sleeper;1335445 wrote:The point is you have media hype ranking teams pre-season and then creating a self-fulfilling prophecy based on absolutely nothing. The facts here are irrelevant.
You would be correct, if teams weren't penalized for losses. What was Notre Dame ranked to begin the season? Where did Arkansas (your example) end up after their loss(es)?
Aside from that, there are two parts to the "hype". One is the AP Poll, which you've stated in the past is irrelevant. That is the media poll, so that hype shouldn't be on your radar.
The other is the BCS. One part of the equation is the coaches poll. Coaches aren't media. A better argument for bias there would be the interests of one's own conference, but it's spread pretty evenly, so, everyone gets their own chance to be biased and it all balances out. Another part of the equation is the Harris poll, which is pretty diverse and not really media related. You might say that they could be influenced by the media, but the poll doesn't start until nearly halfway through the season...which is exactly what you are asking for. Then there are the computers. Are they influenced by the media?