This is why Steve Sarkisian doesn't vote in the college football coaches poll
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In a different era, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian would make time to vote in the coaches poll. But now, with the College Football Playoff in place, the poll simply isn't relevant enough.
It's not that he doesn't see the value in the coaches poll, and for that matter, the Associated Press Top 25, but since neither are used to help determine the national champion anymore, they've lost their luster in his eyes.
"It's a whole different game now with the playoff," he said. "The coaches poll, I don't know what that means, quite frankly. You better try to be one of the top 12 teams when the (CFP selection) committee votes. If they're looking at the coaches poll, then shame on them, right? They have to go look at the tape and figure out who the best teams are."
The payoff of casting a vote in the poll and not having it directly affect the outcome of the season, like it used to, is what Sarkisian is talking about. The coaches poll began in 1950 by the United Press and helped determine a national champion through the Bowl Championship Series era, which ended in 2013 when the CFP was started. Now, it's just a talking point for media personalities and something for fans to argue about on social media.
Sarkisian would make time to vote in the coaches poll if it still helped determine a champ, he said. Between preparing for the game, playing the game, meeting with reporters and recruits, reviewing game tape, and then trying to find some time to see his family in between all of his other responsibilities, the coaches poll simply isn't a priority to him.
"If it were the old model, I would take the time and I would be a voter," he said. "This is a whole different era now."
This season, 72 coaches from around the country vote in the coaches poll. They are selected randomly out of a pool of coaches who have "indicated to the American Football Coaches Association their willingness to participate." Notable coaches who cast votes are Texas A&M's Mike Elko, Texas State's GJ Kinne, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, Baylor's Dave Aranda, Ohio State's Ryan Day, TCU's Sonny Dykes, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Georgia's Kirby Smart, to name a handful of them.
The Longhorns topped the preseason poll for the first time in program history upon its release Aug, 4, and they were No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 when it was released a week later, also for the first time. Sarkisian was candid with reporters when asked if the rankings meant anything to him, calling them "irrelevant" from the perspective of how he runs his program, but he also said they still serve a purpose.
"It's great for the fans and the exposure of college football," he said. "It's great for the first game of the year and what the matchup looks like. I think there are three top-10 matchups in the first weekend, what an exciting weekend for our sport. So that part is exciting, but if you ask every coach around the country, they will tell you the exact same thing."