We already know the deal, Cincinnati is not going to play in the National Championship Game. Instead the Bearcats will get to play in the Sugar Bowl and face off wih Florida in Tim Tebow's final game. Meanwhile the Longhorns will be prepping to face the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide with the hopes of lifting the crystal ball. Do the Bearcats have a gripe? Should they be ranked ahead of Texas? The computers think so. But those pesky humans did not. So what about you and I? Let's take a look at their schedules.@Pittsburgh vs. Nebraska (n)
Cincy played the second best team in their conference on the road in the snow and needed a late touchdown drive to clinch the game. Texas played in the B12 championship game against the 2nd best team in their conference and needed a review to kick a field goal.
Edge: Push
@Oregon St. vs. @Oklahoma St.
The Beavers were amongst the solid Pac 10 fold and were Cicny's biggest OOC win something Texas does not have. However the Cowboys were a good team and despite not having Dez Bryant are likely a slightly better win than beating the Beavers in Oregon.
Edge: Texas
West Virginia vs. Oklahoma (n)
Oklahoma - Sam Bradford = Not 2008 Oklahoma. The Sooners couldn't find their groove with the mustachiod Landry Jones until well later in the season. West Virginia was once again a solid team that picked up big wins against and Conference USA Champ ECU. Giving the slight edge to WVU here.
Edge: Cincy
Texas Tech vs. @Rutgers
Rutgers had a good season but they aren't as good as the Red Raiders even in a mild rebuilding season.
Edge: Texas
@USF vs. Mizzou
South Florida was pretty overrated this season. Outside of a not so impressive win over FSU, they lost all their big Big East games. However the same can be said about Mizzou. They crushed Illinois who turned out to be horrible. If they had schedule an OOC game the quality of Miami they would be 7-5 as well.
Edge: Push
Fresno St. vs. UCF
3 of Fresno's losses came against Sconsin, Boise and Cincy. They were a good team.
Edge: Cincy
UConn vs. A&M
UConn was a team better than it's 7-5 record. They narrowly lost several games all season. A&M on the other hand was pounded several times.
Edge: Cincy
The rest of the games for both teams was feeding from the bottom of their conference and cupcake OOC games. I'm giving the mild mild mild mild edge to Cincy in quality victories. The biggest reason is because the Big 12 was down this year. Texas' two biggest opponents, Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. were heavily diminished by the fact that each was missing their best player. In addition the Bearcats in midseason had to overcome their Senior Quarterback getting injured and missing significant time. If the Longhorns had to overcome that would they? I'm not sure.
In the end, picking between the two is like picking straws. but thanks Preseason Hype and Colt McCoy's Heisman stature Texas won out in the polls and Cincinnati is left with a "what if" and a trip to Nawlins.
Now onto the preliminary final regular season poll...
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | Cincinnati |  2 |
| 3 | Texas | |
| 4 | Florida |  2 |
| 5 | TCU | |
| 6 | Boise State | |
| 7 | Oregon | |
| 8 | Ohio State | |
| 9 | Iowa | |
| 10 | Georgia Tech | |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 1 |
| 12 | LSU | 1 |
| 13 | Miami (Florida) | 1 |
| 14 | Brigham Young | 5 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 6 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 9 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 7 |
| 18 | Nebraska | 5 |
| 19 | Stanford | 1 |
| 20 | Arizona | |
| 21 | Southern Cal | 10 |
| 22 | Pittsburgh | |
| 23 | Penn State | 7 |
| 24 | Oregon State | 9 |
| 25 | Houston | 8 |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Dropped Out: California (#20).
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