2023 Mumme Poll, Week 14

As expected, Georgia’s loss put a damper on participation this week.  258 ballots were cast, with an average of 5.3 teams appearing on them.

Also as expected, our top 25 had a shakeup at the top.

Tidbits:

• Only one team wound up on more than 90% of the ballots.
• Only six wound up on at least 50% of the ballots. In the end, we’re not big fans of a 12-team playoff this season.

A reminder of the selection committee’s final top 25:

Well, we don’t see eye to eye on the playoff field, do we?  (Or on Clemson and Tennessee being included in the top 25.  But I digress.)  And not just the overall makeup — we’ve got Washington and Michigan flipped in order.

I curious what y’all think of that.  Peyton thinks our results, in the end, are more logical than the committee’s and while I don’t necessarily disagree with that, it does seem like a very low bar to cover.

The committee, you may remember, fussed over their choices quite a while; I think Boo Corrigan noted that they went over the top four picks something like eight times before finalizing them.  Compare that with what we did.

The contrast could hardly be greater.

Conference affiliation saw the SEC remain on top.

Geographic participation saw a very slight decline in Georgia’s numbers, to 62.8%.

The answers to this week’s security question come as no surprise to me.

Although I wonder what they might have looked like if we had asked that question before the SECCG.  I guess the good news is that there’s less pressure on Kirby next season.  (That’s a joke, folks.)

That brings the 2023 Mumme Poll to a conclusion.  I hope it’s been as enlightening for you as it always is for me.  I do want to take this moment to thank Peyton once again for his contribution in making this happen.  I just direct traffic; he does the grunt work to get the numbers to tally.

That’s all, peeps.

My 2023 Mumme Poll Week 14 ballot

Welp, there are no undefeated teams with a net ypp of 2.0+, so I had to go to Plan B.  I looked at the net ypp for the field of undefeated and one-loss teams in the playoff hunt.  They are as follows:

• Florida State (1.74)
• Michigan (1.85)
• Washington (1.68)
• Alabama (1.42)
• Georgia (2.29)
• Ohio State (2.47)
• Texas (1.61)

I used the lowest net ypp of the undefeated teams as a base line.  That was Washington’s 1.68.  I then struck the two one-loss teams that were underneath that figure.  That gave me a final ballot of…

• Florida State
• Georgia
• Michigan
• Ohio State
• Washington

As a reminder, I’m not picking teams to flesh out a CFP field.  I’m attempting to vote for the best teams in the country.  I think running the table is a valid consideration and so is a net ypp over 2.0.  Both are criteria that give weight to a meaningful regular season, which is how I believe you have to evaluate which teams are best.

I’m sure minds, reasonable or otherwise, will differ, but that’s how I went about my business this week.

2023 Mumme Poll Week 14 ballot link

At last, the end is near, yada, yada, yada.  I do dread the inevitable drop off in participation after a Georgia loss, so I hope this last vote of the 2023 season (particularly when you consider I may not bring the MP back next year) is an exception to the rule.

Here’s the link to the Week 14 ballot.  You have until midnight tomorrow to place your vote.

2023 Mumme Poll, Week 13

Participation came roaring back this week, with 345 people casting votes.  The average number of teams on a ballot was 6.4.  Here’s our top 25:

Tidbits:

• And there it is!  For the first time all season, Georgia is a unanimous selection.
• With their defeat of Ohio State, Michigan cleared the 90% threshold this week.
• And FSU returned to our top four.
• ‘Bama dropped a spot, as Oregon jumped a couple of places in the queue.
• We still have seven teams appearing on over 50% of the ballots, which has been consistent for several weeks now.

Here’s the selection committee’s top 25.

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This week, the top five in both sets of rankings are identical in teams and their order.  The big difference in the two’s top tens are our inclusion of Liberty instead of the selection committee’s choice of Penn State.  Other than that, the lists are fairly similar, although I continue to be amused by the committee’s love of Tennessee.

What about the time, you ask?  We were ever so slightly more deliberate this week.

But compared to the amount of time the committee consumes (wastes?), we moved at lightning speed.

The SEC maintained its small lead in conference affiliation.

Geographic participation remained steady, with Georgia voters comprising 63.2% of the voting pool.

And as for the security question…

About what I expected.

Okay, so we’re down to the end for this season — one last ballot to cast after the conference championship games are in the books, and that will close the door on the 2023 edition of the Mumme Poll.  As far as the future goes, I’ve already mentioned that I’m not sure there’s much point to the MP with CFP expansion coming next season, especially given the format they’ve chosen, so I’ll study my navel during the offseason and maybe we’ll discuss it.

My Week 13 Mumme Poll ballot

A funny thing happened on my way to this week’s ballot casting.  First, Ohio State lost (okay, that wasn’t funny), and that was followed by Michigan’s (1.95) and Washington’s (1.85) net ypp figures getting hammered below 2.0.  FSU’s net ypp remains under 2.0 (1.81).

As a result, my ballot field of undefeated teams with a net ypp of 2.0+ is now populated by a group of one:  Georgia (2.42).  And that’s how I voted.

2023 Mumme Poll Week 13 ballot link

  Rivalry Week is in the books, meaning we’re on to the penultimate ballot cast now.  We’ll have one final vote next week after the championship games are played and that’ll be it.

Here’s the link to this week’s ballot.  As always, make sure you vote before Monday midnight.

2023 Mumme Poll, Week 12

  Gosh, was it something I said?  Participation this week plummeted to 281 voters.  One week to go in the regular season, peeps, so let’s see if we can swing that back in the other direction.

Anyhoo, here’s our latest top 25:

Tidbits:

• There are still a couple of voters who aren’t swayed by Georgia’s play, so, as has been the case all season, there isn’t a team on 100% of the ballots cast.
• Georgia and Ohio State continue to stand alone at over 90% of the ballots.
• This week, it’s Michigan back in the top four and FSU out.
• One thing that’s remained consistent is seven teams clearing the 50% threshold.  (Average number of teams appearing on a ballot:  6.9.)

Time to compare our work with the selection committee’s.

While the order isn’t identical, this marks the first week where our top four teams match.  We like ‘Bama more than the selection committee does; they like Oklahoma a lot more than we do.  I mocked the inclusion of Tennessee in their top 25 last night.  It’s still funny this morning.  Liberty finally cracked their top 25, although barely.

As far as I’m concerned, Tennessee alone makes our list more credible than theirs.  Also, this.

We’re actually getting more efficient with our time as the season progresses.  Take that, committee.

The SEC has reopened a slight lead in conference affiliation this week.

Geographic participation showed the Georgia contingent raising their percentage to 65.1%, so I guess it was the out of staters who didn’t show up to vote.

This week’s question asked whether you thought Georgia Tech would score on their first series Saturday.  Overwhelmingly, you guys think the defense gets its shit together.

That’s it for this week.  Only two more voting weeks left!

2023 Mumme Poll, my Week 12 ballot

  One more week of no change:

• Georgia (2.47)
• Michigan (2.22)
• Ohio State (2.60)
• Washington (2.02)

Something’s gotta give this week, though, as Michigan and Ohio State face off.  Not to mention Washington’s net ypp number grows shakier by the week.

2023 Mumme Poll Week 12 ballot link

It’s hard to believe the end of the regular season is almost upon us, but there it is.  Here is the link to this week’s ballot.

As always, please cast your vote before midnight tomorrow.

2023 Mumme Poll, Week 11

  I’m impressed, you guys.  Participation increased for the second straight week after a season’s low, to 355 voters.  Yay you!

Here’s the MP top 25:

Random tidbits:

• Georgia appeared on all but one voter’s ballot.
• Only two teams cleared the 90% threshold this week.
• Washington and FSU flipped positions from the week before.
• Still seven teams appearing on over half the ballots cast.  (This week, the average number of teams on a ballot was 7.3.)

And here’s what the selection committee, in their infinite wisdom, came up with for their top 25:

They like Michigan over Washington.  We’re still loyal to James Madison.  Ditto for Liberty.  Other than that, while there are slight variations in order, we’re both seeing most of the same teams in our rankings.

This made me chuckle:

The somehow universally backloaded college football schedule is killing the enthusiasm for these pointless rankings.

Congratulations to the committee on their hotel/airline points. https://t.co/ayVlDWJePP

— David Ubben (@davidubben) November 15, 2023

Dude, the only people enthused over the selection committee’s works some folks at ESPN and in the national media who have something to bloviate about.  As far as hotel/airline points go, we keep showing week after week that there is a better way.

Conference affiliation is close to a dead heat at the top.

State participation held steady, with Georgians casting 61.7% of the voting.

As far as us spending money at the CFP, it sounds like most will be staying home to watch the games in Section HD.

Honestly, that surprised me a little.  Are we starting to get jaded about Georgia’s success?  Or just running out of money to spend on entertainment?