The top three teams -- Alabama, Florida and Texas -- on my Associated Press Top 25 ballot keep chugging along. At this point, it's almost meaningless which order you rank them since Alabama and Florida will play on Dec. 5 in the SEC title game and Texas, if it remains unbeaten, is guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game against an undefeated SEC champion.However, what if Alabama lost to Auburn and then beat Florida? Or what if Florida lost to Florida State and then beat Alabama? Would that mean that a team outside the hallowed trio could slip into No. 2 in the final BCS ranking and earn a berth in the BCS title game?
For all you BCS haters out there, that's what you need to root for -- because if that happens, how would they pick between unbeatens TCU, Cincinnati or Boise State? Or better yet, would a one-loss team get chosen over an unbeaten TCU/Cincinnati/Boise State?
On this week's ballot, I leap-frogged the Horned Frogs over Cincinnati into fourth place based on their domination of Utah. The Bearcats, though, can easily hop back over TCU if they close out with dominating victories against Illinois and at Pittsburgh for the Big East title.
Stanford, on the strength of its rout at USC, made the biggest move in my ballot this week. At this point, they may as well start printing bumper stickers out West: Honk, if you're alive for the Rose Bowl. I wasn't a math major in college, but I came up with at least four Pac-10 teams that can still get to the Rose Bowl -- and shockingly none are named USC.
Last week, all of the AP's top 10 teams made it through the weekend unscathed, but the rest of the Top 25 took its lumps. Seven of the 15 teams ranked between 11 and 25 in last week's AP poll lost, creating chaos in the middle of the rankings. Three -- USC, South Florida and Utah -- were blown out by four TDs or more.
Besides Stanford, the only newcomer to my poll this week is North Carolina.
Also last week, USA Today revealed how much each head coach will make this season. So listed with each team is what the head coach will make in 2009. Some coaches' salaries were not obtained by USA Today.
Here is my ballot this week with my ranking last week in parentheses.
- 1. Alabama (1)
Nick Saban $3.9 million. The Crimson Tide has the perfect warm-up for Nov. 27's Iron Bowl at Auburn: a home game Saturday with FCS member Chattanooga. Last year the Mocs played two FCS teams -- Oklahoma and Florida State -- and lost by a combined margin of 103-9. - 2. Florida (2)
Urban Meyer $4 million. The Gators are 6-0 all-time against in-state opponents under Meyer and they should have no trouble improving to 7-0 Saturday when Florida International visits Gainesville. The following week, the Gators look to chomp another state foe when Florida State comes to Gainesville for Tim Tebow's final home game. - 3. Texas (3)
Mack Brown $3.060 million. With the Longhorns' 47-14 victory against Baylor, QB Colt McCoy tied former Georgia QB David Greene for the all-time NCAA wins record (42). McCoy goes for the NCAA record Saturday in his final home game in Austin against Kansas. Chances are he gets it: Texas has won 15 of its last 16 home finales. - 4. TCU (5)
Gary Patterson $1.8 million. In their rout of Utah, the Horned Frogs' defense limited Utah RB Eddie Wide, who entered the game with six consecutive games rushing for at least 100 yards, to 25 yards on 14 carries. It was TCU's 13th consecutive home victory. Saturday the Horned Frogs head to Wyoming. In their last visit to Laramie in 2007, the Horned Frogs lost to Wyoming, 24-21. - 5. Cincinnati (4)
Brian Kelly $1.362 million. The Bearcats, who are 10-0 for the first time in school history, are off Saturday and then step out of conference action to play host to Illinois on Nov. 27 before visiting Pitt on Dec. 5. QB Tony Pike saw his first action (2-for-4, 16 yards, two TDs) against West Virginia, but for the second consecutive week the Bearcats had to recover an onsides kick to seal a close win. - 6. Boise State (6)
Chris Petersen $1.123 million. The Broncos were actually outgained by Idaho, 514-458, but still won 63-25 thanks to seven Vandals turnovers. Another Broncos rout is on tap Friday when they visit woeful Utah State (3-7). The Broncos have won the last eight meetings against the Aggies by an average margin of 28 points. - 7. Georgia Tech (7)
Paul Johnson $2.3 million. The Ramblin' Wreck's 49-10 victory at Duke Saturday clinched the ACC Coastal Division and a spot in the ACC Championship game Dec. 5 in Tampa. The Yellow Jackets are off this week before playing host to rival Georgia. Last year, Georgia Tech ended a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs with a wild 45-42 victory. - 8. Pittsburgh (8)
Dave Wannstedt $979,288. The Panthers' dynamic duo of RB Dion Lewis (152 yards rushing, one TD) and WR Jonathan Baldwin (142 yards receiving, one TD) was too much for the Notre Dame Flailing Irish. Pitt has a week off before visiting West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Nov. 27. No matter what the result, Pitt plays host to Cincinnati Dec. 5 with the winner earning the Big East's BCS bowl berth. - 9. Ohio State (9)
Jim Tressel $3.722 million. The Buckeyes clinched a trip to Pasadena with their overtime win against Iowa. It will be the Buckeyes' first Rose Bowl berth since after the 1996 season and first for Tressel since he was an Ohio State assistant in 1985. Saturday, the Buckeyes battle Michigan looking for a sixth consecutive victory against the hated Wolverines. - 10. LSU (12)
Les Miles $3.751 million. The Tigers, who slept walk past Louisiana Tech 24-16, visit Ole Miss Saturday looking to avenge last year's 31-13 loss to the Rebels. Last season's 18-point defeat was the worst home loss in Les Miles' five-year stint at LSU. - 11. Oregon (13)
Chip Kelly $1.5 million. LeGarrette Blount suited up for his first game since being suspended in the Ducks' opener, but did not play in the 44-21 victory against Arizona State. Oregon has scored at least 40 points in four consecutive games and can earn a berth to the Rose Bowl by winning at Arizona Saturday and defeating Oregon State in the Civil War on Dec. 3. - 12. Oklahoma State (17)
Mike Gundy $1.8 million. Coming off the 24-17 victory against Texas Tech, the Cowboys have a short week to prepare for Thursday's home finale with Colorado. Will Zac be back? QB Zac Robinson left in the fourth quarter against Tech with an apparent concussion. The Cowboys could be in trouble if they look ahead to next week's Bedlam Series battle at Oklahoma as Colorado has won 11 of the past 14 meetings. - 13. Oregon State (20)
Mike Riley $950,000. The Beavers are still in contention for a Rose Bowl berth after defeating Washington 48-21, the Huskies' worst loss to Oregon State. QB Sean Canfield was held to 185 yards passing, but had four touchdown passes and Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 159 yards and two TDs. OSU visits Washington State Saturday and Pac-10 leader Oregon on Dec. 3. - 14. Stanford (NR)
Jim Harbaugh n/a. The red-hot Cardinal plays host to Cal in The Big Game Saturday followed by a Nov. 28 home game against Notre Dame in what could be the final game for Charlie Weis. RB Toby Gerhart rumbled for 178 yards in Saturday's demolition at USC, his fourth consecutive game with at least 100 yards rushing. In that span, he's averaging 162 yards per game. - 15. Wisconsin (19)
Bret Bielema $3.024 million. The Badgers visit Northwestern Saturday in a series dominated by the home team. The home team has won the last four meetings between the Badgers and Wildcats. Wisconsin's season continues to be feast or famine. In the Badgers' eight wins they are averaging 36 points per game, compared to 11.5 points in their two losses. - 16. Virginia Tech (21)
Frank Beamer $2.138 million. The Hokies play host to N.C. State Saturday looking for their sixth consecutive victory in home finales. Virginia Tech (7-3) must win its final two games against the Wolfpack and at Virginia plus get a bowl victory to extend its streak of seasons with at least 10 victories to six. - 17. Clemson (24)
Dabo Swinney $816,850. The Tigers won their fifth consecutive game, defeating N.C. State 43-23 and moving one win from the ACC Atlantic title and a berth opposite Georgia Tech in the ACC title game in Tampa. In their five-game winning streak the Tigers have scored at least 38 points in each game. Senior RB C.J. Spiller plays his final home game Saturday when the Tigers play host to Virginia. - 18. Penn State (22)
Joe Paterno $1.097 million. After taking out their frustrations last week on Indiana -- Penn State is now 11-1 following a loss the past five seasons -- the Nittany Lions close the regular season at Michigan State. Last season, the Nittany Lions derailed the Spartans' hopes for a share of the Big Ten title with a 49-18 rout. - 20. Miami (11)
Randy Shannon n/a. The Hurricanes play host to Duke Saturday, having defeated the Blue Devils in each of the past four seasons. This is Miami's home finale and Duke's final road game. The Blue Devils have lost five consecutive road finales. Jacory Harris threw for 319 yards in Saturday's loss at North Carolina, but was intercepted four times. - 21. Iowa (15)
Kirk Ferentz $3.024 million. The Hawkeyes 27-24 overtime loss at Ohio State was the eighth game decided by 10 points or less for Iowa this season. After winning 13 consecutive games, the Hawkeyes are now riding a two-game losing streak entering Saturday's regular season finale against Minnesota. - 22. USC (14)
Pete Carroll $4.386 million. Saturday's loss to Stanford was the first in 29 November games under Carroll and boy was it a big one. USC allowed a school record 55 points to the Cardinal. Now the Trojans' streak of seven consecutive BCS bowl bids is in serious jeopardy. The last time USC didn't go to a BCS bowl was 2001, in Carroll's first season, when the Trojans lost to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. - 23. Arizona (18)
Mike Stoops $1.265 million. The Wildcats still remain alive for their first Rose Bowl berth, but must win their final three games against Oregon, Arizona State and USC. Without starting RB Nic Grigsby (shoulder), the Wildcats were held to 73 yards rushing in Saturday's loss at Cal. - 24. North Carolina (NR)
Butch Davis $1.702 million. The Tar Heels continue to be one of the nation's best teams against ranked opponents. Saturday's upset of Miami was North Carolina's fifth consecutive victory against an AP Top 25 team. It also improved Davis to 3-0 against his former team. If UNC closes with wins at Boston College and N.C. State, the Tar Heels will have their first nine-win regular season since 1997 when they finished 11-1 in Mack Brown's final season. - 25. Houston (10)
Kevin Sumlin $750,000. QB Case Keenum's Heisman case took a fatal hit after Saturday's loss at UCF. Keenum threw for 377 yards and three TDs, but the Cougars' lack of defense finally caught up to them. Saturday, the Cougars play host to Memphis and fired coach Tommy West. The Tigers are 3-0 all-time in Houston under West.
Teams that are close to making my Top 25 (in alphabetical order): Auburn, BYU, Cal, Ole Miss, Rutgers
See you later (teams that fell out of my Top 25 this week): Utah, South Florida
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
So let me get this straight: Ohio St is 9th, but the team that played them to OT on the road is 23rd, behind two teams they beat on the road (Iowa behind Wisconsin and Penn St)? Aren't head-to-head matchups the easiest way to rank teams?
Too true Aaron. I have Ohio State at #10 with Iowa at #16, Penn State #17 and Wisconsin #19 for the very reason you mention.
Iowa lost two in a row.
NW should be ranked ahead of them using your logic.
Winning is the bottom line, and how teams are playing NOW is more important than how they did in SEP.
cjg...Northwestern has lost 4 games, thus they should not be ranked above Iowa. Head to head should only come into play if the two teams have the same records, which in this case they don't.
Iowa should have 4 losses this year..
It is one thing to be winning and another team close the gap late... but to always have to come back to win shows no control over the game. Lets face it IOWA has been fortunate in at least two games they won this year... I think they are ranked where they should be.
21st, my bad.
Looks like the ones who recommended Jim Harbaugh should have been the selection for Michigan were correct about his abilities as a coach.... instead the idiots in command at UofM were conned into hiring Big East's rejects and paying an extra $4 million for a failed coach from the hills and hollars of WVA.....
Totally agree on Harbaugh. He's a great coach. I would be interested to see how it all went if Notre Dame went after him. He can clearly win at a top notch academic school, but Willingham was from Stanford too. Plus, Harbaugh is a Michigan guy, so I doubt he would take the job.
Harbaugh slammed Michigan 2 yrs ago right before they got RichRod. I don't think Michigan will be in a hurry to get Harbaugh at this point. And I'm not sure Harbaugh wants to leave at this point.
As others stated, Hawks behind Wisc and Penn State?!? I seem to remember the Hawks beating them both at their stadiums. Ugly win you say? What differences does it make, it still counts as a "W" correct?!?
And the ramifications if Bama or Fla lose before the SEC championship game and then that loser wins the SEC championship?!? I've been thinking about it and hoping for it. I want all the chaos possible; I want the NCAA & BCS squirming and sweating. Then I want to see those arrogant, SOB coaches (Saban and Meyer) whining and politicking.
why don't we let the students play the game.since it seen's like we have to many,gameboy player,s trying to tell the coaches how to do it.
I am a Wisconsin fan, so admit some bias, but frankly Iowa seems to be a team in decline and Wisconsin looked very strong in the last two games and getting better and doesn't have the Iowa injury problems. Should be all resolved this weekend anyway.
This article and minority point of view personal poll is such a piece of crap.
If 60 to 80 % of all of the other poll results ( depending upon AP or FBS ) do not agree with your own, just become a writer contributor and create your own poll.
Bet the writer also voted for George McGovern, Michael Dukakis, Sarah Palin, and other notable losers.
At least we wont have to see Orin Hatch push for allowing Utah in the BCS Championship game again this year.
This writer does have an AP ballot. He is sharing with you how he voted this week.
Iowa lost two games in a row and have lost their starting quarterback. Just because you beat a team doesn't mean you should be ranked above them. For example what if they beat both Wisconsin and Penn State and lost all the rest of their games? They would be out of the rankings. Their ranked where they are because of how their team is playing now and now they're the 21st ranked team....PERIOD. And many of their wins were by the skin of their teeth for example the first or second game when they barely beat was it Northern Iowa because NI missed a field goal twice at the end of the season. Don't get me wrong,I was impressed how they came back and won games but if you don't win consistently you fall in the rankings. And rankings are something Iowa is not used to....now they are and that's how it works.
This writer is an AP writer. One of the primary things that the AP tells its voters to look for is head-to-head matchups when choosing between teams. And if they are playing the 21st best football, then how is Ohio State, who Iowa played to overtime at Ohio Stadium YESTERDAY ranked all the way up at 9th? I suppose the 11 teams ranked between 10-20 would have taken OSU to more overtimes or only lost by 2 or 1 in OT instead of 3.
If winning a game has no bearing in how a team is ranked then they might as well not even play any games. Pundits can just have fantasy seasons and play the games on paper to determine who the champions are. The fact is that Iowa beat Penn State and Wisconsin and all three teams have identical records. If Iowa loses more games than the other two teams, then it would be fair to rank them lower. But identical records and 2-0 in head to head matchups puts Iowa on top. Period. No matter if they lost at the beginning of the season or the end.
...I should say that they have identical losses as Wisconsin has played one less game than the other two.
Iowa lost their starting QB? What the hell does that have to do with anything? USC lost when Barkely was hurt and that was never reflected in the polls. That argument is totally worthless.
Secondly, Iowa, Wisc, and Penn St all have 2 losses. Therefore Iowa should be ranked higher since they beat them both. Do some research before you open your mouth.
Lastly, do you know anything about FCS (1-AA) teams?? UNI is a regular powerhouse - they made the playoffs something like 7 of the last 10 years and was in the championship game just 2 yrs ago. They have 6-8 players currently on NFL rosters. While Iowa should have won more soundly, it's still a win.
And since many keep saying Iowa wins "ugly" a win is still a win and nobody claims Bama is winning ugly do they? No, that's because it's just "good, old fashioned SEC ball" - what a load of horse dung.
Rose - Ohio St. v. Oregon
Sugar - Alabama v. TCU
Fiesta - Cinci v. Boise St.
Orange - Georgia Tech v. LSU
Rose II - Florida v. Texas
While some people may argue it, I think the BCS will produce the best results it ever has. These are my "predictions". The only gripe we can make this year is how in the hell a weak LSU team still holds its place in the top 10 of the BCS. Pittsburgh/Cinci loser will fall far enough to solidify LSU in the top 10. As a strong SEC fan, even I will have a problem with 3 SEC schools getting BCS bids.
Your predictions are flawed in that you clearly have a poor understanding of the way the BCS works. No conference can have more than two teams make BCS games; therefore the SEC can't have Florida, Alabama, and LSU all make BCS games. Why don't you take this into account and try again?