Return of the Mumme Poll

Okay, let’s do this.

I was gratified by the interest y’all showed in response to my post asking about bringing back the Mumme Poll.  It’s enough that I’m willing to take a shot at resurrecting it.

So, let’s go through the logistics first.  This week’s games mark Week 6 of the college football season and as that was the traditional start for the Mumme Poll back in the day, we’ll go at it the same way now.

The time line for ballot casting/tallying/posting/commenting will work like this:

1. Ballots should be submitted via email to me at mbroch@gmail.com on a Sunday/Monday basis.  That gives you two full days.
2. On Tuesday, I’ll post about my ballot and give you the chance in the comments to post yours and discuss.
3. Also on Tuesday, I’ll compile everyone’s ballot into the weekly MP standings.  (Yes, I’ll be doing it manually, so bear with me.)
4. On Wednesday, the weekly Mumme Poll standings will be posted.

That’s it.  I’ll conduct a poll every week of the regular season.

As far as rules for voting go, they’re pretty simple.

• The Mumme Poll is based on approval voting.  You do not need to submit a ballot ranking the teams in some subjective order.  You do not even have to designate a particular team as your choice for number one, unless, of course, you limit your ballot to one team.
• There are no restrictions on the number of teams you choose to place on your ballot.  If you want to choose a top 25 every week, be my guest (just realize I’m not going to pay any attention to your order).  If you want to select a potential playoff field of eight or four teams, that’s fine, too.  If you want to indulge your inner PAWWWLLL!!! and choose Alabama alone, have at it.  For a point of reference, I intend to limit my ballot to those teams I think are legitimately involved in the national title conversation, so my list will probably start out near ten and dwindle as the regular season progress.  But you do you, okay?
• Please, don’t try to game the process.  Don’t submit more than one ballot a week.  Do not list a particular school more than once on a given ballot.
• Also, identify yourself in your email when you sent your vote to me, just so I have a name or moniker to reference.  Place “Mumme Poll ballot” in the subject line of your email so I can easily identify it.

As long as the interest level stays up enough to generate a meaningful set of results, I’ll keep at it, but I make no promises if we’re looking at 15-20 participants by season’s end.  And, honestly, it’s not as if putting together a ballot like this is going to require a huge time investment on your part.  As I mentioned before, the last MP ballot I cast in 2015 took me all of about 30 seconds to put together.

So let’s have some fun with this.

Any questions or comments you may have, I’ll do my best to respond to here.

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UPDATE:  Folks, quick point of order here, in case I wasn’t clear.  I’ve already had two ballots emailed to me this morning.  I appreciate the enthusiasm, but votes can’t be cast until after Week 6 games are in the books.  Sunday, Sunday, Sunday…