For all of the back-handing the BCS, Harris Poll, Coaches' Poll, and computers have taken this season, it's funny to see the AP poll (the outcast red-headed step-child of the BCS) rise to the occasion and end the season with an even more controversial poll than the BCS.  It's no wonder this pole was booted from the BCS system, as it seems writers and media, who study, analyze and report on this stuff, all season long, are worse at filling out a polling list than coaches and sports dignitaries.  This complaint is completely moot considering that the rightful #1 in Florida IS #1 by all polls, and that's all that should matter,,right?  WRONG!! There is plenty of bragging rights and chest thumping left to do for the rest of the college football elite, in order to gain that slight advantage in recruiting.

Here's the final AP poll for the 2008 season, with their #1 votes, record, total votes, and previous ranking:

1)  Florida (48)   13-1   1606   1
2)  Utah (16)   13-0   1519   7
3)  USC (1)   12-1   1481   5
4)  Texas       12-1   1478   3
5)  Oklahoma   12-2   1391   2
6)  Alabama     12-2   1264   4
7)  TCU             11-2   1193   11
8)  Penn St       11-2   1153   6
9)  Ohio St        10-3   1013  10
10)  Oregon     10-3    997   15

Now I understand that polling is a cumulative effect of many different voters casting their votes with biases, opinions, and regional interests, and that final outcomes can seem skewed or odd compared to what general perception thinks the results should look like.  Though the whole Top 25 are filled with anomolies, I'm going to concentrate on the Top 10, as the bottom 15 are just a crap-shoot.

Utah had a great season, and topped it off with an impressive win against an SEC team in their own backyard.  However, do they truly warrant 16 first place votes?  Are there honestly 16 paid writers out there that believe Utah is a better team than Florida?  Florida is undisputably the #1 team.  Florida held the best offense in the land to 14 points, and doubled them on the scoreboard.  No doubt about it.  So, how do supposedly educated journalist think they can cast a #1 vote for Utah and justify it?  Thank the BCS, the AP doesn't really matter anymore.

TCU from 11 to 7?  Sure TCU had a fine season, but they failed to get over the hump against tougher competition (Oklahoma and Utah).  Their 17-6 bowl win over an undefeated Boise St. was nice, but hardly a 4 spot jump in the polls.  Boise St. played a soft schedule this year, and everyone knew they weren't as good on the field as they showed on paper.  How does one non-BCS school jump 4 spots by beating another non-BCS school?  Not impressive in my book.

Oregon climbed from #15 to #10.  This is the same 3-loss Oregon squad that lost at home to Boise St., which wasn't that great despite their regular season undefeated record.  This is a team from the Pac-1 plus 9.  They beat Oklahoma St. by 11 in the Holiday Bowl.  Far from a blow out, and definitely not OSU's finest performance of the year.  The Holiday Bowl is always a good win for your team if you can't swing a BCS bowl, but does anyone really think this 2-loss team is a top 10 squad this season?

Alabama gets thumped (embarassed) by a non-BCS school, and only falls 2 spots, while Texas beats Ohio St. and slips 1 spot.  Apparently the Big 10 is getting less credibility by the second, while the Mountain West Conference is the new SEC.

Despite losing to 3 Top 10 teams, including the Fiesta Bowl versus Texas, Ohio St. managed to climb up 1 spot in the final poll to #9.   This line of logic seems to indicate that if Ohio St. went 0-12 versus the Top 12 teams, that they'd end the season with a 0-12 record and ranked #13.  Apparently, the Big 10 is getting more credibility than I thought before.

The only things that made sense about this poll were that Florida was #1, and Texas was ranked over O(verrated)U.

My Top 5

1)  Florida - by virture of having won the NC game against tough OU, and played a tough schedule.  They deserve it.
2)  Texas - by having beat Oklahoma, and should have played in Big 12 and NC games.  They beat Ohio St., and played one of the toughest schedules around, including 4 straight top 11 teams in 4 weeks.  Their whole season came down to a single play on the road against a Top 10 opponent.
3)  Utah - Close behind Texas.  Their perfect season weighs a lot, and their whipping of #4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, even more.  They have some solid wins on their schedule (BYU, TCU),  but it's hard to guage by not playing any other big games all year.
4)  USC - Their 12-1 record is impressive, and they dispatched Penn St. in the Rose Bowl with ease.  They had one of the best defenses ever, but they are handicapped with a so-so loss to Oregon St. and playing in the Pac 1 plus 9.
5)  Oklahoma - They had a great season with one of the all-time performances by Heisman QB Sam Bradford.  They would have had to have beaten Florida by a bunch to earn #1 on my board, as they didn't beat UT.  However, they lost in a well fought game that got decided late.  Despite 2 losses, they stay in the Top 5, as I can't really say that any other teams are better than them.  Like their game against Texas, they simply ran into an equal opponent, and allowed themselves to have a bad half.