Whose Number One?*

Whose number one? Our number one, of course. Number one what? Number one Division I volleyball team. Well, who is number one? The past week featured losses by Nebraska (0-3 to Texas) and Stanford (1-3) to USC, which were sure to stir things up. Sure enough, the rankings came out and the decision was un-unanimous:

RichKern.com Poll = Nebraska
RKPI = Stanford
ACVA Coaches Poll = Penn State
Pablo = Nebraska
(A)rfda!s Dead Dog’s Poll = Washington

Let’s examine these rankings in more detail, shall we? Oh, yes, we shall. I may even gripe about them. After all, it’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to.

Right off the bat, we’re tempted to throw out the dead dog’s poll (lack of emphasis mine). His blatant bias for all things canine would be laughable if there weren’t so many people out there taking him seriously. On the other hand, it gives us a fourth team to talk about and variety is always good -- except perhaps in Dick Cheney’s Chamber of Doom.

The most exciting ranking of the week is, without a doubt, the AVCA poll. Exciting, that is, in the way that Consumer Satisfaction Surveys can be thrilling to a very, very narrow segment of the population. Four teams split the 60 first-place votes this week, with the Nittany Lions edging out the Cornhuskers 26-25. In addition, Texas (with 5 votes) and Washington (with 4 votes) were the favorites of the remaining coaches. The result of all this collective dithering was that the Penn Staters also squeaked by the Nebraskateers in total points, 1455 to 1444, and were thus awarded the #1 ranking and all the parting gifts which come with it. Five teams are now within 220 points of that #1 ranking, however -- by far the closest bunching of the year. To top that off, #7 through #10 are separated by less than 100 points.

“That guy Pablo on Rich Kern’s website” has crunched his numbers (the Pablo Ranking) and concluded that Nebraska and Texas, separated by a mere 50 points, are the crème de la crème, or, as we put it in the good ol’ USA, the pick of the mother cat’s offspring. Washington, Stanford and Penn State are also in the general neighborhood, while USC appears to have been placed in a different zip code area altogether. Take it up with Pablo, Mick.

Then there’s that Rich Kern on Rich Kern’s website whose faux RPI, the RKPI, has spat out The Cardinal as the #1 team in the land. It’s heady stuff, but if you have the subscription and the time here’s the link where he shows his work. Personally, I think he forgot to carry the “2”, but whatever.

http://www.richkern.com/vb/rankings/TeamSheet.asp?Div=DI&VBYear=2007&abbr=stan

Also at Rich Kern’s website is the RichKern.com Poll, compiled from the rankings of up to 14 volleyball fans from around the country. This would-be People's Poll also has Nebraska as #1.

Last, and definitely least, is the aforementioned Dead Dog’s Poll, which is based on whether or not the team mascot is some sort of dog. Washington comes in at #1 this week. Take it up with (A)rfda!, Mick.

So what does this all mean? I wish I knew. I’m just giving you the facts, ma’am, just the facts. You want meaning? Wander on over to my What’s It All About, (A)rfda! blog.




*Ha! Betcha thought I made a mistacke!