Well, the inevitable debating and arguing is already in full swing. And I do not remember a season where it is more warranted. All due respect to the Gators, but at the end of the day there is no clear-cut #1 out of the them, Utah, USC, and Texas. It was a great season that seemed to have a sour ending. Normally I am never for a full-fledged playoff, but this season might have just convinced me otherwise. The fact is that undefeated BCS seasons are going the way of Ohio St. bowl victories and bellbottoms. A loss in the regular season isn't as dreadful as it used to be, and maybe that's a good sign that we can remove even more of the importance of the regular season a tad for the betterment of the postseason.
Anyhow, here's my final rankings. Please note that in determining the order of 1-2-3, I might as well have thrown darts at the wall. All should be considered worthy. (Previous rank in parentheses)
- Utah(7) - Never before has one bowl game gotten a team more respect or love than this year's Sugar Bowl. It sure is weird to move up from #7 to #1. But hell, the reason they were ranked 7th was the same reason they were 11-point underdogs. No one thought they were in the same class of a team like Alabama. Well, it turns out people were right -- they are in a class well above 'Bama. Possible Tide letdown or not (isn't that what the AP coach of the year is for, anyway?), Utah beat Alabama in a neutral site more handily than Florida did, and with a similar amount of formidable opponents, and an unscathed record, Utah gets the slight nod.
- Florida(2) - Can we please, please, please stop with the Tim Tebow stuff? I'm usually all for players staying in school, but I need to see him leave Florida pronto. I can't deal with another year of this. He's a great player and Florida turned out to be a great team, but I don't want to hear how a QB who is just 22-5 as a starter and has major throwing deficiencies is the greatest player of all time. Also can we stop saying he led the team to the 2006 title? You sound no less silly than the people who claim Kobe or Luc Longley led their teams to 3 rings. Anyhow, big props to the Gators.
- Texas(1) - A weak performance by the conference, and by the Longhorns themselves, just leave me thinking that they aren't as good as I thought they were. When Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all lost, and Texas needed a miracle to beat OSU, Mack Brown's door officially closed on him. Still think McCoy should have gotten the Heisman though. If anything, the Fiesta showed how little he really had around him all year.
- USC(5) - Apparently in some balmy December afternoon in Southern California, Mark Sanchez took his Joe Montana pills. Did not expect to see that offense do that at all to the Penn State defense. Still, they lose points just for generally being doofuses.
- Oklahoma(3) - Has any team fallen this far after being in the title game? They showed reasonably well, but not being able to punch it in during the 2nd quarter destroyed them. Would have never gotten over Texas in my book, though, even with a win.
- Penn State(4) - The jury is out as to whether the Trojans let up on them in the second half in Pasadena. Either way, the Lions fought hard to make it semi-interesting after a dreadful second quarter. You trade Taylor Mays for either one of PSU's safeties, though, and we're looking at the national champions. The secondary was the only weak link, and they were exploited masterfully by Sanchez.
- Alabama(6) - Were dominated in a de facto home game by the runnin' Utes. The lack of experience and depth at this stage of the program finally showed the last two games.
- TCU(12) - Gary Patterson's D may have been the fiercest this side of Hollywood.
- Oregon(13) - The offensive explosion from the Civil War carried over into San Diego, as the offense annihilated Oklahoma State's D. Expect Oregon to emerge as the sexy pick to win the Pac 10 for '09.
- Ohio State(9) - At the end of the day, the Fightin' Tressels were what we thought they were. A real solid team with limited offense firepower. Represented well against Texas.
- Boise State(10) - No marriage proposals this time in the land of potatoes.
- Georgia(17) - Even in victory, the Dawgs showed themselves to be the inconsistent, flaky team that they had been all season. Still not impressed, but there's really no one else to put here in this spot.
- Texas Tech(8) - The storybook season ended with a loud thud. The weird thing is it wasn't that unexpected. Now can Oklahoma fans please finally stop hiding behind their "three-way tie" gimmick excuse??
- Oklahoma State(11) - All offense, little defense. At the end of the day, they remind me like about 80% of the rest of college football teams in that respect.
- Virginia Tech(19) - What should the over/under be for times that the 2009 Orange Bowl will be on ESPN Classic for the next decade? Two?
- Iowa(20) - I feel vindicated as I've been drinking the Hawkeye Kool-Aid for awhile now. I still will go to my grave thinking they are as good as or better than Ole Miss, even if my theory that Penn State is as good as Florida has been disproven soundly.
- Mississippi(23) - With Houston Nutt at the helm, these guys could emerge as a contender if Alabama ever falters in the next couple years.
- Oregon State(NR) - I don't know about you, but I loved the 3-0 Sun Bowl. Funny how that lead felt like 30-0, though. If they were still playing now, Pitt would not have a point against the Beavers. With the Rodgers brothers both out, a 3-0 victory is all Mike Riley could have hoped for. His program still remains IMO the most underrated program in the country, year in and year out.
- Florida State(NR) - Uh oh. Bobby is slowly walking cane-free close behind Joe Pa's limping self. Seriously, I could follow the Bowden-Paterno victory chase forever and forever.
- Cincinnati(14) - Always got the Reds spring training to look forward to.
- Rice(NR) - Not getting much buzz, but this team finished 10-3 with one of the losses to Texas. A lethal passing attack led them to probably the least-watched blowout of the bowl season. (Note to self: petition to somebody about the NFL Network having bowl games on their dumb network).
- Pittsburgh(15) - Probably not a bad idea for LaSean McCoy to come back for his senior season. Getting shut out isn't a way to go out.
- Missouri(NR) - Why the hell do we need to see Chase Daniel's family 354 times during the Alamo Bowl? His sister/wife/cousin/girlfriend/whoev
er wasn't that attractive. A terrible performance to finish off the impressive collegiate career of Daniel. - Nebraska(NR) - The best bowl performance since their referee-aided victory over my Wolverines three years ago. But seriously, Mizzou and Kansas should enjoy it for one more year, before the Huskers get it up and rolling once again in the Big 12 North.
- Rutgers(NR) - I was wholly against having a 5-loss team in these rankings. Then I was honest with myself, and figured I would probably favor the Scarlet Knights against everyone #13 and below, that's how good they have been the last couple months of the season.
On the cusp (comprehensive edition to recognize all of those worthy): Tulsa, Arizona, Michigan State, Ball State, West Virginia, BYU, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Connecticut, Boston College
