The regular season is over, except for the Army-Navy game, a great tradition that matches two teams with losing records, and no hope of approaching the top 25. And so to are the conference championship games, including one that really shook things up. And one that should have, but once the Sugar [Daddy] Bowl got through, really didn't.
How Virginia Tech can get blown out twice by the same Clemson team (the Tigers took the 2 game season series by a combined 48 points) and still get rewarded by a BCS bowl, along with Michigan, at the exclusion of Boise St. and Kansas St., is a testament to politics and brand name. But not to football, or fairness. The same can be said for a rule that says at large bids aren't necessarily for the best teams. Like the SEC or not, Arkansas, and even Georgia, belong in the Sugar Bowl more than the Turkeys from VaTech.
Pending further rearrangement by the bowls, here's where I have things now:
Building The Dam Ballot - Week 15
Rank | Team | Delta |
---|---|---|
1 | LSU Tigers | -- |
2 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | 1 |
3 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -1 |
4 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
5 | USC Trojans | -- |
6 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
7 | Oregon Ducks | 1 |
8 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 2 |
9 | Wisconsin Badgers | 4 |
10 | Kansas St. Wildcats | 8 |
11 | TCU Horned Frogs | 5 |
12 | Michigan St. Spartans | -1 |
13 | Georgia Bulldogs | 1 |
14 | Houston Cougars | -7 |
15 | Oklahoma Sooners | -3 |
16 | Michigan Wolverines | 1 |
17 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -8 |
18 | Baylor Bears | 1 |
19 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -4 |
20 | Southern Miss. Golden Eagles | -- |
21 | Clemson Tigers | 1 |
22 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 1 |
23 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -2 |
24 | Arkansas St. Red Wolves | -- |
25 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -- |
Dropouts: Ohio Bobcats |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
The west may have never been more top-heavy, as far as the falloff after the elite 4, because there might not be another top 40 (50?) team west of the Big 12's footprint.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo,com