I hate polls and the use of polls to determine championships and I just can’t believe the Big 12 thought it wise to allow the BCS to determine their teams in the league championship game. But anyway, it’s fun to dig in and see how folks actually voted. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg responded to a question in his Mailbag post and suspects old Rich Rod took a shot across the bow at the Spartans:
Matt from Midland, Mich., writes: How could Rich Rodriguez put Northwestern at 16 and Michigan State at 18 if MSU won by 17 at Northwestern, they both lost to Ohio State but Northwestern lost to Indiana who MSU beat, so MSU has a better Big Ten record too?
Adam Rittenberg: It’s an interesting placement, to say the least. Michigan State also beat Michigan by more than Northwestern did (14 vs. 7). I know Rodriguez has more of a connection to Northwestern’s staff through his offensive system, which Northwestern implemented almost verbatim after former coach Randy Walker and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson visited Rodriguez at Clemson in 2000. But it’s hard not to see this as a dig at intrastate rival Michigan State.
The answer is……whatever. He probably had Barwis fill the thing out anyway.
