Another great college football season has come and gone. Here is my final poll for 2009, and why I rank them where I do. It was my intention to do a Top 25 Poll as I normally do, however, after my 14th pick, I decided that there were too many teams qualifying for the last 11 spots. I decided not to pick the last 11, but rather highlight 3 teams that caught my attention, 2 of whom would never had made anyone's Top 25 Poll except mine.
1) Alabama (14-0) - Can there be any doubt left? I think not. There is a reason why I have had Alabama ranked No. 1 for the last 7 consecutive weeks of the season. Now you know why. The Crimson Tide beat Florida, last year's national champion, 32-13, to win the SEC Conference Championship, and then took down Texas, 37-21, to win Alabama's 8th national championship.
2) Boise State (14-0) - Both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll liked Texas No. 2 and Florida No. 3, but not me. They both lost. I think that really good teams that win bowl games should be rewarded, so I like the Boise State Broncos at No. 2, ahead of Texas and Florida. Boise State (13-0) and TCU (12-0) faced off in the first-ever prestigious BCS game as mid-major teams, and were also teams with unbeaten records. Boise State was ranked 6th going in and TCU 3rd; the Broncos won 17-10. Isn't it about time that we started treating mid-major teams as serious contenders, rather than weak sisters?
3) Ohio State (11-2) - Why not? Let's reward top bowl teams who win. I have been on the Buckeyes case for 3 years for playing and losing their last 3 BCS games. The 8th-ranked Buckeyes upset the 7th-ranked Oregon Ducks, 26-17.
4) Florida (13-1) - Florida lost to Alabama 32-13 in the SEC title game, and believe you me, it was not pretty. That said, the Gators stomped an absolute mud hole in 12-0 and unbeaten Cincinnati, 51-24.
5) Texas (13-1) - Fifth seems about right to me. I don't care that Colt McCoy got knocked out of their national championship game. That is Texas' problem, not mine. If they were so dependent upon one player to win, maybe they are not that good of a team.
6) Iowa (11-2) - Came in ranked 10th and upset a high-scoring, 9th-ranked Georgia Tech (11-3) team, 24-14, by playing great defense.
7) Penn State (11-2) - Came in ranked 11th and beat a very good LSU team, 19-17, when the Nittany Lions should have folded like a cheap, K-Mart deck chair. I can't stand Penn State and JoePa because they keep playing cupcake schedules to roll up victories, but I also cannot ignore a quality win, even if it was the first ranked team that Penn State has beaten all year. Penn State held LSU to 9 first downs, forced 3 turnovers, and caused LSU to commit 10 penalties. Again, Penn State won, a host of other teams may be better, but they lost.
8) Nebraska (10-4) - Might be 10-4 but the Cornhuskers were the last team anyone wanted to play at the end of the year. Bo Pelini's boys beat a good Arizona team, 33-zip, to record the only shutout of the 34-game bowl season. My best guess is that Nebraska is going to start kicking the snot out of some players and teams.
9) TCU (12-1) - Loss to Boise State was the Horned Frogs' first loss of the season.
10) Cincinnati (12-1) - Loss to Florida, as bad as it was, was the Bearcats first loss of the season.
11) Oregon (10-3) - Only lost to Boise State and Stanford during the regular season, and beat Oregon State in The Civil War to go to the Rose Bowl and face Ohio State. Had a terrible game against Ohio State, thanks to the Buckeye defense.
12) Virginia Tech (10-3) - Lost to Alabama, Georgia Tech and North Carolina in the regular season, but put a 37-14 whipping on Tennessee in their bowl game. There was not a lot of love for the Volunteers because of their dippy, turncoat coach.
13) Brigham Young (11-2) - Only lost to Florida State and TCU and, more important, ripped apart Oregon State 44-20 in their bowl game. Beating Oregon State by 24 points in a bowl game is no mean feat, no matter what Oregon State's record is.
14) LSU (9-4) - Louisiana State University is the toughest 9-win team in the country. Lost to Florida by 10, at Alabama by 9, at Mississippi by 2, and in their bowl game to Penn State by 2. How many other teams could lose to Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Penn State by a combined 23 points? Answer: None.
Every rating of mine after No. 14 has no real basis in logical argument, which is exactly why I created my own poll, so I could create and cater to my own biased opinion rather than listen to someone else's biased opinion. Besides, I have big grapefruits-the prostate glands of all men grow larger as they get older.
15) Central Michigan (12-2) - I know the Chippewas play in the MAC and went to the GMAC Bowl. They also beat Ohio for the MAC title, beat Troy in the GMAC Bowl, and won 12 games. They joined only 6 other teams to win 12 or more games this season-Alabama (14-0), Boise State (14-0), Texas (13-1), Florida (13-1), TCU (12-1) and Cincinnati (12-1). The Chippewas could be in a lot worse company. I liked Central Michigan's gutsy season.
16) Idaho (8-5) - I don't care if the Vandals are 8-5 and compete in the Western Athletic Conference. Coach Robb Akey won 3 games his first 2 years and was 8-5 this year while winning the Humanitarian Bowl against Bowling Green, 43-42. So what is so special about Idaho that I should rate them as the 16th best team in the nation? Heck, nothing. It is not about the team, it is about the coach, Robb Akey, who chose to risk losing the Humanitarian Bowl by going for the victory on the last play of the game rather than settle for a tie and playing an overtime period. Man, Akey is my kind of guy. Let's shoot for the stars and, if we miss, we might hit the lighting rod on top of the barn. But if we shoot for the lighting rod on top of the barn, we might hit something on the floor of the barn we don't want. After being a doormat for years and years and years, Akey has put Idaho football back on the map. That feat alone deserves high recognition.
17) SMU (8-5) - I am impressed with Southern Methodist University and coach June Jones even more so. Like Idaho, SMU has been a doormat for years. Currently in Conference USA, SMU has gone from 1-11 last year to 8-5 this year and a 45-10 bowl victory over Nevada. SMU is on the rise. June Jones spent 9 years at Hawaii where he went 76-41 with 5 seasons of 9 or more wins, and won 4 of 6 bowl games. SMU got something special when they hired June Jones; now Mustang fans are finding out why.
I have no more picks from 18 through 25. You pick them as you see them. I am all done for the year. I just am not impressed with any of the rest of the teams. Thanks for your continued, loyal readership. I even appreciate the criticism and hate mail because I know you care as much as I do-we just disagree on some things. Be good, and strive to be happy-sports isn't everything in life, it is just one of the important things in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment