Lonely Planet blog

Lonely Planet is creating a weekly Top 16 College Football Poll this fall to help right the wrongs of the USA’s best, and most irrational, sport: college football.

In college football’s premier ‘BCS’ division, 120 teams play 11 to 13 games. There are no playoffs, only cul-de-sac bowl games (like the grandmother of them all: the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama) and a lone ‘BCS championship’ game. Because so many teams never have the chance to play each other, the solution has been a flurry of competing, overlapping ‘polls’ who rank teams each week (like this one, and this one) — offering nitpicking demerits/rewards for ‘bad wins’ or ‘quality wins’ against ‘soft’ or ‘worthy’ opponents etc.

It’s sort of like that scoring error that allowed Paul Hamm beat the South Koreans in the 2004 Olympics.

Restless and innovative, Lonely Planet is assembling a serious group of actual college football fans who watch more games than most pollsters. We’ll vote on how good teams are week-to-week, then deem a national champion* before bowl season arrives.

Here’s our debut poll, featuring polling prowess of Ryan Ver Berkmoes (author of the Yukon, Bali, Netherlands), Karla Zimmerman (author of Nova Scotia, Amsterdam, Caribbean) and Robert Reid (US Travel Editor, author of Trans-Siberian, Colombia). The poll group will expand by week three.

1. Ohio State. If their special teams can start tackling, expect Buckeye in championship (again).
2. Alabama. Tide squashes Penn State, always helps having Steely Dan on your side (check 1:48 mark of this video)
3. Oregon. Tennessee brought lightning (game was delayed), Oregon brought a tidal wave of points.
4. Oklahoma. Longest home-field winning streak destroys Florida State, led by here/there Landry Jones and his wonderfully regrettable facial-hair decisions.
5. Texas. Oooh, last year’s runner-up takes a half to get past Wyoming. Maybe Mack Brown was finding space for Reggie Bush’s Heisman — which is never coming?
6. Nebraska. Five INTs in yawner over Idaho Vandals. We’ll see if Corn Nation can generate more offense when Texas comes.
7. Boise State/TCU (tie) Fitting that last year’s BCS-busters share a spot. And we really like the new unis guys!
9. Wisconsin. Badgers need fine-tuning before schedule gets serious — San Jose State racked up 300-plus yards. Quick question: who’d win in a fight, a badger or beaver?
10. LSU. Concerns loom: Only up 10-3 going into the fourth quarter — versus Vanderbilt? Maybe it’s time Les Miles changes name to Fewer?
11. Florida. In second half hosting South Florida, Gators start to shrug off ghost (and tears) of Timothy Tebow.
12. Arkansas. Mallet throws 400 yards — yeah, well Alabama in two weeks isn’t Louisiana-Monroe. Might help if Mallet grew a mullet.
13. Stanford. QB Luck not exactly living up to hype yet, but 35-0 shut-out at UCLA is sign that Cardinal continues rising.
14. Iowa. The perennial ‘what about us?’ under-achiever may just have break the BCS this year.
15. South Carolina. Props to Gamecock QB Garcia for his Jeff Bridges hair, a George Michael beard and age-35 looks.
16. Auburn. Might need to score at least a couple second-half points to beat Clemson next week.

* Each member of the champion team will receive a Lonely Planet College Football National Champion certificate — by mail.

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