Fun with the AP Poll

Just a note: Writing your picks in the comment section is NOT a valid entry. You must enter your picks using the form below or at this link.  Feel free to discuss your picks here, but you must submit the form in order to enter the contest.

[ED: Bump. Get your picks in!]

After a great first year of Pick Six on MGoBlog, we’re back by popular demand.  Unfortunately, we never had a results post in order to honor the original creators .  (The MGoBlog summary will be posted after Blue-Gray Sky releases their results from 2009)  This year I will be handling the technical details but we are going to have somebody else write the recaps.  If you are interested in the job of writing the weekly summaries send an email to mgoblog.picksix@gmail.com.

Onto the contest.  Here's how it works.

1. We divide the top 25 into 5 groups of 5 based on the preseason AP Poll: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, etc. For this year's poll, the groups are:

• A: Southern Cal, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon
• B: Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, South Carolina, Arkansas
• C: West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Clemson, Texas
• D: Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, TCU
• E: Stanford, Kansas State, Florida, Boise State, Louisville

2. Before the season starts you pick one team from each group, plus one unranked team. You're trying to pick the teams you think will finish highest in the final AP poll (after the bowl games).

3. Each week we'll try to update and publish the standings in a spreadsheet so you can track the progress of your teams. You get 25 points for having the #1 team, 24 points for the #2 team, on down to 1 point for the #25 team. Unranked teams get zero points.

4. The winner is the person with the most points (i.e. the highest ranked teams) after the bowl season.  The midseason standings are only for entertainment purposes.  Only the final AP poll counts.

5. And the grand prize?  I will personally give the winner 10 meaningless upvotes.  Plus, last year some guy named Brian offered a small prize.

Throughout the season someone will hopefully give regular updates on the progress of the contest in the Diaries.

That's it for the Pick Six: short, sweet and simple. The entry form closes on Thursday August 30 before the first kickoff, so get your picks in now. Good luck!

not sure if you guys have already been aware of who votes on the AP Poll, and who they vote for each week - AP and was able to find who votes, what state they are associated with and what they're individual poll is.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/top25_front/voters.html?SITE...

I was reading an article on ESPN, and was directed to a link which allows you to see the individual polls of all 60 voters. The state of Michigan has 2 people voting, Angelique Chengelis (The Detroit News) and Joe Rexrode (Lansing State Journal). Angelique has Michigan ranked 22, Rexrode has them ranked 24. Michigan clocked in at #23 in the poll.

Here is the link- http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/top25_front/voters.html?SITE=AP

After looking at all of the polls here are some quick observations.

-Michigan was ranked in 46 of 60 polls. 6 Southern polls, 3 Western polls, 4 Midwest Polls, and 1 East Poll (W.Virginia FWIW) excluded them.
-They got some nice national love. Of the 4 national media members with votes, all of them ranked Mich. Craig James (ABC) and Tom Hart (CBS CSN) had them ranked 12th and 11th respectively.
-Doug Lesmerises (Clev, OH) had Mich ranked 10th

Just thought this was a fun way to see how people around the country view different teams. I really wish this was the case with the Coaches Poll too.