Perception Matters In The Polls

Week two of the AP Coaches Poll and USA Today Poll showed just how much perceptions matter.

Penn State, soundly defeated by three touchdowns by #1 Alabama on the road, dropped four spots to No. 22 and six spots to No. 20 in the AP Poll and USA Today polls, respectively. The week before, as a reward for losing by three points in overtime on the road to Utah, Pitt fell a whopping 13 spots in the AP poll and 14 spots in the USA Today poll.

That Utah loss, by the way, is looking less and less like a bad one each day. Utah is 2-0 and up to No. 14 in both polls.

After winning against New Hampshire this weekend, Pitt moved to 1-1, but couldn't get back into the polls. In the AP Poll, they were even leapfrogged by Oregon State, who is 0-1 and was idle this weekend. Pitt had no movement in the USA Today poll, remaining at #30. Winning against New Hampshire is far from a quality win, but it was mildly surprising to see the team fall in one poll and not move up at all in the other.

This isn't to say that Penn State should have fallen further for losing by such a wide margin to the nation's best team. Rather, it's to point out that in terms of perception, Pitt still has a long way to go in order to please voters.

West Virginia also moved up slightly after its narrow win against Marshall. The Mountaineers are No. 21 in both polls and remain the polls' only Big East representative.

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Here's a look at both polls.