In a controversial case, the Texas coach Mack Brown made impassioned pleas to media asking poll voters reconsider their final votes.
Campaigns will often run two persuasion programs, one aimed at mail-in voters and one aimed at the more traditional poll voters.
Ohio State's John Cooper said that piling up "solid wins" makes his team immune to the whims of poll voters and the computer-ranking calculations.
And playoffs is the correct word for a college football season - forget the computers and the poll voters.
The winner will seek the credibility, in the minds of poll voters, that the Big Ten champion will require on New Year's Day.
King-making power may still rest with poll voters, but the fan holds the means of making the most accurate judgments about players and teams.
It turned out to be a good year for poll voters when Alabama beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl and an undisputed champion was crowned.
Depending on how many poll voters watched the game, the Tigers could even be booted out of the top 10.
If the poll voters could lose confidence in Miami after it struggled in defeating Rutgers, then what will become of Notre Dame?
It is a common allegation that some poll voters simply look at box scores before punching in their votes.