A Closer Look at the Coaches Poll

One of the coolest online graphics each year is the Coaches' Top 25 breakdown that the USA Today puts together after the final poll of the regular season. It's interesting to see how the 61 coaches vote in this poll -- which accounts for 1/3 of the vaunted BCS formula.

It's also interesting to see who's voting -- this year's panel of 61 includes 10 coaches no longer employed:

Terry Bowden, Clemson
Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State
Phil Fulmer, Tennessee
Joe Glenn, Wyoming
Rocky Long, New Mexico
Shane Montgomery, Miami of Ohio
Hal Mumme, New Mexico State
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
Ty Willingham, Washington
and Joe Tiller, Purdue (retired)

The panel of 61 includes seven coaches apiece from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and MAC (!); six from the ACC; five from the Pac-10 and Conference USA; four from the Sun Belt, Mountain West, Big East and WAC; and good ole Notre Dame. Given that it's uneven, I thought it'd be interesting to see how parochial is voting by the coaches in each conference -- i.e. did the Big 12 coaches elevate Oklahoma and Texas over Florida in the hopes of getting two teams in the title game.

Each conference will be its own post. Enjoy!