Alabama
LSU
USC
Michigan
Oklahoma
TCU
West Virginia
South Carolina
Oregon
Georgia
| Final | |
| 1. SEC | In the aggregate, Nick Saban beat Less Miles 27-9. That's good enough for what could have been a controversial #1 ranking. Of course, the SEC is all one team, so does it really matter who actually won? |
| 2. SEC | Leslie Miles saved up a season's worth of bonehead decisions an unloaded all in one night in the BCS title game. Given their abysmal 92 yards of total offense, it was tempting to drop them below number two, but then again, they do have SEC speed. |
| 3. Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State avoided a letdown after being left out of the title game. They responded with one of the most entertaining games of the year against Stanford and finished like men. |
| 4. Oregon | When the Rose Bowl was first played in 1902, you could see a player's face because they didn't wear helmets. When the Rose Bowl was last played in 2012, you could see a player's face in the reflection off of an Oregon helmet. |
| 5. SEC | The Hogs pretty well dominated Kansas State in the Jerry Bowl. This team achieved more than I thought they would this year, but, with the exception of LSU and Bama, the schedule wasn't exactly a gauntlet. |
| 6. Stanford | Andrew Luck went out with a bang, even though his team lost. With his departure, Stanford will likely soon go back to being Stanford. Unfortunately for David Shaw, he is going to have to take the heat for that. |
| 7. Michigan State | Kirk Cousins just wins. |
| 8. Wisconsin | Wisconsin has lost two consecutive Rose Bowls on the final possession. Brett Bielema wins the 2011 Less Miles Award for clock management. |
| 9. Boise State | Kellen Moore finished his college career with a total of 50 wins. At greater than 12 wins per year, that record will probably be around for a while. It's hard, though, to praise Boise much for beating up on an Arizona State team that quit after losing to Oregon. |
| 10. SEC | Steve Spurrier may have finally found his answer in Connor Shaw. If he had gone to Shaw sooner, the Gamecocks could have done something significan this year. Instead, they will have to rely on high hopes for 2012. |
| 11. Michigan | It may be a first year fluke, but it looks like Brady Hoke has Michigan back on track to being a top ten program. Dennard Robinson still has to develop into a more consistent quarterback for them to reach that potential next year. |
| 12. Robert Griffin III | Tim Tebow wears RG3 socks. |
| 13. Kansas State | The magic ran out against Arkansas in the Jerry Bowl. Next year will be very interesting to see if Kansas State really is back as a program or if 2011 was a fluke. |
| 14. SEC | After a year of exceeding expectations, the old Mark Richt returned in overtime in Tampa. Taking a knee to kick on second down works…if you are at the goaline. It is not advised when you are setting up a 42 yard field goal. |
| 15. Oklahoma | Landry Jones and Oklahoma will be under a lot of pressure next year after their late collapse this season. No matter how talented they are, it's hard to consider them a real national title threat as long as Big Game Bob keeps showing up on the sideline. |
| 16. TCU | If TCU's defense comes back next year, they could make some real noise as a member of the Big ?. Casey Pachall rebounded from a shaky start to have a great season at QB. |
| 17. West Virginia | Speaking of new members of the Big ?...I think Tavon Austin just scored again. |
| 18. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Beamer Ball won the Sugar Bowl…for Michigan. |
| 19. Houston | Houston's dismantling of Penn State in the Cotton Bowl has to feel a little hollow after blowing their undefeated season in the C-USA title game and then beating up on a team that clearly did not want to be in a bowl. |
| 20. Southern Miss | Southern Miss quietly had a very good year, despite two inexplicable losses to Marshall and UAB. Their beat down of Houston had to have them asking "What if?" |
| 21. Florida State | FSU can't seem to figure out who they are. In the same game, they are both a great offense and a great defense, but never at the same time. The horses are there, but Jimbo Fisher hasn't figured out yet how to put it together, and there's no real reason to think he will in 2012. |
| 22. Nebraska | Taylor Martinez is the FSU of individual players. He is the only player I've ever seen who can be spectacular and terrible both at the same time. This was a disapointing year for the Huskers, and Bo may be feeling heat if they don't improve next year. |
| 23. Baylor | No, this is not a typo. |
| 24. BYU | After a terrible start, BYU won 9 of their final 10 games, with the only loss coming in a competitive game against TCU. Granted, they didn't play anyone with a pulse, but that's always a good way to finish. |
| 25. Northern Illinois | NIU finished on a 9 game winning streak, and Chandler Harnish finished with over 3,000 yards passing and over 1,300 yards rushing. That is better than sucking. Clemson would probably beat NIU if they played, but, then again, NIU didn't give up 70 points in their bowl game. |
