Poll bias against Huskers?

[Foppa]

NONE. Maybe this has been covered in the past. But I've heard for so many years from so many fans that I did some research and confirmed that the polls are MORE THAN fair to Nebraska.

I looked at FINAL AP rankings from 1970 to present and found that multiple times the Huskers were the highest rated team with one, two, three and four losses. Like this:

1972 Final rank #4 Record 9-2-1 No two loss team was ranked higher

1973 #7 9-2-1 Again, no two loss team higher

1974 #9, 9-3 No three loss team higher

1976 #9, 9-3-1 Same as above

1981 #11, 9-3 Same as above

1984 #4, 10-2 No two loss team higher

1985 #11, 9-3 No three loss team higher

1986 # 5, 10-2 No two loss team higher

1987 #6, 10-2 Same as above

1996 #6, 10-2 Same as above

1998 #19, 9-4 No four loss team higher

2009 #14, 10-4 Same as above

And don't forget, Nebraska had a golden oportunity way back at the end of the 1981 season to be the forst National champion with TWO LOSSES!

You need to figure in when the 'ESPN' bias kicked in.

 

[Flood]

Good points in prior posts.

I also noticed, in most polls, we were in fact the best of those ranked around us. We DO get a favorable bias many times, but there is almost always a "BUT, Nebraska has done THIS before they lost", or, "The other teams near Nebraska in rankings lost to TWO unranked teams, instead of one. Even if NU lost big."

It's a funny and vague generalization that usually benefits the Huskers.

No complaints here.

And yes, it can be hard to stomach some schools being ranked higher. BSU has been particularly galling to me. We've all had this debate before, too, but if we could quantify BSU's competition level with any accuracy, I'd be happy to accord them legitimacy. It's almost impossible to make an objective judgment on that team, and their scheduling is responsible. It has benefited them, though.

Yay, offseason. Looking forward to the next season!

GBR!

 

[CornfedChris]

NONE. Maybe this has been covered in the past. But I've heard for so many years from so many fans that I did some research and confirmed that the polls are MORE THAN fair to Nebraska.

I looked at FINAL AP rankings from 1970 to present and found that multiple times the Huskers were the highest rated team with one, two, three and four losses. Like this:

1972 Final rank #4 Record 9-2-1 No two loss team was ranked higher

1973 #7 9-2-1 Again, no two loss team higher

1974 #9, 9-3 No three loss team higher

1976 #9, 9-3-1 Same as above

1981 #11, 9-3 Same as above

1984 #4, 10-2 No two loss team higher

1985 #11, 9-3 No three loss team higher

1986 # 5, 10-2 No two loss team higher

1987 #6, 10-2 Same as above

1996 #6, 10-2 Same as above

1998 #19, 9-4 No four loss team higher

2009 #14, 10-4 Same as above

And don't forget, Nebraska had a golden oportunity way back at the end of the 1981 season to be the forst National champion with TWO LOSSES!

Nice "forst" post! Welcome to the board! No issues with your post.

I think what he meant to say was "Frost".

 

[Touchdown Tommie]

Nebraska, for better or worse, has ridden a positive reputation many times in the polls.

Sort of like Notre Dame, to be honest.

It is good and bad, imho. It sure feels good to see them high in the polls, where I think they deserve to be every year. Provides a sense of pride for myself and other fans, and especially in state fans. When the team gets clobbered and reality sets in, it is a bummer, though.

NU has been an extraordinary team for decades, with only occasional downturns. I think some of the pollsters carry a bit of bias TOWARD NU because of this. Always thinking in the back of their mind, "Hey, its Nebraska. They could break out any year, any game." And they rank us, on average, 2-3 spots higher than other teams with similar prowess.

I suppose it has bit us a few times, too. Like playing a MNC because of a fluke and because we were overrated. Had we started that season a couple ranks lower, we probably wouldn't have been smoked in the MNC game. Is it better to play and get squashed in the MNC or not play at all?

We've debated these things repeatedly, but it's the off-season, so why not? As far as polls, I feel we've always gotten at least the rank we deserve and oftentimes a bit higher than deserved.

In no way is it sort of like ND!!! They are constantly overrated...when NU had its down years we were forgotten. ND had down years and they were constantly brought up...they were overhyped this year as well.