Final Rankings

Don't be surprised if the end of the season top 25 looks something like this. But don't be surprised if it doesn't either.

1. Oklahoma 13-0
2. USC 11-1
3. Georgia 11-2
4. Wisconsin 11-1
5. Ohio State 11-1
6. Florida 10-2
7. Missouri 11-2
8. Clemson 11-2
9. West Virginia 10-2
10. Texas Tech 10-2
11. Oregon 10-2
12. LSU 10-3
13. Virginia Tech 10-3
14. BYU 11-1
15. Boise State 11-1
16. Wake Forest 9-3
17. Tulsa 12-1
18. Texas 9-3
19. Arizona State 9-3
20. Boston College 9-3
21. Auburn 9-3
22. Penn State 9-3
23. Utah 10-2
24. South Carolina 9-3
25. South Florida 9-3
Alternates (come on, I get 5 of these, I'm guessing how the college football season is going to go, there is bound to be an injury or a star freshman I didn't account for or something that will throw a wrench in there): Tennessee, Michigan, Rutgers, Nebraska, Alabama.

A few noticeable differences from the "expert" preseason polls:
1) No Kansas: they finish the season at Nebraska, home against Texas, and vs. Missouri in KC. If you lose 3 games to end the season it's tough to stay ranked.
2) Four non-BCS non-Fresno State teams. I think you'll see 4 10-win non-BCS schools, and all of them will deserve to be ranked. 1 of them would probably be left out (when was the last time FOUR non-BCS teams were ranked) but if the season finishes with Tulsa 12-1, Boise State closing with 9 straight wins (including one over BCS Buster darling Fresno State) to get to 11-1, BYU rising to the top 5 (or so) at 11-0 before dropping a finale to Utah, Utah beating a top 5 (or so) team to notch their 10th win of the season...who do you leave out?
3) Only 5 SEC teams (but hey, two of my alternates are from the SEC) instead of 6 and all of them have at least 2 losses. I would hate to play in the SEC. Look at their schedules, they could play 3 top 10 teams inside of a month, and legitimate top 10 teams, not like charity Big East or ACC top 10 that is more like top 20...
4) The Big Ten is top heavy, again, but at least Ohio State has a challenger (and co-champion). They get two teams in the top 5 and then nothing until Penn State in the 20's.
5) Kirk Herbstreit had no say in my poll (hence the absence of Fresno State and the presence of BYU).

So there you have my top 25. Bring on the critics. I'll be glad to tell you why I left out who I did and why I placed the teams where I did, if you'd like.

Oh, and the 10 teams playing in the BCS bowls: Oklahoma and USC in the title game. Oregon makes the Rose Bowl against either Wisconsin or Ohio State, the other one will play somewhere else though. Georgia and Florida are in from the SEC, Missouri also sneaks in after losing to OU in the Big 12 title game. Clemson gets an at-large wtih Virginia Tech getting the automatic bid. West Virginia rounds out the field. Sorry, non-BCS boys, this year proves you MUST go undefeated as 3 one-loss teams all get the shaft, though I am not positive that a single loss in the 12th game moves BYU out of the top 12, but I am pretty confident in saying that it will. The Kirk Herbstreits, Les Miles', and Ty Willingham's of the world won't even put them in their top 25 after that (Miles and Willingham didn't have 14th-ranked 11-2 BYU on their ballots last year and we all know how Herbie feels about non-BCS teams not named Fresno State). If they did get the automatic bid, they would likely replace Clemson or Missouri and it would tick a lot of people off, especially if they get Hawaii-ed in their BCS game. I hope they prove me wrong and beat Utah, finish in the top 5, and play someone with a high-flying offense and stay competitive. Missouri-BYU would be an entertaining, high-scoring Fiesta Bowl...