I'll admit it -- I was too depressed after watching Cal embarrass themselves in Washington, so I didn't even bother to watch the Big XII Title Game. I just couldn't make myself care. Apparently I missed a 13-12 barnburner. Woo.
This is our best guess at a Top 25. If you disagree with our judgment, tell us why we're wrong and we'll consider making some correction. Try getting that sort of commitment from the BCS, will ya?
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | TCU | |
| 3 | Cincinnati |
 2 |
| 4 | Texas |
 1 |
| 5 | Florida |
1 |
Cincy barely survives at Pitt, but leaps over Texas anyway. In my opinion, their résumés are very close. Hard to differentiate. However, I do know of one reliable way to determine which team is better. It's called a playoff. For my own part, I'm planning on skipping the BCS this January and paying attention to college basketball instead. Except perhaps the Fiesta Bowl. That one sounds fun.
| 6 | Boise State | |
| 7 | Oregon | |
| 8 | Georgia Tech |
3 |
| 9 | Ohio State |
1 |
| 10 | Iowa |
2 |
I have no idea what happened over the past seven days that caused Iowa to jump Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech wins back the three spots it lost last weekend by dumping Clemson for the second time this season. Good for them. Ohio State has a pretty good record, but that loss to Purdue is the difference between them and the Yellow Jackets.
| 11 | Virginia Tech |
1 |
| 12 | Oregon State |
3 |
| 13 | Miami (Florida) | |
| 14 | Brigham Young | |
| 15 | Arizona |
8 |
I can't imagine that anyone who watched the Civil War thought less of Oregon State after they narrowly lost a rivalry game against a Top 10 team on the road. They really shouldn't have dropped at all, let alone three spots. Arizona probably moved up too much after winning at USC, but have LSU or West Virginia really been more impressive than them?
| 16 | LSU |
4 |
| 17 | West Virginia |
7 |
| 18 | Penn State |
1 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh |
3 |
| 20 | Stanford |
3 |
I'll repeat this, because no one else seems to be listening -- Penn State has two wins over winning teams: Northwestern and Temple. Last-second loss at Wake Forest or no, how can you have Stanford below the Nittany Lions? Pitt beat four winning teams this year, while West Virginia beat five. UConn and Rutgers may not be powerhouses, but they're at least comparable to Northwestern.
| 21 | Oklahoma State |
4 |
| 22 | Nebraska | |
| 23 | Central Michigan | |
| 24 | Oklahoma | |
| 25 | Southern Cal |
10 |
| Last week's ballot | ||
|---|---|---|
USC finishes a thoroughly disappointing regular season by losing at home to Arizona; honestly, they're lucky to still be ranked. The Big XII checks in with three teams down here, and between them they beat Missouri twice, Georgia once, and little else of note. Finally, welcome back to Central Michigan, who finish a nice 11-2 season by winning the MAC -- and nothing else. Seriously, their three wins this year over winning teams were against 7-5 Bowling Green, 7-5 Northern Illinois, and 9-3 Ohio, who themselves can only boast of Ohio's win over Temple or Bowling Green's victory over Troy. 11 wins is a nice figure, but there ain't much backing up the Chippewas.
Dropped Out: California (#18), Houston (#21).
Houston may have been a mid-major darling back in September, but by December, they've failed to even win a middling Conference-USA. 10-3 is a nice season, but in the end, it's not quite nice enough.