1 Auburn (14-0) – Perfect season in the SEC and a BCS Title is good enough for me. Also has by far the best overall resume with wins over Oregon, LSU, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi St. and South Carolina (x2)
2 Oregon (12-1) – I see no reason to drop the Ducks just because they lost a close game to the best team. There was nothing in that game that made me think TCU was any better
3 TCU (13-0) – This season's TCU team is probably the best non-BCS team ever (yes better than the two Utah teams and the two Boise St. teams) and the win over a truly motivated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl is better than any win any of their predecessors had
4 Stanford (12-1) – And now we start the hype for Andrew Luck's Heisman run. The Cardinal were very impressive in the 2nd half dismantling of Virginia Tech
5 Wisconsin (11-2) – I still think they are the Big Ten's best team despite the loss. Should have run the ball more in the Rose Bowl. TCU didn't have enough beef on the defensive line to stop it
6 Ohio St. (12-1) – The suspended players shouldn't have been allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, but they all made a huge contribution to the victory
7 LSU (11-2) – I think Les Miles turned down Michigan because he might have another national title team on his hands here next season
8 Oklahoma (12-2) – And this team, with all of its underclassmen putting off the draft, will be LSU's main competition
9 Nevada (13-1) – Wolfpack probably aren't quite this good, but only one loss and the win over Boise St. gets them this high
10 Boise St. (12-1) – Will start high again next season with Kellen Moore back. Wondering when the effects of coordinator drain start to hit this program (DC Justin Wilcox left for Tennessee last offseason, OC Bryan Harsin is now at Texas)
11 Alabama (10-3) – Crimson Tide played as complete a game as anyone has played all season in destroying Michigan St.
12 Oklahoma St. (11-2) – Cowboys were one of the few Big 12 teams that didn't fall flat on their face during bowl season. How will they overcome the loss of OC Dana Holgerson?
13 Arkansas (10-3) – This team should have finished 12-1. Blew the game against Alabama and should have finished off Ohio St. Never would have thought 10-3 could be underachievement for this program
14 Texas A&M (9-4) – Aggies finally seem to have some forward momentum after a decade in the wilderness. Still don't have quite enough overall talent to compete with a team like LSU on a neutral field
15 Mississippi St. (9-4) - 5th place in the division isn't supposed to end up 15th in the country, but the top five in the SEC West went 44-2 against everyone else
16 Virginia Tech (11-3) – Blowout loss to Stanford more proof this program isn't quite elite and ACC is second-tier until someone dethrones them
17 Florida St. (10-4) – Seminoles are going to be very good next year. It appears the Sunshine state rivalry has swung back in their favor
18 Michigan St. (11-2) – I really wanted to drop Sparty lower for that shameful bowl performance (and almost did considering the Iowa blowout), but 11 wins in a BCS league, no matter how watered down is still impressive
19 Maryland (9-4) – Terps might about to be headed for the wilderness. This team fired its coach for changes sake like morons. If there is any justice, they will fall off the table entirely for the next decade or so
20 NC State (9-4) – This Wolfpack played worse than its record and has more talent than its record. They still confound me, even after the season.
21 Nebraska (10-4) – Another team that performed shamefully in the bowl season, though I can't really blame them after the Big 12 rigged the bowl matchups to give them a meaningless bad matchup in the same place as last season on the way out
22 Missouri (10-3) – Still like this team, but Gabbart's interception at the end was brutal and the loss in Lincoln was pretty ugly
23 Central Florida (11-3) – It was about as ugly as bowl games get, but the win over Georgia was needed for legitimacy
24 Utah (10-3) – Didn't really beat anyone and not really impressive along the way. Still ranked because conquests Air Force and San Diego St. were impressive during the bowl season
25 Tulsa (10-3) – Todd Graham did a great job in his four years here before leaving. This seems like the high point for the foreseeable future at this program
Others Considered
South Carolina (9-5) – Five losses is just too much if there are any bad losses and that Kentucky loss stands out like an albatross
USC (8-5) – Same as above (even if Washington managed to win its bowl game)
Connecticut (8-5) – Giving a token nod to the Big East champion here, nothing more. Not at all deserving of the top 25 with losses to Temple and Michigan on the resume along with a blowout bowl loss
San Diego St. (9-4) – Four losses by 15 combined points was a great season, maybe a little too good since Brady Hoke is now the coach at Michigan
Hawaii (10-4) – Up and down and all over the place, the co-WAC champs (yes they shared the title with Boise St. and Nevada) had losses outside of conference play to USC, Tulsa and Colorado
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