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

[JoelHammond]

West Virginia No. 7? Ugh.

I had them at No. 1 before, and dropped them 11 spots. Lose to Pitt, expect it.

[Xanadu]

BTW, USC played Idaho in the opener, not Utah State. Same thing. So is the point.

[spnited]

Xan,did you really leave Ohio State out of the Top 25?

[Xanadu]

Oh(io) Shit! I did. The coffee hadn't taken yet.

Slappy, please insert Ohio State No. 2 and push out Webby U.

Thanks (and thanks, old man).

Edit: It's on my notebook paper. Just overlooked it in my haste to get it in on time.

[Hank_Scorpio]

So who's missing?

[Mystery Meat]

So who's missing?

Natalee Holloway.

[Chi City 81]

So who's missing?

Natalee Holloway.

Wow.

[Mystery Meat]

Our most recent test case was Boise State last year: Beat Oklahoma.

The WAC can compete. All I'm saying. Hell, Utah State covered against USC in the opener; covered with 24 points to spare.

I mean test case for a title game. Nobody (or a scant few people) would argue Hawaii shouldn't be in a BCS game. But the championship game? Sorry, but nothing Hawaii has done makes me think they're one of the top two teams in the country, and when you're creating a national title game, that's what should count the most.

So Meat - just asking here - if Hawaii beats Georgia ... does that sway your mind at all?

They're 10th in my poll right now, so if they beat Georgia, they'd certainly move up. But their resume has nothing close to a Georgia win, and it's really hard to extrapolate what they might do against Georgia based on their WAC + wack schedule.

[slappy4428]

Oh(io) Shit! I did. The coffee hadn't taken yet.

Slappy, please insert Ohio State No. 2 and push out Webby U.

Thanks (and thanks, old man).

Edit: It's on my notebook paper. Just overlooked it in my haste to get it in on time.

You absofuckinglutely suck.

[Elliotte Friedman]

My ballot:

1-5: Hawaii, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Georgia. Last weekend's results only reinforce my resolve to rank Hawaii at the top. For someone to be unbeaten this season is impressive. LSU is ahead of OSU because I believe they are the best team in the country, even with two losses.

6-10: Virginia Tech, Missouri, USC, Kansas, Florida. Mizzou is ahead of USC because it lost to Oklahoma twice and not Stanford once.

11-15: West Virginia, Arizona State, Boston College, Tennessee, Illinois. I wanted to drop WVU out of the Top 25 after seeing them lose to Pittsburgh despite WWE-esque officiating. Didn't drop BC or UT. They lost to better teams in conference championships.

16-20: Clemson, Virginia, Texas, BYU, South Florida.

21-25: Boise State, Wisconsin, Auburn, Michigan, Cincinnati. No way am I putting Wisconsin the top 20.

[slappy4428]

By SLAPPY 4428
SJ.COM POLLMASTER

Has it been four months already?

It seems like, heckfire, just three months ago that Michigan, Louisville, Wisconsin and Texas were top five teams. And before you could say Appalachian, they disappeared quicker than Tom Petty's manhood.

We started the season with Southern Cal and LSU as the top two teams; we end the season with Ohio State and LSU as the top two teams. Only difference is that the order is reversed.

Yes, bucking trends until the bitter end, we here at SJ.com have reversed the order and made sure the SEC once again screwed over the Big Ten. Unlike last year when the SEC screwed the Big Ten not once but twice.

Speaking of the SEC, I would remiss if -- in this diarrhea of the fingers ranting -- if I didn't offer up this little song from a radio station in Monroe, La. We've bashed him all year, and by golly, at $666,666 a win (or a loss, depending on how you look at things) we're going to bash him again by posting The Ballad of Nick Saban.

We've seen good coaches leave (Lloyd Carr, Chan Gailey), bad coaches leave (Bill Callahan, Dennis Franchione) and the SEC once again figure if you can't beat 'em, hire 'em.
We've also seen the rebirth of the underdog, in Hawaii and Boise State. And to get serious for a second (one-thousand-one... ), while they might not play in a power conference, Boise State has proven to be every bit the lasting power to college football in the 2000s as Gonzaga was to college basketball in the 1990s.

Think about it. You can dismiss them as a lightweight all you want, but every year the record is good, every year they pick up quality wins and every year teams are afraid to play them. And this year, Hawaii beat them to carry the mantle.

They might not be members of the BCS BS, but you can't dismiss them outright any more. However, it is far easier to look down your nose at them because of the way football is structured.

Speaking of noses, this year's major disappointments? Notre Dame with Fat Charlie; Cal (13th), Rutgers (15th), UCLA (19th) and Nebraska (21st) -- all of which were ranked in the preseason poll and none of whom got a single vote in the final one; and Michigan, which tanked early and got injured when the ship started to right itself.

Biggest improvement? Simple, Kansas, which didn't get a vote in the first poll, didn't crack the top 25 until Week 5 and wound up getting a BCS berth (in and of itself an amazement).
Let us not forget the Be Sharps-like roller coaster ride of South Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina -- only without the Grammy Award.

In true, sj.com fashion, this will be forgotten over time -- much like BYH and Jesus Muscatel needing gentle little prodding that not only is the poll due on Monday, but every Monday.
Face it, it's not like football can hold a candle to unplugged refrigerators, handmade bras or demonstrably and provably annoying footwear.

But for the last four months, we've had fun, provoked some arguments and harassed each other -- which is not only the spirit of the site, but of college football in general. And in true sj fashion, we'll have a reunion after all the bowls are done, because we have to get the last word.

And when people tell you you're nuts for ranking a team so high or low, you can now say "I'm an sj.com poll voter, back off."� They'll still kick your ass but you can feel better about yourself.



SJ.COM COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
12/02/2007
RK. TEAM (1st)               PTS   Last
1. LSU (8 )                      772  6
2. Ohio State (15)            767  3
3. Oklahoma                    727  10
4. Georgia (1)                  705  4
5. Southern Cal (1)           662  13
6. Virginia Tech                648  7
7. Hawaii  (8 )                 647   8
8. Missouri                      614   2
9. Kansas                       589   5
10. West Virginia              550  1
11. Florida                      504   11
12. Arizona State             446   15
13. Illinois                       410   13
14. Boston College           340   12
15. Clemson                    297   17
16. Texas                       296   16
17. Tennessee                 295   14
18. Wisconsin                  258   18
19. BYU                          255   20
20. Cincinnati                  169   21
21. Virginia                     159   22
22. Boise St.                   146   23
23. South Florida             121   24
24. Auburn                     108   25
25. Texas Tech                 62   NR


Also receiving votes: Arkansas 59; Oregon 26; Central Florida 21, Navy 15; Michigan 14; Connecticut 14; Wake Forest 12; Air Force 10; Oregon State 6; Troy 1.

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

[Tom Petty]

by texas tech do you mean tom petty's balls?

[Mystery Meat]

Wow. Southern Cal goes up eight spots because they beat UCLA, passing Va. Tech, which only went up one despite beating a ranked Boston College. We have wacky voters (said the guy who keeps giving Wake Forest votes)

[slappy4428]

by texas tech do you mean tom petty's balls?

Well, no. I meant your actual balls, that your wife keeps safe from any overuse

[Tom Petty]

by texas tech do you mean tom petty's balls?

Well, no. I meant your actual balls, that your wife keeps safe from any overuse

thanks for clearing that up slapass.   

[slappy4428]

by texas tech do you mean tom petty's balls?

Well, no. I meant your actual balls, that your wife keeps safe from any overuse

thanks for clearing that up slapass.   

I'm here for ya, brother

[slappy4428]

When I came up with the idea of doing a Top 25 poll, I thought it would be a cool idea. It turned out to dominate my Sunday and Monday each week and a couple of times I wanted to give it up.

What I received in the mail today made it all worthwhile. Not the physical gift, but the thought that all of you appreciated the idea.

Thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to share your picks (even if you needed more than a little prompting, and I'm looking at you, Bitter Sportschick Muscatel), your thoughts and your arguments from the bottom of my heart.




Final poll is due Jan. 8 at noon CST. Don't be late.

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to share your picks (even if you needed more than a little prompting, and I'm looking at you, Bitter Sportschick Muscatel), your thoughts and your arguments from the bottom of my heart.

Final poll is due Jan. 8 at noon CST. Don't be late.

That's an almagamation, Slap, whose time will never come.

So I won't be late on the 8th ... promise ... I swear ... no I mean it, my man ...

[Chi City 81]

WVU will be my No. 2 team, behind the winner of the BCS title game.

[slappy4428]

Someone email Xanadon't and remind him to get me his picks...

[Hank_Scorpio]

Deadline is Jan. 8?

[slappy4428]

Deadline is Jan. 8?

Noon, on the day after whatever the hell day the last bowl game is on.

[Oz]

WVU will be my No. 2 team, behind the winner of the BCS title game.

Behind Pitt?     

[Chi City 81]

WVU will be my No. 2 team, behind the winner of the BCS title game.

Behind Pitt?     

How did KU do in that Mizzou game, again?

[Tom Petty]

WVU will be my No. 2 team, behind the winner of the BCS title game.

Behind Pitt?     

How did KU do in that Mizzou game, again?

the blue bird of cocksuckery takes it in the ass in just a few minutes. of course he's mad.

maybe oz and i can make a little year-long bet. you up for it oz?