FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
[rps-paypal]
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
Notes about Arizona’s No. 21 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll released yesterday after the Wildcats lost at UCLA 17-7
What have you done for me lately?: The pollsters who had Arizona the highest last week dropped the Wildcats the most after their dismal performance against the Bruins. Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer had the Wildcats No. 5 last week, one spot out of his Final Four, but dropped them the most (14 spots) to No. 19 on his ballot. The next highest drop was 11 spots on the ballots of Seth Emerson of the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph (No. 8 to No. 19) and Kyle Ringo of the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera (No. 10 to No. 21). Ringo will cover the Colorado-Arizona game this Saturday. Arizona’s significant drop in their voting — despite playing a ranked team on the road — smacks of the Wildcats letting them down big time.
Smallest fall: Three voters dropped Arizona only two spots in their voting from the previous week, including two that pegged the Wildcats higher than their No. 21 ranking. Chuck McGill of the Charleston (W.V.) Daily dropped Arizona from No. 16 to No. 18 in his ballot. Garry Smits of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Florida Times-Union dropped Arizona from No. 17 to No. 19.
Crazy: Although Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News had Arizona at No. 10 before the Wildcats lost to USC, he dropped Arizona completely from his rankings after that game. Wolf put Arizona back in his rankings at No. 20 after the Wildcats’ win at Washington State. He then dropped them only three spots to No. 23 after the loss to UCLA. Therefore, a loss to UCLA is not as bad as one to USC? By the way, Wolf covers the Trojans.
What Michigan media bias? Maybe Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press misses covering Rich Rodriguez while others there loathe the coach. Sharp ranked Arizona highest among voters at No. 14, the spot the Wildcats held last week.
Reverse West coast bias?: Arizona’s highest ranking by media outlets in the Pac-12 states is at No. 19. Five West coast voters, including Ringo and Wolf, have Arizona out of their Top 20 after the loss to the Bruins. The others are Mike Sorenson (No. 21) of the Salt Lake Deseret News, Jon Wilner (No. 24) of the San Jose Mercury News and Michael Lev (No. 25) of the Orange County Register,
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Second-straight week, Scooby Wright is the @pac12 Defensive Player of the Week. #BearDown http://t.co/bmEZuM4YZ0 pic.twitter.com/sOSCIYnzHu
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 3, 2014
[/ezcol_1half_end]
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
Scooby Wright is the only FBS player to rank top 20 in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and FF. #BearDown @BednarikAward @NagurskiTrophy
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 3, 2014
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
[/ezcol_1half_end]
WHERE AP TOP 25 VOTERS SHIFTED ARIZONA RANKING
Source: College Poll Tracker
[table “” not found /]
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
