The difference is that the AP poll is a biased poll that is biased against teams outside major media markets. The Sagarin rankings are more objective. The fact that the Utes are as high as they are in the final AP poll is because they beat an AP darling, USC, twice. Texas’ ranking also reflects their position as an AP darling, more than their achievement.
It’s interesting how Sagarin has the PAC 12 teams ranked v. the A.P. No take on this. I’m just distributing the information.
A.P.
#8 Washington
#10 Utah
#12 USC
#15 Oregon
#17 Oregon State
#21 UCLA
Sagarin
#7 Utah
#12 Oregon State
#13 Washington
#15 Oregon (same as A.P.)
#18 USC
#28 UCLA
#43 Washington State
The final Jeff Sagarin ranking has Utah even higher at #7. One ahead of Texas (5 losses) and two ahead of TCU. It just goes to show how different the computers view each school/team v. the human element. They are both important, however, I take more stock in the Sagarin.
Given what Utah is coming back with, the 2023 team should be highly respected and very competitive (the key: stay healthy). That is all I’m going to say about this coming season because Utah’s schedule is bruuuuuutal.
Utah has actually played a more difficult schedule than Penn State per Sagarin:
Utah #40
Penn State #45
If you dive deeper into the stats, the two teams are very similar. Both have top 20 defenses. Utah’s offense is better. But, having Dalton out neutralizes that advantage somewhat. Losing CPIII sucks, but may not end up mattering because Clifford isn’t a prolific passer. Penn State fans constantly complain about him. They like to run the ball, which aligns more with Utah’s strength.
I expect it to be a good game.
You’re the only person I’ve ever come across who references Massey….Most people reference Sagarin for SOS & that’s the one I’ll stick with.
Sagarin ranks our SOS #40 & theirs #45….Their best win was at unranked Purdue, 35-31.
Deep down I know that, im just being paranoid. Hell, Colorado is 141st in Sagarin and im worried about all of the things we need happening and then us losing to Colorado.
SP+ gives them a 36% of winning the pac 12, best in the conference. As a side note, Florida is back up to 21st in sagarin. We should have won that game, sure, but its not nearly as bad of a loss as it appears to be on the surface. Florida can be really good, especially at home. Nevertheless, a big missed opportunity, and we are 2-2 against the top 30 while we very much could be 3-1
SP+ has Utah by 25. Sagarin has Utah by 18 on a neutral. I agree I dont feel confident in that. Hell im not confident in a win if Cam doesnt go. This largely lands on Jayden de Laura though. He can go from amazing to awful and back again 3 times in a single series.
