On Polls and Punt Formations
Punt Formation Change: I pointed out after the Youngstown State game that our punt formation underwent a change in the offseason. Rather than letting it go and just hoping you believe me, I decided to grab a few screenshots to illustrate the point - especially since I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere but here at BC.
Below I have a screenshot taken from a random punt in the Iowa game last year (why Iowa? It was in my DVD player, easy accessibility) and then to the right of it is the formation from YSU. The YSU camera shot is different but the change is apparent. We are no longer bowing our line to create a pocket for punter AJ Trapasso. Instead, the staff has essentially created a second level of blockers, three of them, approximately ten yards beyond the line of scrimmage compared to five yards last year. It's not as radical as, say, LSU but an interesting little tweak nonetheless. (btw, sorry for the small screencaps)
Simmer Down Now: Buckeyes fans have
been peppering 1460 and ESPN chats with questions
about how Ohio State could drop one position in both the
AP and Coaches Polls after
soundly (albeit sloppily) beating Youngstown
State. After all, the Buckeyes defeated a
highly ranked Football Championship Subdivision
team, formerly known as D-IAA, by 32 points.
As we all know, mighty Michigan lost to a
team from the same division.
Upon closer inspection, Ohio State actually received
more dap in the latest polls than it did in the
preseason. The thing is, the polls were simply
more even than the preseason editions. The same
teams were more consistently ranked and, thus, many
teams received more votes. Some did not - Texas
went from 1375 to 1221 in the AP Poll.
Tressel's gang received 919 points in the preseason
USA Today Coaches Poll. After week one, they
received 977. That means, on average, the
Buckeyes were voted higher than they were in the
preseason by one spot because they received 58 more
votes from the 60 voters. Likewise, OSU
received 64 more points in the AP Poll, which equals
approximately 1 position higher per voter (there are
65 AP voters).
What does this all mean? It means that the
voters ranking are codifying, as usual. It
means their minds are being shaped. And, it
means that more voters are voting the Buckeyes closer
to the Top 10. And, that is a good thing.
Ultimately, it means the Buckeyes are getting
their love, or as Ali G says, respek.
Don't get your Buckeyes in a bunch.
