Whither the Mumme Poll?

With the Coaches Poll being reduced to a sideshow irrelevancy (easily the greatest by-product of the new postseason format), Tidefan and I thought we’d take stock of where things stand with the Mumme Poll.  There is a temptation to declare victory and call it a day – I think we’ve proven that approval voting is a credible way to assemble a top twenty ballot while reducing the appearance of bias and conflicts of interest as well as making the ballot process much less time-consuming – but I’d like to believe there’s a way to keep the MP relevant in the new playoff era.

Specifically, what I’ve been contemplating is using approval voting not to put together a rankings list, but instead to create a semi-final pool.  Could a random group of college football fans put together a four-team group that would be as worthy of respect as what’s going to come out of the sausage factory selection committee process?  I don’t know, but I thought it might be fun to try.

So here’s what I’ve come up with:  cut the ballot size from ten to eight, drop the tiebreaker and let approval voting determine the top four schools.  It’s even more streamlined than what we’ve done over the past few years.

Anyway, I’d like your feedback on this.  We’re a little disappointed in the drop off we saw in participation this past season, so among other things, I’m looking for ways to generate a higher level of interest.  Give me your thoughts in the comments.

My final 2013-4 Mumme Poll ballot

Another season in the books… and one last look at my top ten. (* indicates tiebreaker)

• Alabama
• Auburn
• Clemson
• FSU*
• Michigan State
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Stanford

Also considered:  Baylor, Central Florida, Oklahoma State, UCLA

The site is open to cast ballots until 11PM tomorrow night, so get over there.

Mumme Poll, Week 14

Pretty definitive number one team this week.

Rank	Team	Votes (Top pick)
1	Florida State	28 (25)
2	Alabama	28 (0)
3	Auburn	27
4	Oklahoma State	27
4	Ohio State	27
4	Missouri	27
7	Michigan State	25
8	South Carolina	21
9	Stanford	20
10	Baylor	19
11	Arizona State	13
12	Oregon	7
13	Northern Illinois	5
14	UCF	3
15	LSU	1
15	Wisconsin	1
15	Clemson	1

COMMENTS

• Noticeable thinning out this week with Fresno State taking the hit, among others.
• I’m a little surprised there was no outlier vote for Duke.  You know Spurdog would have been tempted.
• Conference breakdown:  SEC – 5; Pac-12 – 3; Big Ten – 3; Big 12 – 2; ACC – 2; AAC – 1; MAC – 1

My Mumme Poll ballot, Week 14

Rivalry Week was crazy, but it didn’t have a huge effect on my ballot this week. Clemson be gone, though. Here’s my current top ten list (*tiebreaker):

• Alabama
• Arizona State
• Auburn
• Baylor
• FSU*
• Missouri
• Oklahoma State
• Ohio State
• Oregon
• Stanford

Also considered:  Michigan State, South Carolina

I’m still not sold on the Spartans, but they’ve got an excellent opportunity to change my mind this week.  The Gamecocks, alas, do not.

Mumme Poll, Week 13

New team at the top this week.

Rank	Team	Votes (Top pick)
1	Florida State	25 (14)
2	Alabama	25 (11)
3	Ohio State	25 (0)
4	Oklahoma State	24
4	Missouri	24
6	Clemson	22
7	Auburn	21
8	Michigan State	20
9	Stanford	18
10	Baylor	16
11	South Carolina	11
12	Arizona State	7
12	Wisconsin	7
14	LSU	5
15	Northern Illinois	4
16	Oregon	3
16	Fresno State	3

COMMENTS

• It’s interesting how the number of voters has steadily dwindled this season, yet the ballot distribution remains credible.
• Conference breakdown:  SEC – 5; Pac-12 – 3; Big Ten – 3; Big 12 – 2; ACC – 2; MAC – 1; MWC – 1.

My Mumme Poll ballot, Week 13

Man, the Pac-12 isn’t making it easy, is it.  Here’s my top ten for this week (*tiebreaker):

• Alabama
• Arizona State
• Auburn
• Baylor
• Clemson
• FSU*
• Missouri
• Ohio State
• Oklahoma State
• Stanford

Also considered:  Oregon, Wisconsin

Back to struggling.  With that road win over UCLA, I couldn’t leave Arizona State out of my top ten anymore.  And I couldn’t quite bring myself to vote Baylor out of the top ten for losing to a Oklahoma State team that lost to a West Virginia team that got waxed by the Bears.  That left me knocking Oregon and Wisconsin out, just barely.

If there’s any consolation, there are a bunch of huge games this week that should sort things out to some extent.  Of course, that’ll probably mean I’ll spend thirty minutes again putting a ballot together.

Mumme Poll, Week 12

Well, well, well… looky here. We’ve got a tie at number one.

Rank	Team	Votes (Top pick)
1	Alabama	28 (13)
1	Florida State	28 (13)
3	Baylor	28 (2)
4	Ohio State	27 (0)
5	Clemson	26 (0)
5	Missouri	26 (0)
7	Oregon	24 (0)
8	Auburn	23 (0)
9	Michigan State	18 (0)
10	Oklahoma State	15 (0)
11	Wisconsin	8 (0)
12	South Carolina	7 (0)
12	Texas A&M	7 (0)
14	Arizona State	4 (0)
14	Stanford	4 (0)
16	Fresno State	3 (0)
17	LSU	2 (0)
17	Northern Illinois	2 (0)

COMMENTS

• Can’t say there’s anything particularly shocking in the results – Baylor flips with Ohio State in the polls from what we’ve got and we like Michigan State more than the pollsters do, but that’s about it.
• Conference make up:  SEC – 6; Pac-12 – 3; Big Ten – 3; Big 12 – 2; ACC – 2; MAC – 1; MWC – 1.

My Mumme Poll ballot, Week 12

One big upset in last week’s top ten, so there’s change this week. (*tiebreaker)

• Alabama
• Auburn
• Baylor
• Clemson
• FSU*
• Missouri
• Ohio State
• Oklahoma State
• Oregon
• Wisconsin

Also considered:  Arizona State, Stanford, Texas A&M

By the narrowest of margins, I went with Auburn.  Arizona State’s played well and was a close call, but the Sun Devils lost to Stanford.  It’s certainly possible that I may be treating a Stanford squad that’s notched a bunch of impressive wins over ranked teams unfairly.  But Auburn’s starting to get that team of destiny smell around it and I had a hard time ignoring that.

I struggled with that last pick, no question, and wound up spending about twenty-five minutes putting this week’s ballot together.

Mumme Poll, Week 11

No change at the top.  But it’s closer.

Rank	Team	Votes (Top pick)
1	Alabama	29 (16)
2	Florida State	29 (12)
3	Stanford	29 (0)
3	Oregon	29 (0)
5	Missouri	28
6	Baylor	27
7	Ohio State	27
8	Auburn	23
8	Clemson	23
10	Michigan State	10
11	Oklahoma State	8
12	Texas A&M	7
12	South Carolina	7
14	Wisconsin	5
15	Fresno State	3
16	Arizona State	2
17	LSU	1
17	UCLA	1
17	Georgia	1
17	Northern Illinois	1

COMMENTS:

• We like Michigan State a lot more than the pollsters do.
• We like Ohio State a lot less than the pollsters do.
• Conference breakdown:  SEC – 7; Pac-12 – 4; Big Ten – 3; ACC – 2; Big 12 – 2; MAC – 1; MWC – 1

My Mumme Poll ballot, Week 11

Another week of the more things change, the more they stay the same. (*tiebreaker)

• Alabama
• Baylor
• Clemson
• FSU*
• Missouri
• Ohio State
• Oklahoma State
• Oregon
• Stanford
• Wisconsin

Also considered:  Arizona State, Auburn

This week was the easiest one I’ve had this season.  Even my “also considered” list shortened.  Less than fifteen minutes to put the ballot together.