And at last we come down to the second to last poll. Two of the games yesterday were complete poundings by the teams about to meet in the Rose Bowl. Texas and USC scored 136 points between them. Amazing. Florida State upended Virginia Tech's bid for the ACC title and ruined a few peoples Orange Bowl. And Georgia (as I suspected but few others did) beat LSU to win the SEC for the second time in four years, and in the process made up for a horrible loss two years ago to LSU on this same field. Not much else changed in the pecking order. So let's take a look:
- Texas (12-0)
- USC (12-0)
- Penn State (10-1)
- Ohio State (9-2)
- Oregon (10-1)
- Notre Dame (9-2)
- Auburn (9-2)
- Georgia (10-2)
- West Virginia (10-1)
- LSU (10-2)
- Miami (9-2)
- Virginia Tech (10-2)
- TCU (10-1)
- Alabama (9-2)
- Texas Tech (9-2)
- UCLA (9-2)
- Louisville (9-2)
- Florida (8-3)
- Wisconsin (9-3)
- Michigan (7-4)
- Georgia Tech (7-4)
- Clemson (7-4)
- Florida State (8-4)
- Boston College (8-3)
- South Carolina (7-4)
And were one to round out a top 30, Iowa State (7-4), Iowa (7-4), Oklahoma (7-4), Boise State (9-3) and Northwestern (7-4) would fill those slots. I chose Ohio State to follow Penn State as #4 due to their losses coming from Texas and Penn State. Oregon comes next because their only loss comes from USC. I think they make a solid top five. Notre Dame comes close, and Auburn and Georgia follow right behind, Georgia ranked behind Auburn because of their loss to the Tigers (...War Eagles...whatever they are called.) West Virginia might have a slight case for being ranked higher, but I think not. And for #10, I was not sure. I picked LSU, but Miami could make a case. Virginia Tech must be ranked behind Miami due to their 7-27 loss to the Hurricanes. Everyone else follows naturally, with only Florida State jumping a few slots after their win yesterday. They cannot rise too high, though.
And a note to acknowledge error - apparently I have had a few won-loss records wrong in the last few weeks. I wish someone would point them out to me. I can't always be perfect. But I have fixed them in this poll. Sorry about that.
As for the Bowls, LSU gets kind of screwed in the process. Usually the loser of the SEC title game goes to the Capital One. But it appears Auburn will be taking that spot. But many are projecting a slightly intriguing game of LSU/VA Tech in the Peach Bowl. It's not as prestigious, but that should be an interesting match-up. The real question becomes - who are the two at-large BCS teams? Ivan Maisel tackles the question here. It comes down to Ohio State, Oregon or perhaps Auburn for the second at-large team because everyone knows the Fiesta will take Notre Dame as the first, like it or not. They are too attractive. And I don't think Auburn is in the running anymore. So, as Maisel explains,
I think the decision will come down to Ohio State and Oregon. The Fiesta Bowl officials are not comfortable with taking the Buckeyes for the third time in four years. If Junker [John Junker - the Fiesta Bowl executive director] could sprinkle magic dust that would induce the Orange Bowl to select Ohio State instead of Penn State, he would.
In the end, though, the allure of a Notre Dame-Ohio State matchup, redolent with history and overflowing with television appeal, will be too hard to turn down.
I agree. It will be Ohio State that faces Notre Dame and it will be a great game. Both teams have been right next to each other in the polls all year and it will be good to see who is better in the end. So the Fiesta has a great match-up, the Rose has it's championship game, and the Sugar has perhaps a less than exciting Georgia/West Virginia match-up, but I think an even one. The only bowl that misses out is the Orange. Florida State vs. Penn State may be a bit of a cakewalk. If anything, however, it does create an interesting game between the number one and number two coaches with all time NCAA wins - Bowden and Paterno.
And before I end here, allow me to touch on one other subject. Everyone seems quite pleased with the BCS all of the sudden because it actually seemed to work this year. You keep hearing, "Well, with the old bowl system, you would never have seen this match-up." I beg to differ. In the old bowl tie in system, USC would have faced Penn State in the Rose - a great game. Florida State would have faced West Virginia in the Orange (I think - I can't recall how that tie in worked.) Texas would have faced Notre Dame (since they already played Ohio State earlier in the year) in the Fiesta. And Georgia would have seen Ohio State in the Sugar. All great match-ups, and a chance to really see who is better. If there was a four plus one scenario with a real NCAA Championship Game played after the final polls were released, we still would have likely seen USC play Texas.
But hey, that's just my thinking. I suppose it is nice not to have the carping that has gone on in previous years due to BCS snafus. It should be a great bowl season, and has been one heck of a regular college football season. Let the games begin. I'll release my final poll once all of the teams have played. That is all.
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