FINALLY! SJ.com College Football Poll -- FINAL POST-BOWL POLL -- PAGE 48

[Hackwilson191]

Voted Kansas 7th due to schedule...really only the winning team they have played has been Central Michigan

[Oz]

Voted Kansas 7th due to schedule...really only the winning team they have played has been Central Michigan

If Kansas posts two top-five wins in the final month, would you consider moving them to sixth?

This is what cracks me up about people bashing on the KU schedule -- no one had any trouble with Ohio State playing the a weak nonconference lineup, voting the Buckeyes No. 1 in a heartbeat, but they do with KU. It's too bad KU has to wait until next season to complete its home-and-home with USF. (KU won 13-7 last year in Lawrence.) And it's too bad KU didn't get to play Texas, that win would have looked good on the resume.

[Idaho]

Ugly babies vote for Oregon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LRaXRNRVjM

[Sxysprtswrtr]

Ugly babies vote for Oregon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LRaXRNRVjM

"And when you change me down there, it smells like Nebraska's defense"

Awesome!

[Hackwilson191]

Voted Kansas 7th due to schedule...really only the winning team they have played has been Central Michigan

If Kansas posts two top-five wins in the final month, would you consider moving them to sixth?

This is what cracks me up about people bashing on the KU schedule -- no one had any trouble with Ohio State playing the a weak nonconference lineup, voting the Buckeyes No. 1 in a heartbeat, but they do with KU. It's too bad KU has to wait until next season to complete its home-and-home with USF. (KU won 13-7 last year in Lawrence.) And it's too bad KU didn't get to play Texas, that win would have looked good on the resume.

If they do that I will move them to No.1, if they had played Texas early, they would have won. With Charles running like he is now, I doubt it.

[slappy4428]

One more down; BBOC holds its own destiny...

[Oz]

One more down; BBOC holds its own destiny...

Except I would rather not see KU ranked No. 2. Just not a good place for teams to be this season.

[Tom Petty]

One more down; BBOC holds its own destiny...

BBOC eats sticks of butter for dinner.

[Barsuk]

One more down; BBOC holds its own destiny...

Except I would rather not see KU ranked No. 2. Just not a good place for teams to be this season.

Assuming the BBs of C beat Iowa St. this week, I will rank them No. 2 and petition the rest of the world to do the same!

[Eagleboy]

The good news, to me, is that there's at least 25 teams worthy of the poll.

The bad news is that there's at most 28 teams worthy of the poll.

I've sent mine in already. Kansas gets the love at No. 2, Barsuk. Hawaii, I realized, does not.

[Xanadu]

1, Kansas.

[Tom Petty]

1, Kansas.

a purple bag double or nothing?

[Oz]

Just for the record before the poll comes out, I still have not voted KU No. 1 this season.

[Della9250]

A quick insight on my ballot — 1. Kansas, 2. LSU, 3. Arizona State, 4. Missouri, 5. West Virginia

Top spot stayed the same, LSU was up one to replace Oregon while Arizona State was up two spots because of Oklahoma and I leapfrogged Missouri and West Virginia over Hawaii.

Biggest riser — Clemson from 15 to 21; Biggest Fall — Oregon from 2 to 11.
Added to the top 25 — None
Dropped from the top 25 — None

Other notes: Amazingly, no teams added this week for the first time all season. Oklahoma went from 4 to 10, Hawaii stayed at 6 (7-8-9 is Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Georgia), BYU is up one spot to 17, Boise Stayed at 12 and I flip-flopped Texas and Southern Cal at 13 and 14 despite neither playing. I do not have a four-loss team on my ballot.

[Xanadu]

1, Kansas
2, LSU
3, West Virginny
4, Mizzou
5, USC
6, Ohio State
7, Georgia
8, Florida
9, Arizona State
10, Virginny Tech
11, Illinois
12, Boise State
13, Oklahoma
14, Virginia
15, Tennessee
16, Hawai'i
17, Oregon
18, Boston College
19, Clemson
20, My name is Yon Yonson, I live in Wisconsin
21, Texas
22, Cincinnati
23, Connecticut
24, BYU (even though they lost to UCLA, which lost to Notre Dame, but the Cougs *have* won 7 straight).
25, Wake Forest.

[sportschick]

My top three didn't change (LSU, Hawaii, Kansas).

[buckweaver]

LSU, Kansas, WestByGod, Mizzou, Ohio St. here.

[Chi City 81]

LSU, By-God, KU, Mizzou, Arizona St. here.

Sorry, was on the road yesterday.

[Sxysprtswrtr]

1. LSU; 2. Kansas; 3. Hawaii

I refuse to make Kansas a No. 1 just yet. And I refuse to include BYU in the top 25.

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Sorry 'bout the lack of punctuality, Slap.

I look forward very much to dropping Kansas as far as possible next week.

[slappy4428]

Sorry 'bout the lack of punctuality, Slap.

I look forward very much to dropping Kansas as far as possible next week.

Am waiting on the two others listed on the home page -- both of whom already have a strike against them and if they don't have their picks to me by the time I return from getting the dog, will be dropped from the rest of the polls.

[slappy4428]

By SLAPPY 4428
SJ.COM POLL DANCER

Thanksgiving weekend means rivalry weekend in football.

Let's face it, what better way is there to celebrate the fall harvest and bountiful booty than by causing your worst enemy to pop out a snot bubble.

Heck fire, there's games between schools that hate each other like Virginia Tech-Virginia, Georgia-Georgia Tech, and Texas-Texas A&M. There are games that are actually meaningful such as Boise State-Hawaii and Arizona State-Southern Cal, and games that don't mean a thing and are just filler on the schedule, like Notre Dame-Stanford.

And there are games... well.. let me put it like this: Only a coaching genius like Nick Saban could turn the Iron Bowl into having all the national appeal of a Thursday night mid-September game between Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan. There are, of course, more than bragging rights on the line in the annual battle between Auburn and Alabama: The Gruesome Tide need a win to avoid matching last season's disappointing failure under Mike Shula, even though the schedule had the SEC heavyweights at home and a non-conference slate against Snap, Crackle and Pop (In case you missed it, Saturday's final was Pop 21, Alabama 14.) And, even though they are bowel eligible, if the Low Tide don't beat Auburn, they could wind up sitting home for the holidays since a six-win team can't be chosen over a seven-win team -- showing that all them Bammers who "got themselves a co-ehch" 11 months ago got exactly dick-diddly squat for Mal-feasance Moore's investment.

I digress.

The big game this weekend is of course two teams who understand that National Titles are something that usually disappears by Labor Day weekend -- Kansas and Missouri.

I mean once upon a time, I suppose they were good. Kansas had Gail Sayers, which I think is better than having Gayle King. And there was John Hadl and Bobby Douglass, both of whom passed gas far better than footballs. And who can forget Nolan Cromwell, who learned what not to do as a quarterback and became an NFL defensive back.

In all the years of Kansas football -- 117 to be exact, with many of them ending in September although played until November -- the Jayhawks are 11 games over .500. The coach, Mark Mangino, has a symmetry about him: In six seasons, he's one over .500 – both in wins and weight.

Ahh, but Missouri is no slouch. The Tigers have a football team covered by more journalists than Ichiro, thanks to a journalism school second to everyone. And because of this team, generations of aspiring writers learned how to second-guess with the best.

You'd think the name "tigers"� would be one that inspires fear and intimidation, much like the legendary jungle feline. Nah, that would be too easy. Legend has it that the name comes from a band armed guards called the Missouri Tigers who, in 1854, protected Columbia from Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. Legend also has it the Civil War was fought from 1861-1865, thereby instilling the other proud tradition of poor timing.

After all, which school did Colorado use a fifth down to defeat enroute to winning a national title in 1990? Answer: The same one that Nebraska had to resort to Hackysack to keep its 1997 national title hopes alive.

When you think of Missouri football, you think of coaches such as Frank Broyles, Dan Devine and Gary Pinkel, all of whom had great success -- elsewhere.

You think of players such as Francis Peay, who was Northwestern's first black coach, Paul Christman, who at one time he owned the NFL record for most fumbles in a game (five) and most own fumbles recovered in a season (eight) and Kellen Winslow, who taught his son that going to play football is like going to war -- until he got an owwie falling off his motorcycle.

This year is different. I mean, really different. It means something. It means more than a football game for a Marching Band Drum trophy, which is something to celebrate at Band Camp.

If Kansas wins, it's a chance at a BCS title game and all the trimmings that go with it -- that is, unless the Jayhawks make poopies on the bed in the Big 12 title game. A Missouri win not only means its own chance at a BCS bid and a bowl in a place other than Shreveport or Boise, but the first 1-2 conference finish ahead of Kansas since 19-oh-freakin-nine.

So there's a lot on the line: Lack of tradition, a shot at a BCS bid to be dashed in next week's Big 12 title game and another month of the basketball teams playing in relative anonymity.

And if that doesn't mean turkeys can fly, then nothing will.

SJ.COM COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
11/19/2007
RK. TEAM (1st)              PTS   Last
1. LSU (29)                   819   1
2. Kansas (2)                780   4
3. West Virginia  (1)       744   5
4. Missouri                    729   6
5. Ohio State                672   7
6. Georgia                    616   8
7. Arizona State            589   9
8. Virginia Tech             545   11
9. Oklahoma                 520   3
10. Oregon                   512   2
11. Hawaii  (1)              508   10
12. Southern Cal            493   12
13. Texas                     458   13
14. Florida                    407   14
15. Boston College         338   18
16. Boise St.                 325   16
17. Virginia                   312   17
18. Illinois                     271   20
19. Tennessee               259   19
20. Connecticut             177   25
21. Wisconsin                144   24
22. Clemson                  133   15
23. Cincinnati                  83   21
24. BYU                          68   NR
25. Texas Tech                53   NR

Also receiving votes: Auburn 33; Kentucky 30; South Florida 30; Michigan 24; Arizona 19; Navy 10; Penn State 6; Air Force 5; Washington 3; Arkansas 2; Troy 2; Michigan State 2; Utah 2; Tulsa 1; Wake Forest 1.

SJ.com College Football Poll committee: Slappy4428 (chairman), Oz, The Good Doctor, Elliotte Friedman, Hockeybeat, Starman, Eagleboy, Hank Scorpio, Sportschick, Mystery Meat, Barsuk, Della9250, Mayfly, Xanadu, dparker85, Gutter, Buckweaver, sxysprtswrtr, OJ1414, Orville Redenbacher, spnited, Idaho, Joel Hammond, HackWilson191, BYH, AgatePage, Piotr Rasputin, Rufino, Trooper Bari, Jesus_Muscatel, GB-Hack; Precious Roy. (MIA:  Precious Roy, amraeder ; Withdrawn: Micropolitan Guy, Beanpole, Precious Roy, Amraeder)

[dooley_womack1]

Yay! Auburn finally out of the top 25. This was starting to get like Whitlock with Miami.

[slappy4428]

Yay! Auburn finally out of the top 25. This was starting to get like Whitlock with Miami.

Come on... they'll lose to Alabama and be right back in at No. 23...

[Xanadu]

Kansas gets 4 first-place votes last week and only 2 this week? They win by 38, while LSU struggles with Ole Miss and get 2 less votes? Strange.