Bowl Championship Series

As a native Detroiter and life long fan of the Maize and Blue, I am disappointed that the Michigan Wolverines will not be playing for the national championship. Not that I wanted to see a rematch against the Ohio State Buckeyes. I'm disappointed Michigan did not beat Ohio State in their annual rivalry game. That said, the Ohio State vs. Florida matchup in the championship game should be OK.

Here's what I don't get. The BCS rankings are determined using several polls and a computer ranking formula that considers things like strength of schedule. The USA Today/Coaches Poll is among the factors in the formula. Throughout the season, the college football coaches across the country vote weekly on the Top 25 teams. Their votes remain secret. However, when the final poll is taken, the votes are made public. Why?

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel did not vote in the final poll citing his desire not to play a role in influencing which team his Buckeyes would face in the championship game. While some have criticized him for not voting, I think he did the right thing. What I want to know is why it's suddenly so important that we know how each coach votes in the final poll if it wasn't important that we know how each coach voted in the previous polls throughout the season?

Oh, Good Evening!