Poll Position

Most people have trouble admitting mistakes. But apparently some of the college coaches and sports reporters who vote in the weekly college football polls really don't like to swallow their pride. This week, West Virginia only dropped seven spots after losing to a Louisville team with an offense that is as dynamic as its defense is porous.

The Mountaineers showed they can compete on the biggest of stages and probably shouldn't be punished too severely for the 44-34 defeat they suffered on Thursday. But do they really deserve to be ranked one spot ahead of Arkansas, the only squad that has remained undefeated in the brutal Southeastern Conference?

Surely not. The Razorbacks' only loss this year came against Southern California in the first game of the season. Meanwhile, Arkansas has defeated No. 5 Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium and hung on for a close 26-20 win at South Carolina on Saturday. West Virginia, on the other hand, competes in the decidedly mediocre Big East Conference and has played some rather weak competition. Victories over Marshall, Mississippi State and Syracuse offer no proof that the Mountaineers are worthy of being listed among college football's elite teams.

However, the voters don't seem to care because West Virginia was ranked fifth before the season began and Arkansas wasn't even on the national radar in August. History has shown a team that has been given a certain position in the preseason rankings is handed a much longer leash by the media and the coaches alike when the actual games begin. In other words, you really have to mess up in order to fall far in the polls if you were predicted to be among the best programs in the nation that year. It's why Auburn remains ranked ahead of Arkansas, despite the fact that the Tigers were manhandled by the Razorbacks, 27-10.

We all know college football has a flawed system. But it would be nice to see a little common sense every now and again.