My B/R Top 25 (Dec. 7)

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

11. Cincinnati (previous: 11) 11-2; beat Hawaii 29-24

The Big East champion Bearcats cut it pretty close, but came away with the win against a dangerous and motivated Hawaii team. Most likely they will be facing ACC champion (No. 19) Virginia Tech in the matchup of “just-above-mid-major” conferences.

12. TCU (previous: 12) 10-2; no game, regular season completed

13. BYU (previous: 14) 10-2; no game, regular season completed

14. Oklahoma State (previous: 16) 9-3; no game, regular season completed

15. Georgia (previous: 17) 9-3; no game, regular season completed

16. Georgia Tech (previous: 18) 9-3; no game, regular season completed

17. Mississippi (previous: 19) 8-4; no game, regular season completed

18. Oregon (previous: 20) 9-3; no game, regular season completed

19. Virginia Tech (previous: 24) 9-4; beat No. 23 Boston College 30-12

The best of a mediocre—or very evenly-matched—conference. You be the judge. The win over Boston College gets them to the Orange Bowl; not the title game at the same site, but the “fifth” bowl a week earlier (note that Georgia Tech will not get a BCS bowl berth, despite having a better overall record—that’s because both teams were 5-3 in conference and the Hokies won the head-to-head).

20. Michigan State (previous: 21) 9-3; no game, regular season completed

21. Northwestern (previous: 22) 9-3; no game, regular season completed

22. Missouri (previous: 15) 9-4; lost to No. T-2 Oklahoma 21-62

The Tigers did finish at the top of the Big XII North; however, they really shouldn’t have been in the Big XII title game. That game should have been the “other national semifinal” between Oklahoma and Texas. Admittedly, using that reasoning from last year, there should’ve been a rematch between Missouri and Kansas…

23. Ball State (previous: 13) 12-1; lost to Buffalo 24-42

One loss will kill you if you’re a mid-major. It happened to BYU earlier, so the Cougars had time to recover. Ball State lost at the worst possible time, in the MAC title game, and so can’t even be considered MAC champions. Sad, isn’t it? That’s what 12-team conferences mean, folks.

24. Pittsburgh (previous: NR) 9-3; beat Connecticut 34-10

The Panthers had a good season, but it might’ve been much better; the loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 22 cost them the Big East. The pounding by Rutgers or the season-opening loss to Bowling Green didn’t do them any favors, either.

25. Oregon State (previous: 25) 8-4; no game, regular season completed

Dropped out: No. 23 Boston College (9-4)