STB Rankings and Bowl Predictions

The regular season is done and conference champs have been crowned. With that, I give you the final, regular season STB College Football rankings and bowl predictions:

1. Auburn (by far the toughest schedule of the undefeated teams, and they played one extra game)
2. Oregon (finished the season averaging over 50 pts. per game, better have a stronger first half against Auburn in BCS Title game though)
3. TCU (finished regular season undefeated and earned a BCS game for the second straight year)
4. Boise State (yes, Boise State is the best 1-loss team in the country)
5. Ohio State (7 straight wins over rival Michigan and 6 straight Big Ten Championships)
6. Wisconsin (debating putting them ahead of the Buckeyes, but didn't)
7. Arkansas (6 straight wins, including 3 over ranked opponents)
8. Stanford (one of the best seasons in school history)
9. Oklahoma (Big 12 champs and BCS-bound again--familiar territory for Stoops and the Sooners)
10. LSU (laid an egg against Arkansas and cost themselves a BCS birth)
11. Michigan State
12. Alabama
13. Virginia Tech
14. Nevada
15. Oklahoma State
16. Missouri
17. Nebraska
18. Texas A&M
19. Mississippi State
20. West Virginia
21. Utah
22. South Carolina
23. Hawaii
24. Florida State
25. Connecticut

BCS Bowl Predictions:

BCS National Championship

• Auburn vs. Oregon - Oregon wins a high-scoring shootout, ending the SEC's run as National Champs.

Rose Bowl

• TCU vs. Wisconsin - Horned Frogs defense stops the Badgers run attack and TCU wins, showing the Big Ten who the "little sisters of the poor" really are.

Sugar Bowl

• Ohio State vs. Arkansas - Ohio State is 0-9 vs. SEC teams in bowl games. This is the toughest game for me to call, but I'm gonna say the Buckeyes end that streak of futility at 9 and the SEC gets no BCS wins this year.

Fiesta Bowl

• Oklahoma vs. Connecticut - Oklahoma has a streak of futility going of it's own, five straight BCS losses. It ends here though as the Big Joke representative UConn is simply happy to be bowling.

Orange Bowl

• Stanford vs. Virginia Tech - I realize the whole country thinks Stanford will win this game going away, but I don't. I think the Hokies win a close one.

STB College Football Rankings

1. Boise State (Broncos could easily score 60+ points a game if they kept starters in at least through the entire 3rd quarter)
2. Oregon (barely squeaked by Cal--but still undefeated)
3. Auburn (all the Cam Newton controversy distractions seemed to disappear by the 2nd quarter vs. Georgia, toughest test yet to come still--in Tuscaloosa November 26)
4. TCU (allowing 35 points to San Diego State at home after pummeling BCS #5 Utah, coupled with Utah getting embarrassed at Notre Dame and Auburn's 18-point win over Georgia dropped the Horned Frogs a spot)
5. Ohio State (beat a quality, pumped-up Penn State team by 24)
6. LSU (dear Les Miles, don't brag about "playing everybody" and having such a "quality schedule" and then go play Louisiana-Monroe days later, which came two weeks after the Tigers played McNeese State by the way)
7. Wisconsin (I know what you're thinking, "The Badgers beat Ohio State earlier in the year and just crushed Indiana 83-20." Impressive, but I still say they're the 7th best team in the land. Oregon and Boise St. could hang 100 on Indiana if they played starters the whole game and TCU would shut 'em out. As for Ohio State, I say the Buckeyes would go 2-0 if they had the Badgers two more times. Just a hunch I guess, sorry Wisconsin fans.)
8. Stanford (survived a close one at Arizona State, I predict the Cardinal lose at Cal this week)
9. Alabama (4-2 vs. ranked opponents this year, both losses were on the road--Boise State, Oregon and TCU combined have only played 6 ranked opponents this year--2 each)
10. Nebraska (Cornhuskers have got to be kicking themselves for not being undefeated--only loss was at home against under-achieving Texas)
11. Arkansas
12. Oklahoma State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Michigan State
15. Oklahoma
16. Nevada
17. Missouri
18. South Carolina
19. Texas A&M
20. USC
21. Iowa
22. Utah
23. Miami
24. Arizona
25. Northwestern

Who Will it Be?

Alabama went down to Les Miles and the Bayou Bengals of LSU--not a huge shock, but a little one. With that, my National Championship game prediction needs a replacement. Question is, who?

The nominees are: Auburn, Boise State, TCU and LSU

Auburn: 10-0 and definitely in control to face Oregon for the BCS National Title. The Iron Bowl at Alabama will be the true test for the Tigers--they win that and then the SEC title, they're in. Should 'Bama win, that'd put Auburn down too far, too late in the polls to reach the Title game. These Tigers control their own destiny every bit as much as Oregon--in fact, I'd all but guarantee they jump the Ducks should they win out.

Boise State: Pounded Hawaii by 35 to make it 22 straight wins. Included in that streak is TCU, Oregon, Oregon State and Virginia Tech. The Broncos last loss--a 17-16 let down in the 2008 Holiday Bowl vs. TCU. These Broncos are 2-0 vs. Oregon in the last two seasons too. Keep in mind too Boise State was preseason #3 and have done nothing but embarrass everyone they play, yet the BCS poll allows other teams to jump them. Yeah, I'm kinda scratching my head too.

TCU: Just beat #5 Utah by 40--at Utah. Just like Boise State's only loss in the last three seasons is to TCU in 2008 Holiday Bowl, TCU's only loss in the last three seasons is to Boise State in last year's Fiesta Bowl. Is the Horned Frogs schedule more difficult enough than Boise State's to put them ahead of the same team that beat them less than a year ago and has been ranked ahead of them all season? Tough to say immediately after watching TCU dismantle Utah, but I'd have to give the slight edge to Boise State still.

LSU: Preseason #21, but just knocked off the defending national champs and it's only loss so far was at Auburn by 7. Is a one-loss SEC team more deserving than an undefeated Boise State or TCU? Auburn is all but guaranteed to win the SEC West, so could the LSU Tigers jump to #2 in the BCS rankings without even going to the SEC Championship should Auburn slip up at Alabama? Crazy stuff ahead in the SEC. I say the SEC, as good as it is, is out of the National Title game unless Auburn finishes undefeated, then I'll give them the nod. LSU will likely go to a BCS game though.

The Answer: Undefeated Auburn gets the first nod, Boise State second and TCU third. As for LSU--great season, but there's not much they can do to convince me they deserve a shot at the National Title this year. Auburn has one of the toughest schedules in the country, so should it finish unbeaten, we'll just let them play for the title and brace for controversy impact! If they lose even one game though, how can you take it away from Boise State after all they've proven over the past few years? You can't. Plain and simple. They've done four seasons in a row what is expected of an SEC team for just one season to be deemed worthy of the title game--give them a chance!

That's BCS talk though, here's the latest STB Rankings:

1. Boise State
2. Oregon
3. TCU
4. Auburn
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Wisconsin
8. Stanford
9. Nebraska
10. Arkansas
11. Alabama
12. Oklahoma State
13. Iowa
14. Mississippi State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Michigan State
17. Utah
18. Nevada
19. Oklahoma
20. Arizona
21. Florida
22. Missouri
23. South Carolina
24. North Carolina
25. San Diego State

Really Getting Interesting Now

It's looking more and more like we'll have at least three teams finish undefeated this year. I'm predicting those three will be Boise State, Oregon and TCU.

There's no question Boise State has the easiest road to get there (don't be fooled though, the Broncos face #25 Hawaii (7-2) this week, then #21 Nevada (7-1) November 26).

TCU faces #7 Utah (8-0) this week in Salt Lake City. Oregon still has to go through #14 Arizona (7-1) and in-state rival Oregon State. Utah has of course TCU and then it's rival, BYU. Auburn has #5 Alabama left, then an SEC Championship game if they manage to get through Bama.

I see TCU and Boise State being left out of the big dance for the second straight year, which is a shame, but will likely happen. They'll both win BCS games and further prove the flaws in the current BCS system when we finish the season with three undefeated teams.

Here's my Conference Champion Predictions:

ACC: Virginia Tech

Big East: Pittsburgh

Big Ten: Ohio State

Big 12: Nebraska

Pac 10: Oregon

SEC: Alabama

MWC: TCU

WAC: Boise State

National Championship: Alabama vs. Oregon

National Champion: Oregon

Here's how I see the Top 25 right now.

1. Boise State (continues to win by 4+ TDs every week)
2. Oregon (starting to look like anything short of an SEC or TCU defense doesn't stand much of a chance against the Oregon offense)
3. TCU (allowed a combined 16 points in last 5 games)
4. Auburn
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Utah
8. LSU
9. Nebraska
10. Wisconsin
11. Oklahoma
12. Stanford
13. Arkansas
14. Arizona
15. Iowa
16. South Carolina
17. Oklahoma State
18. Mississippi State
19. Baylor
20. Virginia Tech
21. Nevada
22. Michigan State
23. Missouri
24. North Carolina State
25. Hawaii

Auburn?

Well, Boise State and even Oregon aren't getting the love they both feel they deserve. Auburn jumped three spots to take over the seemingly unlucky no. 1 BCS ranking after defeating previously undefeated LSU.

Here's the latest STB Rankings:

1. Boise State (Broncos have earned this no. 1 spot for now. Boise State since 2006: 56-4 overall, 6-1 against Top 25, 2-0 in BCS games... oh, and 2-0 vs. Oregon)
2. Oregon
3. TCU
4. Auburn
5. Alabama
6. Utah
7. Michigan State
8. Missouri
9. Ohio State
10. LSU
11. Wisconsin
12. Oklahoma
13. Nebraska
14. Florida State
15. Stanford
16. Arizona
17. Arkansas
18. South Carolina
19. Virginia Tech
20. Iowa
21. Oklahoma State
22. Mississippi State
23. USC
24. Baylor
25. Miami

STB College Football Rankings

We're now 5 weeks into the 2010 College Football season and the controversy pot is stirring as much as ever. So I thought I better help out and let everyone know what the true rankings are :)

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. TCU
6. Oklahoma
7. LSU
8. Utah
9. Florida
10. Arizona
11. Auburn
12. Arkansas
13. Nebraska
    
14. Iowa
15. Miami (FL)
16. Michigan
17. Michigan St.
18. Wisconsin
19. Oklahoma St.
20. Stanford
21. Florida St.
    
22. South Carolina
23. Nevada
24. Air Force
25. Missouri

Boise State

College Football seems to bring me back to this blog more than anything. Why? Because it's the most controversial sport there is. Why is that, you ask. Because teams like Boise State of the WAC get jumped in the purely opinion-based, yet ever important polls after winning 59-0 for it's 18th straight victory, 30th of it's last 31 games. Who'd the Broncos get jumped by? The Oregon Ducks, a team they beat exactly one year ago. A team who lost badly to Ohio State in last year's Rose Bowl. A team who has played only one ranked opponent all year (over-rated Stanford at home).

How does this happen? Boise State has played, and beaten, two ranked teams this year, both on national television, one on the road. Boise State has two BCS victories in the last 4 years, the most wins of any FBS team over the past decade, returned 21/22 starters from last year's Fiesta Bowl Champion team and yet it appears the pollsters are already making their move to ensure the Broncos are left out of the National Championship talk. What a shame.

What makes anyone still think the Broncos can't hang with the big boys? I can see that argument back in 2006 before they shocked the world with a few trick plays to upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, but not now. Not after winning the big game against the big name schools on the big stage time after time after time.

Four weeks into the college football season we have four teams realistically fighting for a spot in the National Championship: Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Boise State. Granted Oklahoma, LSU and Michigan could potentially run the table in their respective BCS AQ conferences and sneak in there, but only if those above teams all lose one--well, all but Boise State it appears.

What will the pollsters and computers decide if Bama, OSU and Oregon each drop a game and Oklahoma runs the table to win the Big 12 and LSU does the same to win the SEC? We all know those conferences are stronger than the WAC. Does that mean those teams are better than Boise State? I say no. I say Boise State has been patient and proven itself long enough. Should the Broncos play and defeat an undefeated Nevada November 26 on ESPN2, and finish unbeaten a week later for the second straight year, I say they are more deserving than anyone of a spot in the BCS National Championship.

Anyone have a decent argument against this?