FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK
A FEW NOTES ON THE END OF
THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Florida's No. 1 in a landslide, with no lobbying necessary

The Gators finished atop The Associated Press Top 25 after upsetting Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS national championship game Monday night, a matchup Florida lobbied hard for late in the regular season when it looked as if the Gators would be left out.

The Buckeyes had been No. 1 since August and were looking to become the third team to hold the top spot in the media poll from preseason through the bowls. Florida State was the first in 1999 and Southern California did it in 2004.

Instead, Ohio State finished No. 2. LSU, Southern California and Boise State rounded out the top five.

And

The SEC champion Gators were joined in the Top 25 by five other league rivals, and no other conference finished with more in the top 25.

Oklahoma, which lost a 43-42 overtime classic to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, finished 11th. No. 12 Rutgers was followed by Texas, California, Arkansas and BYU.

Click here for the rest.

*First off, congrats to Florida. After what struck me at the time as an unconvincing win over LSU, a loss to Auburn, and some close calls over the course of the season, I didn't really think they had it in them. But, boy howdy, they sure did. I mean, by some standards it was a pretty boring championship game--the Gators came out with both jaws chomping and never let off the pressure, a total rout of Ohio State. But then, watching the mighty Buckeyes taken down like so much WAC trash had the allure of a dramatic car crash; I just couldn't look away. I was actually greatly entertained.

*My current school, LSU, ended up in the number three slot, which is cool, but my personal take is that Ohio State lost so badly that the Tigers ought to be ranked number two. There's probably a reason I don't get a vote on all this.

*The SEC got six teams to finish in the top 25? Holy shit! This really is the toughest conference in the country. The Big 12 really needs to get its shit together, and speaking of the Big 12, it's nice to see that Texas ended up with an okay season-end rating, especially after their back to back losses to K-State and Texas A&M to round out the season. But did Oklahoma really have to be ranked higher? I mean, the Longhorns did beat them, after all.

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