Chris Dufresne’s top-25 rankings
Final regular season ratings, accounts payable:
Rankman reviewed his preseason top 15 and found that 10 of those teams made the top 15 of the final Bowl Championship Series standings. Rankman’s preseason No. 1, Texas, is in the BCS title game. Riskiest pick: Oregon at No. 6 (thank you, Ducks!). Biggest whiffs: Oklahoma at No. 3 (injury waiver claims for Gresham and Bradford). USC at No. 4 (formulated before Kindergarten Quarterback named starter). Off the top-25 radar: Cincinnati (replacing 10 defensive starters was obviously not a big deal). Hit it on the number: Ohio State at No. 8. Next year’s preseason No. 1: Roll Tide. Next year’s preseason No. 2: Boise State.
| RK. | TEAM | Comment (Last week’s ranking) |
| 1 | TEXAS 13-0 | Pro scouts say Colt needs to work on footwork and clock work. (1) |
| 2 | ALABAMA 13-0 | Figures: Tide fans who ripped Rankman now want BCS tickets. (4) |
| 3 | TEXAS CHRISTIAN 12-0 | Took out full-page ad in L.A. Times; now we’re covering Fiesta Bowl. (3) |
| 4 | CINCINNATI 12-0 | Tonight on Ed Sullivan: Irish Kelly and his dancing Sugar Bowl Bearcats. (5) |
| 5 | BOISE STATE 13-0 | Goes from blue turf to grass field that will be rolled in from outdoors. (6) |
| 6 | OREGON 10-2 | Receiver Dickson (Ed) and deliverer Knight (Phil) on All-Pac-10 team. (8) |
| 7 | FLORIDA 12-1 | Tebow: “No player will try harder to stay in hotel room all week.” (2) |
| 8 | OHIO STATE 10-2 | Coordinator runs away screaming after first look at Oregon’s spread. (8) |
| 9 | GEORGIA TECH 11-2 | Orange Bowl story line: triple-option offense vs. Bermuda Triangle. (10) |
| 10 | IOWA 10-2 | “MASH” star Alan Alda to ride shotgun on school’s Orange Bowl float. (9) |
| 11 | PENN STATE 10-2 | Cap One Bowl pits Mike the Tiger against Joe the Lion. (11) |
| 12 | VIRGINIA TECH 9-3 | Taking on what’s-their-names in the Chick-fil-A-in-the-blank bowl. (12) |
| 13 | BRIGHAM YOUNG 10-2 | Regulars to Vegas bowl will stay, as usual, at Wayne Newton’s ranch. (13) |
| 14 | OREGON STATE 8-4 | Beavers opt for Vegas because it was closest bowl to dam. (14) |
| 15 | STANFORD 8-4 | Gerhart told not to run over Heisman busts of Notre Dame players. (16) |
| 16 | NEBRASKA 9-4 | Heisman script calls for McCoy to take a knee when Suh enters room. (23) |
| 17 | ARIZONA 8-4 | Holiday funded by speeding tickets from fans driving from Tucson. (25) |
| 18 | MIAMI 9-3 | Facing Wisconsin in Champs Sports, although neither won a champ. (19) |
| 19 | PITTSBURGH 9-3 | Wonder when Wannstedt realized he got out-coached by Kelly? (20) |
| 20 | LOUISIANA STATE 9-3 | Cashed in “Rankman points” to upgrade to better poll position. (22) |
| 21 | OKLAHOMA STATE 9-3 | Billing for Cotton Bowl matchup vs. Mississippi: “Greed vs. Snead.” (21) |
| 22 | HOUSTON 10-3 | Funny how nation’s top air attack got matched against Air Force. (18) |
| 23 | UTAH 9-3 | Cal is OK, but Utes were hoping for another pushover like Alabama. (24) |
| 24 | CENTRAL MICHIGAN 11-2 | Enberg’s reaction after his school moved ahead of USC: “Oh my!” (NR) |
| 25 | USC 8-4 | Barkley’s goal: Keep Emerald Bowl passes out of McCovey Cove. (17) |
| Dropped out: California (15). Moved in: Central Michigan. |
twitter.com/DufresneLATimes
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
