Staff Roundtable: How Important is the Coaches’ Preseason Poll?

This week, we are loaded with four big preseason questions: who the best player in the Pac-12 is, which new head coach will have the most success, how important the preseason polls are, and a sleeper team that Oregon should take note of this season.

Next, we’ll discuss some offseason news that dealt with the controversy between Lane Kiffin and his voting in the coaches’ poll. Bottom line, he will no longer be voting for the poll and discussed his disinterest in voting for the poll. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott also backed his USC coach, calling the poll “a fallacy.”

Where do our staff writers fall in line with the coaches’ poll?

Raymond: I don’t feel the coaches poll is important at all. The coaches shouldn’t be able to vote because besides the teams they are going to play, how often do they watch other conference games? I don’t really think they can be objective with their votes either. Basically, I side with the Pac-12 commissioner on this one.

Ricky: Not important at all. This is the last season they should be used. After the playoff format is in effect, the coaches’ poll should be thrown away. They should go to simple tiebreakers and off of team’s records. It would mean teams couldn’t move to the SEC just because of a higher SOS (Texas A&M and Missouri).

Brian: The coaches’ poll shouldn’t be important, but it is. It’s one-third of the entire BCS formula, and it creates a playoff-like atmosphere at the beginning of the season. That’s a bad thing. This creates creampuff non-conference schedules because teams don’t want to lose. If we had an actual post-season tournament (like choosing 16 teams), there would be much better non-conference matchups because teams would want to get into the playoffs. That’s what creates must-watch matchups in November and December in college basketball.

Mike: I’ve felt for years polls shouldn’t come out until later in the season and having worked in sports information offices, we’re the people who usually cast the votes. Let the people who watch the games ultimately vote if that’s what the determining factor is going to be for the national championship.

Each week, the staff at Autzen Zoo will react on the previous day’s games in Pac-12 football and other news that happens in the conference. Our current staff includes lead editor Brian Spaen, along with staff writers Mike Vamosi, Raymond Mencke, Jr., and Ricky Widmer.