College Football – Top 25 Poll – Week 14 – Guess Who’s No. 1 Again?

Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, Oregon and Georgia recently won major conference championships and earned key spots in 4 of the 5 upcoming coveted BCS bowl games. Here’s how his wins have changed my Top 25 Poll ranking for week 14 of college football.

1) Alabama (13-0) – Beat last year’s national champion Florida 32-13 to win the SEC Conference Championship and the right to play Texas in the National Championship Game. There’s a reason Alabama has been ranked #1 for the last 7 weeks in a row. Now you know why; Crimson Tide players are better than Gator players this year.

2) Texas (13-0) – Almost annoyed with a stubborn Nebraska defense, but used 1 second on the clock to kick a 46-yard field goal to win the Big 12 Championship, 13-12, and the right to play. Alabama in the National Championship Game.

3) Cincinnati (12-0) – Came back from a 21-point deficit to beat Pittsburgh 45-44 to win the Big East Championship, and will face Florida in the Sugar Bowl. I like Cincinnati’s wide, powerful offense and undefeated record, but not their defense. On the other hand, Florida’s outstanding defense gave up 32 points to Alabama.

4) Texas Christian (12-0) – Won the Mountain West Conference title and will now face undefeated Boise State (13-0) in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. It marks the first BCS game with two middleweight teams.

5) Boise State (13-0) – Won the Western Athletic Conference title and will now face undefeated Texas Christian in the Fiesta Bowl.

6) Florida (12-1): Lost the SEC title game to Alabama 32-13 and forfeited the right to defend their national title. Will faces undefeated Cincinnati in the BCS Sugar Bowl. Florida fans, please shut up. There is a difference between wanting to win, playing to win, thinking you are going to win, and winning. Nuff said.

7) Oregon (10-2): Won Oregon State 37-33 to win the Pac-10 Conference title and a trip to the BCS Rose Bowl to face Ohio State. He played much tougher competition than the Atlantic Coast Conference and even the Big Ten teams.

8) Ohio State (10-2) – Won the Big Ten title and will face Oregon in the Rose Bowl. It played much tougher competition than the Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

9) Georgia Tech (11-2): Beat Clemson 39-34 to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title and will play Iowa in the BCS Orange Bowl.

10) Iowa (10-2) – Runner-up in the Big Ten with Penn State, but beat the Nittany Lions head-on, and the Hawkeyes bring their best defense to the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech.

11) Penn State (10-2) – Runner-up in the Big Ten with Iowa. Will face Louisiana State in the Capital One Bowl, the next most prestigious bowl game after the 5 BCS bowl games.

12) LSU (9-3) – Finished as runner-up to Alabama in the SEC West. Will faces Penn State in the Capital One Bowl.

13) Pittsburgh (9-3) – He gave Cincinnati everything they wanted and more before they lost to the Bearcats 45-44 in the Big East title game. Will faced North Carolina (8-4) in the Meineke Car Care Bowl game. Pitt should have deserved a better game of bowling.

14) Nebraska (9-4) – Received little attention as the Cornhuskers struggled earlier in the year to find an offense that could win games. Damn close to pissing off Texas for the Big 12 Conference title. He’ll face Arizona (8-4) in the Holiday Bowl. This should be a great bowl game because these are two very worthy teams with much better-than-average defenses: Nebraska ranks 11th nationally in total defense and Arizona 22nd among 120 major college teams.

15) Oregon State (8-4) – Gave Oregon all it could handle in the Pac-10 title game before losing, 37-33. The Beavers are a dirty, bad team headed to the Las Vegas Bowl to face Brigham Young (10-2). It tells you something when a 10-2 team meets an 8-4 team in a game of bowls. The Cougars better make sure they bring their helmets to this one, otherwise the Beavers might make a fool of them.

16) East Carolina (9-4) – Beat Houston (10-3) for the United States Mid Major Conference Championship, 38-32, earning a trip to the Liberty Bowl to face Arkansas (7- 5), the team absolutely nobody wanted to play in the SEC. Arkansas took Georgia to the max, beating Texas A&M, Auburn, and South Carolina, and losing 3 road games to Florida, LSU, and Mississippi, all by a single field goal. Oh! This should be very interesting for East Carolina; there is no doubt that it will be interesting for Arkansas.

17) Stanford (8-4) – Might be the second-best 8-4 team in the country. He played the toughest 19 schedule in his rise back to national recognition. Will faces Oklahoma (7-5) in the Sun Bowl. Oklahoma might be the best 7-5 team in the country.

18) Brigham Young (10-2) – Was runner-up to TCU in the Mountain West Conference. Will faces Oregon State (8-4) in the Las Vegas Bowl.

20) Utah (9-3) – Finished third behind TCU and BYU in the Mountain West Conference. Will faces California (8-4) in the Poinsettia Bowl.

21) California (8-4) – The season’s top yo-yo contender – posted wins against UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and Stanford, and big losses against Oregon, Southern California, Oregon State and Washington. Will faces Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl; two teams that deserve each other.

22) Houston (10-3) – Lost to East Carolina (9-4) in the Conference USA championship game, 38-32, despite having the most explosive scoring offense in the nation. The fact that the Cougars are relegated to playing the Air Force (7-5) in the Army Bowl shows what the people who really count think about Houston.

23) Southern California (8-4) – Most surprising power drop of the season, losing to Washington, Oregon, Stanford and Arizona. The Trojans had at least 11 wins and appearances in BCS bowl games for 7 straight years, the most successful football program in the country during the streak that was snapped this year. Will faces Boston College (8-4) in the Emerald Bowl. If USC doesn’t beat Boston College, its image will take another big hit.

24) Central Michigan (11-2): defeated Ohio (9-4), 20-10, for the Mid American Conference Championship, and will face Troy ((9-3), the Sun Conference Champion Belt, at the GMAC Bowl.

25) No other team impresses me enough to deserve my 25th place. Fill in your own favorite because it doesn’t make a dime a difference to me.

This is not my last Top 25 poll for this season. The next and last one will be published after the National Championship Game between Alabama and Texas on January 2. 7. Until then, enjoy all 34 bowl games

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley