College Football Ranking Myths

Columbus, OH – There aren't many Buckeye football fans in Columbus disagreeing with the way the two teams were selected for Juanuary 7th's national title game. Ohio State will play L.S.U. in New Orleans. But in a season that has already had its share of upsets, last Saturday's losses by number one Missouri, and number two West Virginia sent the college football world into a frenzy. A new study suggests things could be worse because some often held truths are in fact mere myths. Ohio State University assistant economics professor Trevon Logan studied the Associated Press poll results for 25 of college football's most prominent programs between 1980 and 2004. Logan tells Mike Foley the research found teams are not punished by pollsters for losing late in the season; there's no benefit to playing and beating stronger oponents, and the margin of victory matters little when it comes to polls.