The Sickos Committee 2023 National Championship Poll Explainer!!

November 27, 2023

Sickos Committee 2023 National Championship Poll Explainer

Hello, fellow Sickos Committee members, you likely followed this twitter account and didn’t know what you fully stumbled into. Well, we welcome you to the Sickos Committee and now it’s time to vote for the 2023 Sickos National Championship Poll! For veterans of the poll, welcome back and it is time to vote again!

For many of you, this may be your first time being tasked to vote in a Sickos Committee poll, and you might not know what to do. Well, Sickos Committee Commissioner Escalante has made this poll explainer just for you!

A link to a Google form will be posted on Twitter and here. You will be able to select your Top 10 Sickos Teams at this point in the 2023 College Football season. Our year end poll typically coincides with Conference Championship week. Why you may ask? Well not every team that could be voted in this poll will be going bowling, so we try to keep the memories fresh of a season that just passed to make sure the ballots are fairly weighted.

(We require a Google sign in to try to limit everyone to one ballot and we do NOT collect email addresses.)

You may ask yourself, what the hell is a Sickos team?

Well that’s completely up to you! Keep in mind these are teams YOU want to watch during the season based on whatever you deem “unconventionally appealing”.

Is it a team who just fired their coach after a poor season? Maybe a team who paid an exorbitant buyout to fire they coach? Or another team who paid a hefty buyout to a coach? Maybe a team who started 6-1 or 6-2 and is now 6-6? A team that hired a new head coach and it doesn’t appear to be working out? A team who hired some interesting new coordinators in an attempt to save the head coach’s job and it may or may not be working or one who even fired their coordinator already? Maybe a team who you think is ranked too high in the polls and they seem to be having near losses to lower level competition recently? How about a team who has gotten unprecedented hype and now they may didn’t make a bowl game? Maybe there is a team who has put a clause into their offensive coordinator’s contract that requires them to score at least 25 points per game? A Power 5 team who lost to a G5 team or FCS team in the first few weeks of the season but has now bounced back or maybe their season has gotten worse or better somehow? A team who had a really rough year last year but for some reason kept their head coach and it may not be working out or it has improbably turned around for some unknown reason? A team who appeared to be making a breakthrough last year but they fired their head coach and that may not be working?  A team that had high expectations and missed a bowl game completely? A team without any sort of defense but seemingly hangs on to their defensive coordinator for some reason or they finally fired the coordinator? A team without any sort of offense? A team who has lost in the most heartbreaking ways against all odds? A team who just can’t stop turning the ball over? Maybe a team who started out 2-0 but then lost 10 straight and fired their coach?

Now Sickos can mean many things and being a Sickos team isn’t always a bad thing. Here are some possible examples of being a “good” Sickos team.

Maybe it’s a team the NCAA won allow go to a bowl because of their stupid rules about teams moving up divisions but they still got a bowl game anyway cause BALL DON’T LIE!! A Plucky G5 team who has played spoiler this year? Is it a team who hasn’t been ranked in an incredibly long time? Maybe a team who are unexpectedly undefeated or bowl eligible for the first time in a long time? A team that played in the most one possession games and has been extremely fun to watch? Maybe a team who made a bowl unexpectedly? Maybe a team or two who have been left out of all of the conference realignment moving chairs? Maybe its a team who is unexpectedly good? It could be a team who upset many teams unexpectedly but then falls flat against teams they are supposed to beat? Maybe a team who you have no earthly idea how they have a good record but somehow they do? A Power 5 team who lost to a G5 team but then beat two ranked teams unexpectedly? Maybe it is a Power 5 team who has alternated wins and losses for a good bit of the year? Maybe a team who didn’t win an away game until the last week of the season? A team who always forces turnovers but also turns it over a bunch?

Or maybe you have random reasons for voting for Sickos teams.

Is it a team who did the weirdest post game video or preview graphic? Maybe it’s a team who got in trouble with the NCAA? Maybe you think they have an incredibly weird stadium or dome or an extremely obstructed view seat for sale? Maybe it’s a team who used a weird meme to try to distract a kicker? Maybe a team who has rushed the field after getting their first win in a long time? Maybe a team who keeps dumping their goal posts in a nearby lake? Maybe a team who has a Taco Bell or Arby’s closest to their stadium? Maybe it’s a random bowl mascot? Maybe a concept about College Football? Maybe a radio call in show guest? Maybe a mascot who’s zip-lined down to the field? Or maybe a mascot who’s jumped through a hoop of fire? Maybe you love their turnover prop?  

You ultimately get to decide who are your Top 10 Sickos teams based on whatever criteria you use. Since Sickos is incredibly undefinable, the choice is up to you and who you feel has earned your vote.

(If you feel like some team or person is really Sickos in another sport like F1, NASCAR, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, etc, you can submit those choices in your ballot also and we track those categories in others receiving votes.)

Also, we ask you to not be derogatory please, as we will remove those items from the poll and they will NOT be listed. We’re Sickos because we watch all the games, we’re not Sickos who make fun of real life situations which are sensitive in nature. Basically, don’t be a jerk with your votes, this is supposed to be all in fun and mainly vibes based. Again, we call ourselves Sickos because we try to watch all the games no matter what the records are because we support all the teams no matter what. We try to keep this poll to on field reasons or in the stands reasons only.

Wherever you place them in the poll, that team would get a corresponding amount of votes:

  • 1st place = 10 pts.

  • 2nd place = 9 pts.

  • 3rd place = 8 pts.

  • 4th place = 7 pts.

  • 5th place = 6 pts.

  • 6th place = 5 pts.

  • 7th place = 4 pts.

  • 8th place = 3 pts.

  • 9th place = 2 pts.

  • 10th place = 1 pt.  

We will close the poll on December 3rd at 9pm CT and tabulate the votes.

We will release the Sickos 2023 National Championship Top 25 Poll on Monday December 4th. 

Thank you for participating and we cannot wait for the results of the poll! 

At the end of the season and we crown a Sickos National Champion, then we will do a food drive for the winning city of the Sickos Champion. Last year we raised around $5,500 for a local Iowa City food bank. We will do it again and we will likely give away some exclusive swag for a certain dollar donation.

Link to subscribe to the Sickos Committee Patreon to rank the games on a weekly basis.

Take an I Voted Sticker when you’re completed or if you needed inspiration for your ballot, here was the 2023 November Poll. You’ll likely see some changes.