The College Football Blog: Wrapping up the 2008 Season

Final AP Poll Ranks Gators #1

The final AP poll ended up with Florida as the overwhelming National Champion after all, although Utah did receive 16 votes for #1, and some lone voter decided to cast his #1 vote for USC. Florida received 48 of the 55 votes for 1st place. Utah finished 2nd, USC 3rd, Texas 4th, and Oklahoma dropped all the way to 5th. The entire top 25 was made up of teams from the biggest 8 conferences (SEC, Big XII, Big Ten, ACC, Pac-10, Big East, MWC, and WAC); there were no teams from the MAC, Conference USA, the Sun Belt, or Independents. The Big XII led with 5 teams in the top 25; the SEC and Big Ten each had 4 teams in the top 25; the Mountain West, Pac-10, and ACC each had 3 teams in the top 25; the Big East had 2 teams in the top 25; and the WAC had 1 team in the final top 25. The Big XII also had the most teams in the top 20 of any conference; all 5 Big XII teams in the final poll were ranked in the top 19. The Big Ten had 3 in the top 20; the SEC had 4. No Big East team was ranked higher than 17th; no ACC team was ranked higher than 15th. The Big XII had 4 teams in the top 16 but it was the SEC that had the most teams in the top 15 with 4, all in the top 14. The SEC had 3 teams in the top 13; the Big XII had 3 in the top 12. The WAC’s lone team in the final top 25 (Boise State of course) was ranked 11th. The final AP top 10 was divided equally among 5 conferences: the SEC, the Big XII, the Pac-10, the Big Ten, and the Mountain West. Each conference had 2 teams in the top 10. The Big Ten had 2 teams in the top 9 and no team ranked higher than 8th. The Pac-10 had 2 teams in the top 10, including the team ranked 3rd. The Mountain West had 2 teams in the top 7, including the team ranked 2nd. The SEC had 2 teams in the top 6, including the #1 team in the country. And the Big XII had 2 teams in the top 5, but no team ranked higher than 4th. The Conference USA team that received the most votes was Tulsa, who came in at 30th in the final poll. Ball State was the MAC team with the most votes, coming in at 32nd in the final poll. No Independents or Sun Belt teams received a vote.


End of the Year Conference Reviews

ACC
The ACC had 10 bowl teams, more than any other conference. The ACC had 9 teams with winning records and 3 teams with losing records. NC State finished 6-7 after losing their bowl. The ACC had 1 team with double digit wins, as Virginia Tech went 10-4, winning the conference title and the Orange Bowl. Boston College (9-5) was the runner-up. The ACC’s worst team was Duke, who went 4-8, which isn’t that bad for a the worst team in the conference. VT won 10+ games for the 5th year in a row and the 6th time in 7 years, and won their 2nd straight ACC Title and their 3rd in 5 years. They have won the Costal Division in 3 of the last 4 years, playing in 3 of the last 4 conference championship games. Boston College lost to VT in the conference championship game for the 2nd year in a row. VT played in a BCS game for the 3rd time in 5 years and this time they finally won, beating Cinci in the Orange Bowl. VT played in the National Title Game back in 1999, losing to FSU when they were members of the Big East. They have won at least 10 games in 8 of their last 10 seasons.

Big XII
The Big XII had 7 bowl teams and 7 teams with winning records. They had 5 teams with losing records. The Big XII had 4 teams with double digit wins, more than any other conference: Oklahoma (12-2); Texas (12-1); Texas Tech (11-2); and Missouri (10-4). Oklahoma won the conference championship, beating runner-up Missouri in the conference title game for the 2nd year in a row. Oklahoma lost to Florida in the National Title Game, while Texas won the Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State. The worst team in the Big XII was Iowa State, who went 2-10. This was Texas Tech’s first 10 win season and they have not yet played in a BCS game or in the conference title game. Missouri won at least 10 games for the 2nd year in a row and won their 2nd straight North Division title, losing in the conference title game for the 2nd year in a row. Texas has won at least 10 games in each of the last 8 seasons. They’ve won 9 games or more in each of the last 11 seasons. They’ve won 5 straight bowl games and 7 of their last 8. They have won 3 BCS bowl games in the last 5 years and 1 National Championship. Amazingly, the Longhorns have won just 3 Big XII South Division titles and 1 Big XII Conference Championship over the last 10 years. This is because the dominant team in the Big XII during the past decade has been Oklahoma. The Sooners have won 3 straight Big XII Championships and 6 conference titles over the last 9 years. They have won 7 of the last 9 Big XII South Division Titles. Oklahoma has won 10 or more games in 8 of the last 9 seasons, and they have played in 7 BCS bowl games over the last 9 years. We know all about their struggles to win these big bowl games but they’ve actually won a couple. They have 2 BCS bowl wins. They have played in 4 BCS National Title Games over the last 9 years, winning 1 National Title. They have won 4 bowl games over the last 9 years.

Big East
The Big East had 6 bowl teams this year and 6 teams with winning records. They had 2 teams with losing records. Cincinnati was the conference champion and the Big East’s lone double digit win team, going 11-3. West Virginia and Pitt were runners-up, each going 9-4. Cincinnati lost to VT in the Orange Bowl. The worst team in the Big East was Syracuse, as they went 3-9. Cincinnati posted double digit wins for the 2nd straight season. West Virginia’s streak of 3 straight 11 win seasons was snapped this year.

Big Ten
There were 7 teams with winning records in the Big Ten and 7 bowl teams. 4 teams had losing records in the Big Ten. There were 2 double digit winning teams in the Big Ten: Penn State (11-2) and Ohio State (10-3). Penn State won the conference title and Ohio State was the runner-up. They both lost in BCS games, PSU falling to USC in the Rose Bowl and Ohio State falling to Texas in the Fiesta. The worst teams in the Big Ten were Indiana and Michigan, both of whom went 3-9. For PSU this was the 4th straight season with at least 9 wins, their 2nd 11 win season in 4 years, their 2nd BCS game in 4 years, and their 2nd Big Ten conference title in the last 4 years. They have 1 BCS game win in the last 4 years. Ohio State posted double digit wins for the 4th year in a row and the 6th time in the last 7 seasons. They had a share of the Big Ten title for the 4th year in a row and they have won 2 of the last 3 Big Ten championships. They have 3 Big Ten titles in the last 7 years. They have played in BCS games in 3 straight years; and they have played in 6 BCS games over the last 7 years, winning 3. They have played in 3 National Championship Games in the last 7 years and won 1 National Title.

Conference USA
C-USA had 6 bowl teams, 5 teams with winning records, and 7 teams with losing records. Memphis lost to SF in the St. Petersburg Bowl to finish 6-7. There were 2 double digit win teams in the C-USA: Tulsa (11-3) and Rice (10-3). EC won the conference title with Tulsa the runner-up. No C-USA team made a BCS game. The worst C-USA teams were Tulane (2-10) and SMU (1-11). Tulsa won the West Division title for the 3rd time in the last 4 years but they couldn’t win their 2nd conference title in the last 4 years. They lost to EC in the C-USA Championship Game. Rice had never come close to winning this many games in modern times and EC had never won the conference title before or even played in the conference championship game.

Independents
2 Independents had winning records; 2 made bowl games; and the other had a losing record. There were no 10 win independents but the best independent was Navy, who went 8-5. Navy won at least 8 games for the 6th straight year and made their 6th straight bowl game. Notre Dame lost at least 6 games for the 5th time in the last 8 years. Army was the worst independent, going 3-9.

MAC
The MAC had 5 bowl teams; 4 teams with winning records; 8 teams with losing records; and 1 team that finished .500. NIU lost to LT in the Independence Bowl to finish 6-7. There was 1 double digit win MAC team: Ball State (12-2). But BSU was the runner-up in the conference, as Buffalo (8-6) sniped them in the conference championship game. No MAC team played in a BCS bowl. The worst MAC team was Miami (Ohio), who went just 2-10. This was Buffalo’s 1st winning record in modern times and their 1st bowl appearance. BSU hadn’t won more than 7 games in a season during this decade before this year.

Sun Belt
2 SBC teams finished with winning records; 2 made bowl games; 5 SBC teams had losing records; and 2 finished at .500. There were no 10 win SBC teams. Troy (8-5) won the conference title and FAU (7-6) was the runner-up. The worst SBC teams were North Texas (1-11) and Western Kentucky (2-10). FAU has won bowl games in each of the last 2 seasons and Troy has won at least 8 games in each of the last 3 seasons.

Mountain West
5 MWC teams had winning records; 5 made bowl games; and 4 had losing records. There were 3 double digit win teams in the Mountain West: Utah (13-0); TCU (11-2); and BYU (10-3). Utah won the conference title and TCU was the runner-up. Utah won the Sugar Bowl over Alabama to finish the year undefeated. The worst MWC team was San Diego State (2-10). Utah won their 3rd conference title in the last 6 years; won at least 10 games for the 3rd time in the last 6 years; won their 2nd BCS game in the last 5 years; finished undefeated for the 2nd time in the last 5 years; and won their 6th bowl game in the last 6 years. TCU won at least 10 games for the 3rd time in the last 4 years and the 6th time in the last 9. They won their 4th bowl game in the last 4 years and they have 1 conference title in the last 4 years. BYU won at least 10 games for a 3rd straight year and they have won 2 of the last 3 MWC titles.

Pac-10
5 Pac-10 teams had winning records; 5 made bowl games; and 5 had losing records. There were 2 double digit win Pac-10 teams: USC (12-1) and Oregon (10-3). USC won the conference title and Oregon was the runner-up. USC beat PSU in the Rose Bowl. The worst Pac-10 teams were Washington (0-12) and Washington State (2-11). Oregon won at least 10 games for the 2nd time in 4 years; won at least 9 games for the 3rd time in 4 years; and won 10 games for the 4th time in the last 9 years. But USC’s Pac-10 and Rose Bowl dominance is just overwhelming. USC won at least 11 games for the 7th straight season. They went to their 7th straight BCS bowl and won for the 6th time in 7 years. They have had a share of the last 7 Pac-10 championships and won the last 6 Pac-10 titles. They have played in 2 national title games over the last 5 years and won 1. They are 4-1 in the Rose Bowl over the last 6 years.

WAC
The WAC had 5 bowl teams; 4 teams with winning records; 3 teams with losing records; and 2 teams at .500. Hawaii lost to ND in the Hawaii Bowl to finish 7-7. There was only 1 double digit win WAC team and that was the conference champion, Boise State (12-1). LT and Nevada were runners-up but not really. The Broncos were undefeated before losing by a point to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl to finish 12-1. No WAC team played in a BCS game. The worst WAC teams were Utah State (3-9), New Mexico State (3-9), and Idaho (2-10). Boise State’s dominance of the WAC continued this year, as they won their 6th WAC title in the last 7 years. They have won at least 10 games in 3 straight years, 6 of the last 7 seasons, and 7 of the last 9. They have won 9 or more games in 8 of the last 9 years, and 11 or more games in 5 of the last 7. They have won 1 BCS game in the last 3 years.

SEC
The SEC had 8 bowl teams; 8 teams with winning records; and 4 teams with losing records. Florida won the conference title and Bama was the runner-up. There were 3 teams that won double digit games in the SEC: Florida (13-1); Bama (12-2); and Georgia (10-3). Florida beat Oklahoma in the National Title game to win the National Championship. Bama lost to Utah in the Sugar Bowl. The worst SEC team was Mississippi State, who went 4-8. Florida won 13 games, the SEC Championship, and the National Title for the 2nd time in the last 3 years. They have won at least 9 games in each of the last 4 seasons. Bama won at least 10 games for the 2nd time in the last 4 years but this was their 1st conference title game and their first BCS game of the decade. Georgia won at least 10 games for the 6th time in the last 7 years, and won at least 9 games for the 7th year in a row. They have won 3 SEC East Division titles and 2 SEC Championships over the last 7 years. They have played in 3 BCS games over the last 7 years, winning 2.