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Holy Toledo: Football Poll Arrives
Published: 8/7/2009 9:03 AM
Last Modified: 8/7/2009 9:03 AM


Bob Stoops. Cory Young / Tulsa World

Some observations from the just-released preseason USA Today coaches poll:
--Oklahoma is No. 3 and Oklahoma State is No. 11 (two spots higher than season-opening opponent Georgia).
--Three Conference USA teams got votes, but Tulsa -- which is coming off a school-record 11-victory season -- was not one of them. C-USA's vote-getting squads were Southern Miss, East Carolina and Houston.
Tulsa opens the season against a coach (Tulane's Bob Toledo) who is among the 59 voters. That means if TU coaches want to manufacture bulletin board material, they can tell players that Toledo doesn't believe the Hurricane is top 25 material (never mind that no other voter believed it, either).
--Because of preseason rankings, Sept. 5 can be touted as a historic day. Never before -- at least according to my research material -- have OU and OSU opened a season when both -- and both of their opponents -- were ranked in the preseason poll. OSU faces No. 13 Georgia in Stillwater. OU plays No. 24 BYU at JerryWorld.
--Michigan got fewer votes than Michigan State and Central Michigan. Ouch.
--Four Big 12 teams are ranked, with Texas being the highest at No. 2. No. 24 Nebraska is the North Division's lone ranked team. Kansas got the most votes of any team outside the top 25.
--No Big East team was ranked in the top 25. USA Today did a story on how this is the first time that a league with an automatic bid to a BCS bowl does not have a team ranked in preseason. The WAC, Mountain West and C-USA should be pitching a fit about BCS access.
--Big 12 coaches who participate in the poll are Colorado's Dan Hawkins, Texas Tech's Mike Leach, Nebraska's Bo Pelini, Missouri's Gary Pinkel, Texas A&M's Mike Sherman and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops.
--C-USA coaches who vote are Toledo, Rice's David Bailiff, UAB's Neil Callaway, Southern Miss' Larry Fedora, Houston's Kevin Sumlin and Memphis' Tommy West.
--South Carolina's Steve Spurrier is a voter. Hopefully, he learned from the Tim Tebow All-SEC fiasco and will actually fill out his own ballot instead of having a lackey do it for him.
--Also voting: Louisville and former TU coach Steve Kragthorpe, plus new Toledo head coach and former OSU defensive coordinator Tim Beckman. Not voting is Howard Schnellenberger, who has been accused of sticking it to former employer Oklahoma on past ballots.


Reader Comments 1 Total
Steff M (4 years ago)
It looks like you're praying or something in your picture. Just out of curiosity what is the reason you have your hands over your mouth? An attempt to look serious? Inexperienced photographer? Witness protection rule? Just giving you a hard time. But seriously.

For sure on the Big LEast. The BCS is such a wonderful thing.
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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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