The final week of the regular season brought tears of Roses to the fans in Los Angeles and Ann Arbor and visions of crystal footballs to those in Gainesville. With only the bowls to look forward to here lies the final power rankings.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes - The Buckeyes have their opponent revealed, and I bet they are a little surprised. I think it would be interesting to see how Tressel and other coaches deal with the long layoff to try to get their players back into game form. In addition how much will Troy Smith have to do in appearances after he wins the Heisman, he's a media friendly guy and a good interview, it will be interesting to see if its any distraction at all. Quality Wins: Penn St., @Texas, Michigan
2. Florida Gators - I said it all along that Florida deserved to be put ahead of Michigan if they won the SEC title on these power rankings. They just have more quality wins, straight up on paper. The SEC won big games out of conference down the stretch and are perceived as the best conference in the country. The SEC Title game performance combined with massive amounts of anti-rematch sentiments put the Gators in Glendale. Quality Wins: @Rocky Top, LSU, South Carolina, Arkansas
3. Michigan Wolverines - With my praises done for Florida I can't say that as a Michigan fan I am not immensely disappointed. Yesterday I was sitting on my couch realizing that not only would Michigan not be playing in the title game, but that I will be in Ecuador on January 1st so I won't even get to see the Rose Bowl, doubly lame. I truly believe that Michigan is a better team than Florida and that heads up they would beat them on a neutral field. Unfortunately we will never know. Quality Wins: Wisconsin, @ND, @Penn St.
4. Louisville Cardinals - Lousville to me would have been the one team that could have bitched about Notre Dame being given the at large position had they been left out, but luckily for them Rutgers receivers can't catch and they get the Big East auto bid. The Cardinals have a superb offense and lost in the last seconds to a very good Rutgers squad, they had a great season.Quality Wins: Miami, WVU, @Kansas St., South Florida
5. Southern Cal Trojans - And at the last hour my preseason National Champion pick is thwarted. Southern Cal fell to what this season has been the death slot, the #2 ranking in the poll. What happened to John David Booty and the offense, they didn't show up, and it's not as if UCLA had a solid defense coming in, they were ranked 7th in the Pac 10 in basically every defensive category. What an interception at the end and what disappointment in the land of the Torjans. Quality Wins: Nebraska, @Arkansas, Oregon, Cal, ND Bad Loss: Oregon St.
6. Louisiana State Tigers - How about a big time New Years Day present for the population of Lousiana, a Sugar Bowl matchup between hometown team LSU versus the Fighting Irish. The Tigers will go into that matchup as a huge favorite and Jamarcus will probably be licking his chops while watching video of the Irish secondary.Quality Wins: @Tennessee, @Arkansas
7. Boise St. Broncos - Interesting how their two solid wins during the season clashed to conclude the regular season of college football. Oregon St. is actually a very good team having beaten USC and finished the season with a record of 9-4. Oklahoma is a very good team and maybe after all the Fiesta Bowl will be a matchup that I want to see. Quality Wins: Oregon St., Hawaii
8. Wisconsin Badgers - Finally the Badgers get a chance to prove that the belong in college footballs spotlight as they will face the SEC Runners Up, Arkansas Razorbacks, on New Years Day in the Capitol One Bowl. Want to watch a game where both teams run and run and run then this is your matchup. This and any other Big 10 SEC clash will either vindicate the decision to pick Florida or stir up more controversy heading into the championship game.Quality Wins: Penn St., @Purdue
9. Auburn Tigers - Take a look at the Quality wins for Auburn, oh the best two teams in the SEC not bad. Out of all the teams in the country they have the best two wins, but those are countered with two hideous performances at home where they were beaten up by the Razorbacks and Bulldogs respectively. Auburn was the favorite to take home the SEC title, but now will face off against the Cornhuskers in the Cotton bowl. Quality Wins: Florida, LSU Bad Loss: Georgia
10. Oklahoma Sooners - What a coaching job by Bob Stoops this year, lost the quarterback lost the running back and still won every game down the stretch of the season including a convincing win at Arrowhead on saturday. Quality Wins: @A&M, @Mizzou, Nebraska
11. Arkansas Razorbacks: I'm not going to thrust the Razorbacks out of the Power Rankings after their back to back losses, why, look at who they lost to this season, USC, Florida and LSU, thats three teams in the top 6, and they do have better wins than Notre Dame, so while I contemplated the boot they narrowly stayed in. Houston Nutt has to be having flashbacks of his moronic punt returner who crushed his teams momentum and completely changed the outcome of the game, I'm sure he would have enjoyed a trip to the Sugar Bowl to face off against Notre Dame, and so would I. Damn punt returner. Quality Wins: @Auburn, @South Carolina, Tennessee Bad Loss: USC
Dropped Out: Notre Dame had to fit in the Sooners after their Big 12 Title win.
Bubble Teams: Notre Dame, Wake Forest, VaTech
Past Power Rankings: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Notes
~Congrats to Wake Forest for just finding a way to win games, and what a come back win against Georgia Tech.
~With that being said the ACC is terrible, the game consisted of two teams who couldn't score, not due to great defense but rather terrible offense, how could Reggie Ball be a 4th year starter, could he possibly have played any worse in the last two games of the season. And those Blue Uniforms, hideous. I fully expect Louisville to steamroll Wake in the Orange Bowl.
~Nobody should have a gripe with Notre Dame in the BCS, under the current rules aka 2 teams from a single conference their were no truly deserving candidates left out. The best remaining team is either West Virginia or Virginia Tech and neither the ACC or Big East deserves two teams.
~James Townsend is the name you should have heard about on saturday but fortunately for him, everyone was wrapped up in talking about the title game. Who is James Townsend, he's the wideout who dropped the wide open touchdown pass on Rutgers last scoring drive in regualtion forcing the Scarlet Knights to settle for a field goal instead of icing the game. Now the Scarlet Knights are in the Texas bowl instead of the Orange, ouch.
~How about the hit on the Patrick Cowan in the USC UCLA game, devastating. AND he immediately got up, wow.
~Eric McNeal made one of the biggest and best interceptions in the history of college football, period.
~I hate FOX, that Selection show was incredibly annoying provided zero interesting analysis of the game, I can't possibly believe that the money was worth associating your biggest games with a network that has no historical nor regular season connection with any part of College Football.
~Two weeks from now Michigan should be playing Florida on a neutral field, it wouldn't be difficult to pull off it would make an enormous amount of money which could be split between, who cares, its the only scenario that makes sense. Unfortunately common sense will never happen in college football, and if you're looking for a plus 1 game, I hope you're younger than 40, if not you'll probably be dead when it comes along.
~Watching USC lose, I knew Florida was going to jump Michigan and after the botched punt knew I would be disappointed come 8 pm.
~One thing that obviously didn't penalize the Gators was their terrible performance against South Carolina, where Senor Succop got a bunch of kicks blocked, Michigan won every game convincingly and had no game where they should have lost but lucked into a win. The Gators had that against South Carolina, and they were not punished for it, right or wrong.
~In the history of voting Michigan benefited from a situation similar to South Carolina's loss to Florida, in 1997 Michigan was ranked behind Nebraska in both polls until Nebraska beat Missouri in overtime via the wacky kicked ball catch. In the following AP poll Michigan was ranked ahead of Nebraska and stayed their until they got their split title. So in history, sometimes it works for you sometimes it doesn't.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes - The Buckeyes have their opponent revealed, and I bet they are a little surprised. I think it would be interesting to see how Tressel and other coaches deal with the long layoff to try to get their players back into game form. In addition how much will Troy Smith have to do in appearances after he wins the Heisman, he's a media friendly guy and a good interview, it will be interesting to see if its any distraction at all. Quality Wins: Penn St., @Texas, Michigan
2. Florida Gators - I said it all along that Florida deserved to be put ahead of Michigan if they won the SEC title on these power rankings. They just have more quality wins, straight up on paper. The SEC won big games out of conference down the stretch and are perceived as the best conference in the country. The SEC Title game performance combined with massive amounts of anti-rematch sentiments put the Gators in Glendale. Quality Wins: @Rocky Top, LSU, South Carolina, Arkansas
3. Michigan Wolverines - With my praises done for Florida I can't say that as a Michigan fan I am not immensely disappointed. Yesterday I was sitting on my couch realizing that not only would Michigan not be playing in the title game, but that I will be in Ecuador on January 1st so I won't even get to see the Rose Bowl, doubly lame. I truly believe that Michigan is a better team than Florida and that heads up they would beat them on a neutral field. Unfortunately we will never know. Quality Wins: Wisconsin, @ND, @Penn St.
4. Louisville Cardinals - Lousville to me would have been the one team that could have bitched about Notre Dame being given the at large position had they been left out, but luckily for them Rutgers receivers can't catch and they get the Big East auto bid. The Cardinals have a superb offense and lost in the last seconds to a very good Rutgers squad, they had a great season.Quality Wins: Miami, WVU, @Kansas St., South Florida
5. Southern Cal Trojans - And at the last hour my preseason National Champion pick is thwarted. Southern Cal fell to what this season has been the death slot, the #2 ranking in the poll. What happened to John David Booty and the offense, they didn't show up, and it's not as if UCLA had a solid defense coming in, they were ranked 7th in the Pac 10 in basically every defensive category. What an interception at the end and what disappointment in the land of the Torjans. Quality Wins: Nebraska, @Arkansas, Oregon, Cal, ND Bad Loss: Oregon St.
6. Louisiana State Tigers - How about a big time New Years Day present for the population of Lousiana, a Sugar Bowl matchup between hometown team LSU versus the Fighting Irish. The Tigers will go into that matchup as a huge favorite and Jamarcus will probably be licking his chops while watching video of the Irish secondary.Quality Wins: @Tennessee, @Arkansas
7. Boise St. Broncos - Interesting how their two solid wins during the season clashed to conclude the regular season of college football. Oregon St. is actually a very good team having beaten USC and finished the season with a record of 9-4. Oklahoma is a very good team and maybe after all the Fiesta Bowl will be a matchup that I want to see. Quality Wins: Oregon St., Hawaii
8. Wisconsin Badgers - Finally the Badgers get a chance to prove that the belong in college footballs spotlight as they will face the SEC Runners Up, Arkansas Razorbacks, on New Years Day in the Capitol One Bowl. Want to watch a game where both teams run and run and run then this is your matchup. This and any other Big 10 SEC clash will either vindicate the decision to pick Florida or stir up more controversy heading into the championship game.Quality Wins: Penn St., @Purdue
9. Auburn Tigers - Take a look at the Quality wins for Auburn, oh the best two teams in the SEC not bad. Out of all the teams in the country they have the best two wins, but those are countered with two hideous performances at home where they were beaten up by the Razorbacks and Bulldogs respectively. Auburn was the favorite to take home the SEC title, but now will face off against the Cornhuskers in the Cotton bowl. Quality Wins: Florida, LSU Bad Loss: Georgia
10. Oklahoma Sooners - What a coaching job by Bob Stoops this year, lost the quarterback lost the running back and still won every game down the stretch of the season including a convincing win at Arrowhead on saturday. Quality Wins: @A&M, @Mizzou, Nebraska
11. Arkansas Razorbacks: I'm not going to thrust the Razorbacks out of the Power Rankings after their back to back losses, why, look at who they lost to this season, USC, Florida and LSU, thats three teams in the top 6, and they do have better wins than Notre Dame, so while I contemplated the boot they narrowly stayed in. Houston Nutt has to be having flashbacks of his moronic punt returner who crushed his teams momentum and completely changed the outcome of the game, I'm sure he would have enjoyed a trip to the Sugar Bowl to face off against Notre Dame, and so would I. Damn punt returner. Quality Wins: @Auburn, @South Carolina, Tennessee Bad Loss: USC
Dropped Out: Notre Dame had to fit in the Sooners after their Big 12 Title win.
Bubble Teams: Notre Dame, Wake Forest, VaTech
Past Power Rankings: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Notes
~Congrats to Wake Forest for just finding a way to win games, and what a come back win against Georgia Tech.
~With that being said the ACC is terrible, the game consisted of two teams who couldn't score, not due to great defense but rather terrible offense, how could Reggie Ball be a 4th year starter, could he possibly have played any worse in the last two games of the season. And those Blue Uniforms, hideous. I fully expect Louisville to steamroll Wake in the Orange Bowl.
~Nobody should have a gripe with Notre Dame in the BCS, under the current rules aka 2 teams from a single conference their were no truly deserving candidates left out. The best remaining team is either West Virginia or Virginia Tech and neither the ACC or Big East deserves two teams.
~James Townsend is the name you should have heard about on saturday but fortunately for him, everyone was wrapped up in talking about the title game. Who is James Townsend, he's the wideout who dropped the wide open touchdown pass on Rutgers last scoring drive in regualtion forcing the Scarlet Knights to settle for a field goal instead of icing the game. Now the Scarlet Knights are in the Texas bowl instead of the Orange, ouch.
~How about the hit on the Patrick Cowan in the USC UCLA game, devastating. AND he immediately got up, wow.
~Eric McNeal made one of the biggest and best interceptions in the history of college football, period.
~I hate FOX, that Selection show was incredibly annoying provided zero interesting analysis of the game, I can't possibly believe that the money was worth associating your biggest games with a network that has no historical nor regular season connection with any part of College Football.
~Two weeks from now Michigan should be playing Florida on a neutral field, it wouldn't be difficult to pull off it would make an enormous amount of money which could be split between, who cares, its the only scenario that makes sense. Unfortunately common sense will never happen in college football, and if you're looking for a plus 1 game, I hope you're younger than 40, if not you'll probably be dead when it comes along.
~Watching USC lose, I knew Florida was going to jump Michigan and after the botched punt knew I would be disappointed come 8 pm.
~One thing that obviously didn't penalize the Gators was their terrible performance against South Carolina, where Senor Succop got a bunch of kicks blocked, Michigan won every game convincingly and had no game where they should have lost but lucked into a win. The Gators had that against South Carolina, and they were not punished for it, right or wrong.
~In the history of voting Michigan benefited from a situation similar to South Carolina's loss to Florida, in 1997 Michigan was ranked behind Nebraska in both polls until Nebraska beat Missouri in overtime via the wacky kicked ball catch. In the following AP poll Michigan was ranked ahead of Nebraska and stayed their until they got their split title. So in history, sometimes it works for you sometimes it doesn't.
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