Special(ly Long) Report:  Ranking The Polls         (posted 8/28/08)

Ever wonder how voters are chosen and what they’re instructed to do?  Here is your chance to find out.  We contacted officials at the Associated Press (AP), USA Today, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Harris Interactive to find out how they conduct their polls and compare them to each other.  In typical Pollspeak fashion, we even rank their answers in each category.  Let’s see how they like it!  Read the full article on the FOOTBALL Page.

First Harris Interactive Poll - Sept. 28th  (posted 8/26/08)

Here's a quick update direct from Harris Interactive:  "The first Harris Interactive College Football Poll (HICFP) results are slated to be released on September 28, 2008." 

So a full month of games will be played before we see their first rankings, and, yes, the ballots will once again be secret except the last poll of the season.  If you want to see public ballots in the future, which would allow Pollstalker to work with the Harris Interactive and Coaches' polls, please sign the PETITION.

AP Poll:  Does It Need More Voters?  Also, Herbstreit:  A National Fugitive Hiding Somewhere in Ohio?  (posted 8/24/08)

Today we turn to the AP Poll in part two of our series covering voter changes and demographics in the polls.  See Pollspeak’s previous article on the Coaches’ Poll below.  It’s more difficult to spot regional bias in the AP Poll than in the Coaches’ Poll.  We’re not saying that bias doesn’t exist, but the potential for it is just much less transparent.  Read the full article on the FOOTBALL page.

Big 10 Has The Edge In Coaches' Poll (posted 8/22/08)

As part of our preseason analysis of the polls, we look at who's doing the voting.  We compare the voters from last year to this year and point out who's left and who's new.  We’ll also look at potential regional or conference biases.  We’ll begin the series with the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.  Read the full article on the FOOTBALL page.

Interview with Taylor Zarzour (posted 8/19/08)

Pre-Season AP Poll Released (posted 8/16/08)

AP Poll News (posted 8/7/08)

• "Base your vote on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation.
• Avoid regional bias, for or against. Your local team does not deserve any special handling when it comes to your ballot.
• Pay attention to head-to-head results, and
• Don’t hesitate to make significant changes in your ballot from week to week. There’s no rule against jumping the 16th-ranked team over the eighth-ranked team, if No. 16 is coming off a big victory and No. 8 just lost 52-6 to a so-so team."

We at Pollspeak are very happy to see these guidelines published.  Thank you Mr. Wilner.  We have not yet been able to obtain a copy of the 2007 guidelines, but we have received conflicting information, with more than one AP voter saying they don't remember seeing them last year and one saying that the guidelines are the same with the exception of the first one "Base your vote on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation," which is a new addition.  We were also told the guidelines state that voters "can't be in the booster club of any school." If anybody can provide Pollspeak with an actual copy of the guidelines, please send them to admin@pollspeak.com.  Meanwhile a request has been sent to the AP.

We at Pollspeak would like to think that our reporting has had some influence on the AP guidelines, but we will continue our investigation.  One suggestion we will make to the AP in the future is that all voters should be required to acknowledge receipt and understanding of the guidelines in writing.

Pre-Season Coaches' Poll Released (posted 8/1/08)

Pollspeak Seeking Writers, Researchers, Marketing Help (posted 4/7/08)

Pollstalker Now Supports Baseball (posted 3/5/08)

Pollspeak Reports to the AP, USA Today, Harris Interactive and BCS Released (posted 1/22/08)

The Harris Interactive Poll - What You Don’t Know(posted 12/19/07)

We’re going to shy away from the typical Bad/Good Voter premise with the Harris Interactive Poll. Most of our readers have gotten comfortable with Pollstalker by now and can tell for themselves who the most extreme voter is, etc. (Okay, it’s Bobby Aillet). Instead, we’ll point out some of the differences between this poll and the others. We can’t guarantee that you don’t know these things already, but if you do know, please tell us what happened to the missing ballots....READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE FOOTBALL PAGE (week 15). 

The Coaches' Perspective (posted 12/12/07)

Since this is the first time we get to see the Coaches' ballots all season, this column will be a bit different. The Coaches' Perspective is part analysis and a large part opinion and guess-work. It is generally accepted that coaches are going to be biased when they fill out their ballots. After all, they have a vested interest in how the polls turn out. Besides, the polls are secret for all but the last week, so who would ever know? In fact, if coaches aren't biased, fans could argue that they aren't doing their job as coach. A better argument is: why would you let the most inherently biased group of people vote in a poll with so much at stake...let alone secretly? It's like having the prisoners run the parole board....  READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE FOOTBALL PAGE (week 15).