The Michigan Daily-Friday, October 12, 1979-Page 11 Temporary In-Sahn-ity B Billy Gopher rushers challenge Blue' Woire service polls 0 . . . how fair are they TH E AP TOP TWENTY, the UPI Top Twenty... What and why are ey and who decides the teams to be listed in this elite group? Every week during the regularly scheduled college football.season, a select group of sports writers covering NCAA football and the College Board of Coaches vote respectively on their picks for the top teams in the nation, always in division I of the NCAA. In addition, the pollsters are in action once prior to the start of the season and then once more in January, after the last bowl game has been recorded. In a sense, the polls are a guide. They signal to the public an important game when two top-rated teams compete against each other. For example, this weekend number three Oklahoma (AP and UP) clashes with Texas (Number four in AP, five in UP). According to the polls, this game is a significant national contest because both teams are in the top five, the elite's elite. -Well, that's great for Texas and Oklahoma, especially since ABC also agrees - the game will be nationally televised. And for the two teams ahead of Texas and Oklahoma, things are even better. USC, Tide reap benefits Southern Cal and Alabama, numbers one and two, are sitting pretty. Their task is as simple as can be: win every game and your status quo will- remain the same. In other words, Southern Cal was handed the golden scep- ter of number one in the pre-season poll. * If the Trojans remain undefeated despite narrow victories over op- ponents such as LSU, they will be awarded the title come January. Likewise, Alabama can retain its number two position. Yet the Tide, not given a chan- ceto knock heads with the Trojans, may not even be co-champs as it was last year-when UPI favored Alabama and AP Southern Cal. , Other misleading characteristics about the polls are borne out by the Big Tn teams. Michigan State, with two big losses to Michigan and Notre Dame, is just about through for the season. They dropped out of the top twen- tthis week in the coaches' poll, but remain number 19 in the writers' poll. - Consider Michigan's position. Currently, the Wolverines are secure owners of number 11 rights in both polls. They should have cracked the top ten this week with the big win in East Lansing, but the "wise" football minds thought otherwise. Instead, they chose Ohio State as the Big Ten represen- .tative. The Buckeyes are eighth in the nation according to both tallies. Can Vichigan move up? Can Michigan move up? What will it take for Michigan to crack the top ten? Of the games left for the Wolverines, it's Purdue and OSU which pose threats for their run at the Big Ten crown. -, If Michigan beats Purdue, will it crack the top ten? Probably not, since Purdue, who lost to Minnesota is currently 20th according to AP and not even worth rating according to UPI. Like MSU, the Boilermakers have lost two, their first being to UCLA. After all, why should a team move up by beating a tam that's not even rated? Hence history does repeat itself in this scenario. It's the Ohio State game the following week which holds all the beans in the pot. The poll system lacks the necessary dynamic to make it of any value. It's a cosmetic device which holds relatively little meaning for the teams in- volved. Publicly, however, it's a marketable item, especially with the media and press. Jim Young, the Purdue coach agrees. "I don't think coaches or players pay much attention to the polls," Young Said. "They're specifically designed for the public and the fans. Pehaps a team playing well and defeating tough opponents should move up in the polls as a sort of reward." Perhaps, but how can you measure a team's toughness? Suppose a point system was introduced, rating games each week on a scale and thus awar- ding more points for "tough" victories. "I think conducting a foolproof method of running a poll is next to im- possible," remarked Young. "How, for example, could coaches in the Big Ten really know how good a team in Florida is, and how do coaches in Florida know how good team in the Big Ten are," continued the coach of the Boilermakers. The point is, as Young concurs, you really can't expect coaches busy -with their conference schedule to be overly concerned with teams in a dif- ,ferent part of the nation. Certainly, it's much more beneficial to Bo Schem- _ echler if he places his vote for Ohio State and USC, two teams in his near future. And writers covering major teams will vote for their team or at least their conference, simply because it makes better copy. This is an artificial system. The current process is not very valid and practically meaningless. The "mythical" national champion therefore is an artificial high in the world of college football. But the inherent bias remains. A team that loses early in the season is --hackled thereon. Once you're down, it's extremely difficult to rise again. nhere is simply too much emphasis placed on surviving a season without any losses, no matter who you play. As a result, the mentality of teams is to naturally win. Ili One more point: Another bothersome quality of these polls is the fact #that it's the same teams, year in and year out, that occupy nearly the same position. USC just about owns the rights to the thing. Let's get some variation, writers and coaches. Far-fetched maybe, but -.Idiana is undefeated in the Big Ten after three conference games. But I guess it'll take a victory over OSU for them to see the limelight. Boy, will that ever mess things up. By ALAN GOLDSTEIN Saturday, when the Minnesota Gophers invade Ann Arbor for the bat- tle of the Little Brown Jug, they will have one thing on their mind - UPSET. Do not bother telling first-year Coa'ch Joe Salem that Michigan dominates the series between the two teams. Do not bother to tell him what happened last year in Ann Arbor (the Wolverines an- nihilated the Gophers 42-10). WHAT 'MATTERS is NOW. His Gophers stand 3-2 this season, 2-1 in conference play. The Gophers left their mark on Purdue last week with a 31-14 thrashing. They should have defeated Ohio State after dominating most of the game, but lost a 21-17 heartbreaker. In- stead of being 3-2 the Gophers would be 4-1, certainly contending for first place in the Big Ten. Thus, you can bet Coach Bo Schem- bechler is worried about, the Gophers, even though the visitors are a 15-point underdog. Some of Bo's fear, however, can be alleviated since the. Gophers must play before 105,000 screaming fans where they have not won in 17 years, LOOKING TOWARD Saturday's game, Bo remarked, "I said earlier Minnesota would be a team to watch. They have a good offense with good people at the skilled positions." The good people at the skilled positions Schembechler was referring to are quarterback. Mark Carlson and running backs Marion Barber and Garry White. Carlson has proved him- self worthy of being the Gophers' num- ber one quarterback. His only weakness has been the inability to throw deep. The double threat of Barber and White is the best running tandem yet to face the Blue defense. Barber is the best running back in the Big Ten, but should the Blue defense key on him, White will keep them honest. After Minnesota''swin over Purdue, Salem said, "Let's hope we have another good week of practice. We had a great week getting ready for Purdue. I felt all week that our attitude was ex- cellent and if it carried over, we could win. It did carry over and the results are history." Conversely he stated, "We had a lousy week of practice before we went to the West Coast and the results were an embarassment. We still have to learn to win on the road and Ann Arbor is a tough place to get an education." U-M Bowling Teamiyouts Sunday, October 14-10 aim Women and Men Sign-up at Union Lanes for: Michigan intercollegiate League, Association of College and University Tournament BIG TEN TOURNAMENT This is Big Time! Don't Miss It! STALK the CROSS-EYED MOOSE at 1 TOMMY'S HOLIDAY CAMP 1 I 1 ~You can play 50t worth of 1. Upinball or video games with1 ' this coupon and your -10,. n Tcrss-ed $mew$$T$mwgsIq p 1 6131. Liberty 32 PackardI Expires 10/19/79 NEW FACE AT THE TOP Hoosier D'excels By ERIC LtJTTINEN A look at the Big Ten standings this week reveals that the Indiana Hoosiers are tied for first place with Michigan and Ohio State. Interestingly, however, the standings are for football, not basketball. Indiana Coach Lee Corso explained the Hoosiers' early season success this way. "We (Indiana) have a good team. We don't have any great players, but we get great performances each week by different individuals." The reason for the sudden upsurge, according to an IU sports official, is the improving defense which starts eight sophomores. Second-year linebacker Craig Walls leads the team in tackles with 37, and the only senior starter, Randy Willhite, has made 35 stops from his linebacking post. The young Indiana defense has allowed only 66,points in five games, and recorded a 3-0 shutout against Wisconsin last Saturday.r THE HOOSIER offense, which runs out of various formations, is guided by junior quarterback Tim Clifford, who has completed 64 of 103 passes (62 per cent) for 811 yards over the first five games. His main target has been Bob Stevenson (19 receptions), who is filling in at tight end for Dave Harangody. Harangody, who suffered a knee injury in Indiana's opening game with Iowa, is expected to return to action soon. Running backs Lonnie Johnson and Mike Harkrader give Indiana a solid ground game which it used successfully in its victory over Wisconsin. Corso said after the game last Saturday that he believes establishing a running game wins Big Ten football games. The Hoosiers feel that although they don't have enough depth to win the Big Ten crown, they do have an outside chance. When asked about his squad's chances this year, Corso, replied, "I couldn't tell you; it's like a golf match. Weve won two holes, but we've got six Rock and Roll with holes left." The first two "holes" that Corso referred to were-the conference wins over Iowa and Wisconsin, while the last r ' six holes are the six conference games appearing thru Sunday left to play - Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, and Pur- due. - Sunday:, All six should be tough tests for the young Hoosiers, as the Big Ten has im- - H&S dNg proved as a whole. This is evident by the rise of Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa, while Northwestern gave Ohio for more info call 994-5350 State a scare before bowing to the Buckeyes, 16-7. Four more reasons to get your Hewlett-Packard calculator at Ulrich '5: Buy one of the following calculators1 and receive free software valued before October 15, at up to $97.00. U COMINGTo THE UNION Linda Cam pos Pocket Billiord Champion in a FREE EXHIBITION See her Thurs. 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