this may be the wrong place to offer such a thought as i don't want to hijack this thread.... feel free to move this
@ELA if this is the case...
i'm guessing this is how these folks believe the season will shake out, correct? this isn't delving into where they think the teams are right now (obviously preseason) in terms of development.
the reason i offer this is in my mind there are two distinct flavors of polls- there are the "where they're at" and the "where they'll land". yeah, they're related, but they are also distinct.
for instance- both Michigan and Ohio State have a leg up on the rest of the division as they meet late- when all cylinders are firing and bugs in the system are manifest as 'brain farts' instead... unless there are significant injuries, which brings the next point into play: schedule of critical opponents and where they land in the teams 'gelling process' of the season...
as example of that- some teams, by nature, don't require the 'gel', such as a Wiscy- they are going to play very close to fundamental pigskin if history tells us anything, making conservative moves and not necessarily relying on highly choreographed activities of so called 'skilled' positions. the choreography better describes the traditional attack of tOSU or what Purdue seems to be heading toward- they don't bang on all 8 until week 3 or 4- but by then they are a juggernaut.
ranking 'where we think the are now' early will absolutely benefit certain sets and schemes, and absolutely be detrimental to the more complicated schemes. they will catch up though...
i think my point is a weekly ranking 'power poll', if you would, is more valuable especially early... but... how does someone do a pre-season power poll?
just thinking....