2012 SJ.com College Football Poll -- FINAL poll finally posted on page 12!

Re: 2012 SportsJournalists.com College Football Poll -- FINAL ballots due TUESDAY morning

Votes are rolling in like the tide this morning ... slowly but surely.

Still missing a dozen, but we've got some time and a few more are on their way.

Here's my teaser: Before looking at any ballots last night, I thought to myself, "No way this group picks a unanimous champion," and sure enough ...

We'll have the final poll and story posted in a few hours.

 

Re: 2012 SportsJournalists.com College Football Poll -- FINAL ballots due TUESDAY morning

Ugh. Had to go out of town early this morning unexpectedly and just got back thanks to stupid Texas rain. (doubt I got it in in time but here's mine just in case):

1. Alabama
2. Texas A&M
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Notre Dame
6. Georgia
7. Florida
8. Stanford
9. South Carolina
10. Clemson
11. Florida State
12. Kansas State
13. LSU
14. Louisville
15. N. Illinois
16. Oklahoma
17. Utah State
18. San Jose State
19. Nebraska
20. Boise State
21. Northwestern
22. Tulsa
23. Baylor
24. Vanderbilt
25. Cincy

 

Re: 2012 SportsJournalists.com College Football Poll -- FINAL ballots due TUESDAY morning

If Bama had won a close game, I was considering throwing my No. 1 to Ohio State. But not after that traveshamockery of a title game.

 

Re: 2012 SportsJournalists.com College Football Poll -- FINAL ballots due TUESDAY morning



Wish they all could be SEC gurls ...

By I SHOULD COCO
Beach Boy Wannabe

With massive apologies to Brian Wilson, Katy Perry and SportsJournalists.com’s own Weird Al Yankovich, Versatile ...

“Well Big East schools play hoops, they really pack the hardwood there,
And California teams, with the way they talk, they should be champions everywhere;
The Big 10 farmers’ football really makes me feel all right,
And the Big 12 teams, with their tackling, keep their coaches up at night.
I wish they all could be from the S-E-C ...”

This isn’t an ode to Southern girls like A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend and/or mom. If that were the case, I would have parodied Cheap Trick.

No, the only thing I could think about after the first quarter of last night’s dominating Alabama victory was if anyone will ever end the Southeastern Conference’s streak of national titles, which is seven and counting. More than wondering what specific school could do it, I’m looking for a TYPE of team that can do it.

Please don't lump me in with the SEC haters on this board. I was a fan of Tim Tebow in college (and still am, if some NFL team would use him correctly). I admire Alabama's running attack and truckload of defensive talent which has allowed the Tide to win three titles in the past four years.

The best way to show admiration in college football is through imitation, and for a quite a while, that's what I thought was the best way to beat the SEC. Run the ball well, pass it just enough to keep those blue-chip SEC defenders off balance, and play great defense that keeps the BCS championship a low-scoring game.

This year’s Notre Dame team fit that description to a T, and you see how well it went for the Irish. They may as well have been running the wing-T.

Earlier this season, I wrote that the tough defense and running game of Stanford was a pretty good imitation of an SEC team, and I think its success proved me correct. However, the Cardinal on their best day couldn’t beat Alabama, Georgia, Florida or maybe even LSU. Those southern powerhouses would beat Stanford at its own game. Actually, Notre Dame did, too (we think).

The answer to ending the SEC’s run of titles was revealed on Nov. 10 in Tuscaloosa. Yes, Johnny Football and his talented teammates were the only team to dam up the Crimson Tide in 2012, and I think any team with hopes of repeating the Aggies’ feat in 2013 needs to follow the same formula:

• A scrambling, athletic quarterback surrounded by a handful of big-play receivers.

• Defenders who are stout enough to stop the run, along with DBs who can go man-to-man with the SEC speedsters on the outside.

• An offensive line with two standout tackles who can keep the havoc-causing defensive ends of the SEC in check.

Texas A&M used all of these ingredients to open up an early lead, then hold off Alabama, momentarily giving the illusion that the SEC’s reign could be ending. Teams with some similarities to the Aggies had success against LSU and Florida in bowl games, but Notre Dame simply didn’t have the ingredients to get it done.

The Aggies get another shot at Alabama early next season in College Station, but they’ll have to replace quite a few key players at receiver, offensive line and on defense and get those replacements up to speed in a hurry. I’m guessing the two-time defending champs get some payback on Sept. 14.

To me, the best shot at ending SEC supremacy is out west. Many thought that about USC this season, but instead of battling Alabama on Monday night, Trojan players and fans were left wondering how the hell they lost six games ... and wishing Snoop Dogg could be coaching the team instead of Lane Kiffin.

In 2013, the Oregon Ducks appear to be the best-equipped SEC buster in the final year of the BCS. They have most of their key players (and, perhaps surprisingly, their coach) returning, including QB Marcus Mariota, who like Johnny Football was a freshman this past season. Oregon’s defense was much improved in 2012, although the Ducks will get a bit more of a nonconference test in 2013. A road trip to solid “mid-major” Nevada and a home game against Tennessee the following week are decent challenges before Oregon faces a Pac-12 slate that includes Stanford, Oregon State and an improving UCLA squad.

We’ll see what happens, but one thing’s for sure ... if someone is going to end the SEC’s run, this is the year, because once the playoff starts in 2014, chances are that national title contenders will have to beat TWO of the SEC’s elite teams in a row.

If I’ve learned anything in the past three years of doing tabulating these polls ... that’s a tall, tall order.

Congrats to all the fans and alumni of Alabama on a third title in four years, and try not to let anyone drop the football this time.

• • •​

Here’s our final poll, and yes, one person went with Ohio State as his champion. Quite a few people thought the Buckeyes were the second-best team in the country, too, and because of that, Ohio State edged ahead of Oregon in our final rankings. You’ll also notice that three of the top 5 teams are from the SEC.

Just like last year, I’ve included both the previous week’s ranking and where we had teams ranked in the preseason SportsJournalists.com poll. Yes, we got it right with Alabama. We also whiffed on quite a few good teams — six of the teams ranked in our final top 25 didn’t receive a single vote in the preseason poll (Utah State, Northwestern, San Jose State, Oregon State, Vanderbilt and Northern Illinois).

My sincere thanks to everyone who has voted week-in and week-out this season. I’ve enjoyed this year a lot. The tabulating of votes goes a lot smoother when the majority of voters submit ballots on time, and that was never a problem this season. We’ve got a lot of knowledgeable people on the SportsJournalists.com voting panel, and I appreciate all the feedback they give me when I write or post something stupid (and once in a while, something semi-intelligent).

Until next time ... adios, amigos!


SportsJournalists.com COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
FINAL 2012 POLL — 1/8/13
RK. TEAM (1st) PTS PREVIOUS PRESEASON
1. Alabama (26) 674 2 1
2. Ohio St. (2) 629 3 22
3. Oregon 620 4 4
4. Georgia 558 6 6
5. Texas A&M 554 10 —
6. Notre Dame 553 1 —
7. Stanford 539 7 21
8. South Carolina 483 11 9
9. Florida 435 5 24
10. Florida St. 432 13 7
11. Clemson 412 14 14
12. Kansas St. 386 8 19
13. Louisville 334 23 —
14. Louisiana St. 331 9 3
15. Oklahoma 268 12 5
16. Utah St. 233 18 —
17. Boise St. 215 17 23
18. Northwestern 213 20 —
19. Texas 147 — 15
20. San Jose St. 133 24 —
21. Oregon St. 129 15 —
22. Vanderbilt 97 — —
23. Northern Illinois 79 16 —
24. Nebraska 71 22 17
25. Michigan 61 21 8


Also receiving votes: Baylor 37, Cincinnati 29, UCLA 29, Penn St. 26, Oklahoma St. 22, Tulsa 20, Mississippi St. 9, Arkansas St. 6, Wisconsin 4, Texas Tech 3, Arizona St. 1, Kent St. 1, Louisiana Tech 1, North Dakota St. 1.

The SportsJournalists.com college football poll committee: I Should Coco (tabulator), dparker85, Della9250, the_lorax, KYSportsWriter, TrooperBari, Hank_Scorpio, McNuggetsMan, azom, joe_schmoe, Versatile, MileHigh, dragonzo, Oz, slappy4428, Starman, HanSenSE, Layman, Huggy, NorrinRadd, Madhavok, Inky_Wretch, Suicide Squeezer, Donnie in his element, Dragon Steamboat, Mizzougrad96, Matt Stephens. Not voting: Tommy Dreamer, scottwcoleman, Rumpleforeskin, The Writing Waffle, Precious Roy, Mystery Meat II.

 

Good work, sir. Roll Tide.