, Alabama still has time to beef up its record.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 LSU 32-7 769 (27) –
2 Wake Forest 34-6 738 (1) –
3 South Carolina 34-6 725 (3) +3
4 Florida 31-10 644 -1
5 Vanderbilt 29-11 621 -1
6 Arkansas 30-10 600 -1
7 Coastal Carolina 26-12 551 +6
8 Stanford 25-12 523 +1
9 Campbell 31-8 454 +3
10 Virginia 32-9 428 -3
11 Kentucky 30-9 424 –
12 Boston College 27-12 403 +5
13 Connecticut 29-11 394 +2
14 East Carolina 29-11 366 -6
15 Texas Tech 29-13 251 +4
16 Tennessee 26-14 242 +4
17 Miami 25-15 234 +1
18 Arizona State 27-12 221 +3
19 Louisville 26-13 207 -9
20 Dallas Baptist 31-9 194 +7
21 West Virginia 29-11 189 +11
22 Duke 27-12 155 +15
23 Oregon 26-12 118 –
24 Oklahoma State 28-13 103 –
25 Indiana 30-11 84 +6

Schools Dropped Out

No. 14 Texas; No. 16 North Carolina; No. 22 UCLA; No. 25 Oregon State

Others Receiving Votes

Oregon State 80; North Carolina 74; Indiana State 52; Texas 49; Texas San Antonio 47; Florida Gulf Coast 29; Alabama 22; UCLA 18; Northeastern 18; Texas A&M 14; USC 11; Troy 7; Southern Miss 6; Georgia 4; North Carolina State 2; UC Santa Barbara 1; Oral Roberts 1; Maryland 1; Iowa 1

POLL: Grade this 3-round mock draft for Cardinals

What grade would you give the Arizona Cardinals if their draft looked like this for the first three rounds?

The Arizona Cardinals have the third overall pick in the draft in April and can either select one of the best players in the draft or trade back and get a good player with the opportunity to select more good players.

As we will do every week until the draft in April, we have mock draft Saturdays.

In the most recent simulation, the Cardinals make two trades and make six selections in the first three rounds.

PFF gives this draft an A overall.

What grade do you give it? Vote in the poll!

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Joel Klatt releases new college football rankings following crazy Saturday

How do you rank the top five or so after a downright wild college football weekend?

Week 10 of the college football season saw three teams in the top six of the College Football Playoff rankings fall while in total, nine teams in the top 25 were defeated.  What does it mean for the next batch of rankings?

Changes are certainly coming but just how extreme they end up remains to be seen.  Fox Sports lead college football analyst [autotag]Joel Klatt[/autotag] released his latest rankings on Saturday night after most of the action had concluded.  Normally Klatt puts out his top 10, but Saturday he instead gave out his top seven.

Here is how teams fell into Klatt’s latest rankings.

 

LSU jumps into AP Poll top 20 after upsetting Ole Miss

The Tigers rank No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25.

For the first time this season, LSU finds itself ranked in both polls.

After Saturday’s signature win over the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels for coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], the Tigers are back in the AP Top 25, this time jumping straight to the No. 18 spot. In the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, which also released on Sunday, LSU ranks No. 20.

This is the second time Kelly’s team has ranked in the top 25 this season. After a win over Auburn, it snuck in at the No. 25 spot. That wouldn’t last long, however, as the Tigers lost to Tennessee in blowout fashion the following game.

This time, they will hope to stick around for a bit longer. LSU has a bye this weekend to prepare for a matchup against Alabama when it hosts the Crimson Tide on Nov. 5 in a game that could decide the SEC West.

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Musselman’s Hogs picks second in SEC Preseason Poll

Arkansas’ second-place prediction is the highest for the Hogs in 15 years.

Sky-high. That’s the level of expectation for the Arkansas men’s basketball team in 2022-23.

Coach Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks are coming off consecutive Elite Eight performances. He landed six likely rotation players via the transfer portal. And with the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class, Arkansas fans are feeling itchy for a Final Four.

Apparently, the media feels the same. Arkansas was picked to finish second in the SEC in the league’s preseason poll. It’s the highest the Hogs have been tabbed in the preseason since being picked to finish second in the SEC West in 2007-08.

The Razorbacks have two exhibition games – Monday against Rogers State and October 29 against Texas. The regular season begins November 7 at home against North Dakota.

See the full SEC Preseason Poll below.

Arkansas back to getting votes in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

A big shake-up in the Top 25 still sees the SEC on top and the whole of the rankings dotted with teams from the league.

Snapping a three-game skid brings good vibes. Getting votes for the Top 25 brings more.

Arkansas was back in positive territory Sunday as the Razorbacks picked up three points in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll to rank a de facto No. 38. The Hogs beat BYU, which went from No. 26 to picking up no votes, on Saturday, 52-38.

Arkansas will have plenty of chances to increase their standing in their final five games. Sam Pittman’s team has a bye for Week 8, but returns with Auburn, Liberty (which ranked No. 32), LSU (No. 26), Ole Miss (No. 7) and Missouri.

Other teams Arkansas has played also picked up plenty of votes. Alabama fell from its top spot after losing to Tennessee and is No. 6. Cincinnati was 19th, Mississippi State dropped to No. 24 after losing to No. 18 Kentucky and South Carolina was a de facto No. 29.

See the complete poll below.

Should Georgia drop in the rankings? College football Twitter think so

Should Georgia still be the No. 1 team in the nation in tomorrow’s polls?

No. 1 Georgia moved to 4-0 after an ugly 39-22 win at home versus Kent State on Saturday. The Golden Flashes forced three UGA turnovers and put up 22 points, the most given up by the Bulldogs since Alabama’s 41 points in the 2021 SEC Championship game.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett went 27/36 for 272 yards, one rushing score and one interception. Receiver Ladd McConkey struggled mightily with a muffed punt, lost fumble and three drops. The Dawgs’ run defense was exposed and Kent State scored the first rushing touchdown the Bulldogs have given up this season while racking up 93 yards on the ground.

Georgia currently ranks No. 1 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. But UGA fans may not want to get too comfortable with that top ranking after Saturday’s performance. No. 2 in both polls is Alabama and No. 3 is Ohio State. Both have a chance to jump the Bulldogs with Bama playing Vanderbilt and the Buckeyes playing Wisconsin Saturday night.

Arkansas up three spots in Associated Press poll

The Hogs made the biggest jump of all the SEC teams except for one.

It’s been a while since Arkansas football was ranked like this in back-to-back weeks.

The Razorbacks have started the 2022 season as such, though.

After opening the year ranked No. 19, the Razorbacks jumped three spots to No. 16 when the Associated Press poll was released on Tuesday. Arkansas beat then-No. 22 Cincinnati, 31-24, in both teams’ season opener. The Bearcats fell out of the poll, a de facto No. 29.

Arkansas will host unranked South Carolina on Saturday to open SEC play. The Gamecocks picked up two points in poll.

Other SEC teams dotted the rankings plenty. Alabama stayed No. 1 after a win over Utah State. No. 3 Georgia manhandled then-No. 11 Oregon, 49-3, and jumped a spot, even over Ohio State, which also won. Texas A&M stayed firm at No. 6, while Kentucky stayed at No. 20 and Ole Miss fell a spot to No. 24.

The SEC’s newcomer to the poll was Florida. The Gators went from unranked to No. 12 after beating then-No. 8 Utah in the season opener.

Where did Saints players rank in ESPN’s position-by-position top 10 polls?

Where did Saints players rank in ESPN’s position-by-position top 10 polls?

The gulf between expectations that the New Orleans Saints (and their fans) have for themselves and those shared by outsiders couldn’t be wider. The Saints attacked the offseason with the playoffs in mind, even if Sean Payton stepped down, betting on big returns from some of their best players. And the Saints are loaded up with top-10 talent at a number of spots on both sides of the ball.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler’s surveyed more than 50 executives, coaches and players for his position-by-position polling, sourcing quotes from around the NFL to illustrate what each player does well and how they stack up against their peers. Let’s run through the list: