1. Florida (previous: T-2) 12-1; beat No. 1 Alabama 31-20
The Gators, some say, had the worst loss of the one-loss teams. However, they had the best win of the weekend—yes, better than Oklahoma’s demolition of Missouri. They get the No. 1 spot, since they actually played in a “national semifinal.” Too bad there weren’t two such games (see below)…
T-2. Oklahoma (previous: T-2) 12-1; beat No. 15 Missouri 62-21
The Big XII championship game was nothing of the sort; the best two teams in the conference this year are Oklahoma and Texas. Therefore, I won’t give Oklahoma a “boost” into the title game by virtue of beating the—what would you call Missouri?—fifth-best team in the Big XII…
…For the purposes of the B/R poll (which doesn’t allow ties), though, I will have Oklahoma at No. 2 and Texas at No. 3. However, I believe that last night’s game in Kansas City should have been the “other semifinal” and pitted the Sooners in a rematch vs. the Longhorns (see below).
T-2. Texas (previous: T-2) 11-1; no game, regular season completed
Last week I wrote: “In my own personal system, there are four teams deserving of being in a four-team playoff, and they’re ranked 1 and T-2." If the Big XII title game had matched the correct two teams, there would be no question about the finalists. The winner would be 12-1, and the loser 11-2. But it didn’t match them, and so the question remains.
I don’t blame either Oklahoma or Texas for the sorry state of affairs; I blame the Big XII presidents and administrators for putting monetary considerations over the interests of competition (matching the two best teams). So let’s bring on the eight-team playoff…
4. Alabama (previous: 1) 12-1; lost to No. T-2 Florida 20-31
Like Ball State, the Crimson Tide suffered their only loss of the regular season at the worst possible time: in the conference championship game. Except this one was termed a “national semifinal” as the winner would be a virtual lock for the BCS title game. So will the Tide be ready for likely Sugar Bowl opponent Utah?
5. USC (previous: 6) 11-1; beat UCLA 28-7
The home jerseys on the road were a nice nod to tradition, but the fact is that until NCAA rules change, it’s going to cost the visiting team a time-out every game that both teams decide to go with the home uniforms.
Will Carroll be magnanimous next year when the Bruins are the team penalized? And if Neuheisel isn’t at UCLA in a few years (I assume Carroll will turn down all NFL offers, since USC is Los Angeles’ de facto NFL team), will the tradition survive?
6. Utah (previous: 5) 12-0; no game, regular season completed
7. Penn State (previous: 7) 11-1; no game, regular season completed
8. Texas Tech (previous: 8) 11-1; no game, regular season completed
9. Boise State (previous: 9) 12-0; no game, regular season completed
10. Ohio State (previous: 10) 10-2; no game, regular season completed
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