Poll bias against Huskers?

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Stepperbob

New member
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!

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

 
We have been overrated a ton in recent years too, on a week-to-week basis. I know we complain about schools like Oklahoma and USC and Texas being overrated all the time, but that's what you get with a big brand name. We get it as well.

 
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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.

 
You have to look at the teams that nebraska lost to most of the time it was from teams that were ranked higher then they were thats why they were ranked that high at the end of the season.

 
Going to have to agree with accountability on this one. As much as it pains me to say that...
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HeyBakerMark said:
Stepperbob said:
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!
Click to expand...
Nice "forst" post! Welcome to the board! No issues with your post.
Click to expand...
Forst (brewery), a brewing company from Forst (Foresta) in South Tyrol, Italy.Forst, an album by the Austrian slowcore band Mimi Secue released 2004

 
tschu said:
We have been overrated a ton in recent years too, on a week-to-week basis. I know we complain about schools like Oklahoma and USC and Texas being overrated all the time, but that's what you get with a big brand name. We get it as well.
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it is easy to say someone is overrated after they lose or if you know the team in and out, but generally the fact is that there just are not many teams better. the rankings are fluid and always playing catch-up (even though they start right after the previous season). big name schools get the benefit of the doubt, but a lot of times there is also a compelling argument for their place and less of one for the teams behind.

other than that, i really do not get the point of this thread.

 
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I would say the with our B1G CCG blowout, the BCS was VERY kind with ranking us #16 still. AP was more correct with their #21 ranking (IIRC that was the ranking. It was in the 20's)

 
I think our feelings of media/poll bias comes to us when we see all of these non-traditional teams ranked ahead of us. We perceive that they are the flavor of the month and how dare they step on our traditional power parade by being ranked ahead of us. Teams like BSU, Louisville, Okla State, Rutgers, TCU, WV, etc are some teams that have been ranked ahead of us in recent years. We want to point the finger (or maybe give the finger) to the polls when we need to realize that the old king 'has no clothes'. We haven't been as good in recent years as our tradition would have us believe. I'm hoping (but am careful of the kool aid) that our performance on the field next year will match our expectations and the polls will follow & perceive NU to be worthy of a high ranking.

 
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