Oregon St. remained in the top 20 in the last polls before the bowl season after their 37-33 loss to Oregon. The Beavers are 16th. in the AP poll, 18th. in the BCS rankings, and 20th. in the Coaches' poll. The Ducks are seventh in all three heading to the Rose Bowl against Ohio St. The Buckeyes are eighth in all three.

The Beavers' Las Vegas bowl opponent, the Brigham Young University Cougars, are 14th. in the BCS rankings and the Coaches' poll, and 15th. in the AP poll.

Alabama took over as #1 after easily defeating Florida 32-13 in the SEC championship game, and Texas climbed to the second slot in all three rankings.

The Cincinnati Bearcats are third in the BCS rankings, and fourth in the AP and Coaches' poll, while TCU is third in both polls, but fourth in the BCS. Florida occupies fifth in all three, while Boise St. is the highest ranked team from the west, sixth across the board.

The Holiday Bowl bound Arizona Wildcats are 20th. in the BCS, 22nd. in the AP, and 23rd. in the Coaches' poll, while the Sun Bowl bound Stanford Cardinal is 19th. in the AP poll, and 21st. in the BCS rankings and Coaches' poll. The USC Trojans, headed to San Francisco for the Emerald Bowl, are 24th. in the BCS, but dropped out of both polls, as did the California Golden Bears. The Bears' opponent in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diege, and the only western team ranked, the Utah Utes are 23rd. in the BCS and AP, and 24th. in the Coaches' poll.