Journalistic Integrity in College Football: Part 1 of 853

It should be pointed out that weighty subject matter like journalistic integrity should be reserved for issues of great social import.

And really, what is more important then college football?

On a related note, stay tuned. Next week, I'll draw a correlation between the separation of church and state and the creation of the Coastal and Atlantic divisions in the ACC.

College football's dependence on the media is unparalleled when it comes to determining it's champion. There is simply no other sport in this country that relies as heavily on the media's opinions. Therefore, it is necessary to keep checks and balances in place as it relates to the media that covers college football.

I'll give an example. Let's say that one such check is espn.com's Mark Schlabach, a University of Georgia graduate, bonafide homer, and a senior contributor to the Worldwide Leader. The balance to Mr. Schlabach's regional pandering? Facts.

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others.

A complete and total lack of journalistic integrity as it relates to college football is what this series will attempt to uncover and highlight. And remember, if you see journalists running amok with a clear lack of integrity, act fast, duck and cover. The life you save could be your own.

As I have already mentioned Mr. Schlabach we'll use that as a starting point for this discussion.

Mark Schlaback's first 2008 Top 25 was released on May 9th. It featured Ohio State #1 and Georgia #2. His next Top 25 was released on June 25th. Amazingly, Georgia had overtaken Ohio State for the top spot. I went back and checked, Ohio State didn't lose any games and didn't even look bad in any games between May 9th and June 25th. To be fair though, neither did Georgia.

First off, we could get into the whole notion of what exactly a Preseason Poll is supposed to represent. Some people, including apparently Mark Schlabach are using this as some sort of prediction of how the season will end up. We know this because in his own bowl projections he has Ohio State playing UGA in the title game.

Personally, I think preseason polls should be about who you think are the best teams right now regardless of their schedule or what games you think they might lose. Of course, we could go a step further and talk about how preseason polls are one of the great evils of college football but we'll save that for another time.

So why the flip-flop Mr. Schlabach?

He explains by opening with the following:

If your favorite team made headlines during the past two months, the news probably wasn't good. Off-field problems and arrests have littered the college football landscape since spring practice ended, affecting many of the country's top teams.

Sounds plausible enough. So what did he have to say about the Georgia Bulldogs, who must be just beside themselves having recently been anointed #1?

Bulldogs coach Mark Richt has some lingering personnel issues as preseason camp approaches. Starting fullback Brannan Southerland, one of the country's best lead blockers, will miss the first five games with a foot injury. Possible starting defensive end Jeremy Lomax and offensive lineman Clint Boling have pending legal problems; Lomax was arrested on concealed weapons charges and Boling was charged with DUI.

So I just want to make sure I have this straight. You said that if your team was in the news it probably wasn't good. You've now got "one of the country's best lead blockers" out for the first five games. You've got a potential starter at defensive end and an offensive lineman in court. You're right Mark, none of that is positive.

So, considering there is almost nothing else at all out there that can be taken into consideration during May and June, this definitely seems like plenty of reason to move Georgia to #1.

As for suddenly sliding Ohio State, Schlabach does mention that backup QB Antonio Henton is leaving the program. Clearly the team with the bigger issues over the last month or two is Ohio State. Three potential starters aren't nearly as important as a backup QB that some already had third on the depth chart.

It should be pointed out that for the most part, Mark Schlabach's preseason college football poll ranks somewhere below TMZ.com in terms of relative significance to the world we know. It should also be pointed out that Mark Schlabach is indeed a University of Georgia alum that just moved his Alma mater from two to one between May and July with seemingly no meaningful explanation whatsoever.

My guess? The notion of a UGA alum putting an SEC school behind Ohio State in any poll whatsoever at this point was so ridiculous to so many people that even Mark had to admit it he had totally fucked this up. To be honest, even I sent this guy an email after the first poll telling him he was full of shit.

Before Schlabach released his initial Top 25 I know he was convinced that Georgia would beat Ohio State by three TD's anywhere, anytime. How do I know this? Because he said so in his own chat less then a week after his poll was released. Check it out:

Todd (Marietta, GA): You're an SEC alum and rank the Buckeyes No 1 after getting drilled over the last two years in the title game? You've been hanging with Herbstreit for way too long. I'm a Big Ten alum and don't think Ohio State is worthy of even being in the Top 5. The Big Ten is down including Michigan who's in a transition. OSU plays no one except USC who will destroy them. Please explain this to those of us that don't bleed Scarlett & Gray.

Mark Schlabach: I agree completely. I ranked Ohio State No. 1 because I thought they had the best chance of getting to the BCS title game. Aside from playing at USC, I think the Buckeyes will be heavily favored to win every game. I agree the Big 10 is going to be down; Michigan is going to be in a huge transition and Illinois will take a step back without Mendenhall.

First off, the constant misspellings out of places like Marietta, GA are great. Apparently Todd (if that's your real name buddy) is using the "Johansson" version of scarlet these days. It's called 'spell check' assbag, find it.

So basically, Mark Schlaback is either an idiot, or totally and completely full of shit. He agrees that USC will "destroy" Ohio State. Seriously, if the Trojans do indeed wax the Buckeyes, do you think anyone, anywhere is going to give them a shot at the national title? No fucking way.

I will not dissect Mark's complete and total lack of logic or perspective any further. This is merely the first in a series of observations.

In summation, do I think that Mark Schlabach is a moron? No. I do wish he would give better (more honest) explanations of his opinions.

More to come!