another loss and dropping in the polls doesn’t improve you position (unless they drop below you, and even then it’s only one spot).

But even though Vandy’s biggest victory by far just got a little bit less pretty with Bama’s second loss, they moved UP essentially 5 spots in the coaches poll (from 30th by votes, to actually ranked #25).

I think it’s because Bama lost more than anything else.

Not many had any problem leaving them off their ballots last week and still having Bama in the top 10. It was a freak loss for Bama who had a better overall record.

But now that Bama lost again, and their amazing win is somewhat degraded and that opponent has dropped below BYU et al., they’re suddenly making an appearance on most ballots.

I think it’s because with Bama’s second loss their nominal records are the same (5-2) also they also have a head-to-head victory. So it’s hard to keep Bama ranked with that second loss unless both losses are to a ranked team.

Ta-dah. Now Vanderbilt is ranked.

If we want to pretend that Bama deserves to be ranked in the top 20, Vanderbilt has to be on the list somewhere if their record is the same.

Thus, Bama’s loss helped Vandy more than a Bama win would have. Which isn’t how it should work.

My opinion anyway.