Inaugural Post: End of season Top 25

Hi! Welcome to my blog. This will be my space to vent about many sports-related issues. I will focus heavily on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Penn State Nittany Lions, but will also touch on events from all over the sports world as I see fit.

First topic: Of course, it's always the most discussed issue this year: the BCS and why it sucks! I am firmly in the playoff camp, and it's not just because my one loss Nittany Lions won't get a chance at the national championship. It's just the common sense thing to do. The only good thing that bowls do is pump up tourism in the South around New Years, which a playoff could still do if neutral sites were used for the later rounds. I also disagree with the most classic argument against a playoff: that it would cheapen the regular season. I believe it would actually increase the number of relevant regular season games late in the season.

As for this year, the title game will likely be Florida vs. Oklahoma - and after the way the Sooners dismantled Missouri last night (and everyone else on their November schedule), I don't think there's any argument that these two teams are the best in the country. Fans of Texas, Penn State, and USC can gripe all they want, but all lost winnable games against lesser teams on the road.

Anyways, my end of regular season Top 25:

1 Oklahoma (12-1)
-After their Oct. 11 loss to Texas, their offense put up point totals of 45, 58, 62, 66, 65, 61, and 62 points, and against some good teams too. They are the classic example of a team that takes an early season loss and improves greatly from it.

2 Florida (12-1)
- Much like the Sooners, Florida lost an early season game - by 1 point to an Ole Miss team that turned out to be not so bad - and improved greatly from it down the stretch. The Gators won each of their regular season games following the Ole Miss loss by at least 30 points, and then knocked off undefeated Alabama in the SEC championship.

3 Penn State (11-1)
- This is a bit of a homer pick, but I don't think the Big Ten got enough credit in the rankings throughout the year. My Lions lost on the road against an underrated Iowa team, won a slugfest at Ohio State, and destroyed just about every other team on the schedule. This sets up a titanic clash at the Rose Bowl between PSU and USC, and if the Lions win then some national credibility will be restored for the Big Ten.

4 USC (11-1)
- The Trojans lost at an Oregon State team that turned out to be so bad, and destroyed everyone else on their schedule, but the Pac 10 was too weak this year compared to the SEC and Big 12 to put them back in the Top 2.

5 Texas (11-1)
- Longhorn fans have a legitimate gripe about being excluded from the Big 12 title game, but if Blake Gideon would have able to hold on to an interception in the waning moments against Texas Tech, we would not be having this conversation.

6 Ohio State (10-2)
- Again, a bit of a homer Big Ten pick, but their losses came against Nos. 3 and 4 on this list. Whichever BCS bowl they play in will also be crucial to improving the Big Ten's perception.

7 Boise State (12-0)
- Of the undefeated "mid-majors", Utah had the stronger schedule and thus will likely get the BCS bowl berth. But I still think the Broncos are a better team that didn't get the same chance to prove it. Their win at Oregon was the centerpiece of a schedule in which they were never really challenged in WAC play. This brings me to one of my bigger gripes against the BCS: the "good person" clause that gives one (and ONLY ONE) berth to a team from a lesser conference if they finish in the Top 12. But this year, both Boise State and Utah will likely be in the Top 12. So how exactly is it fair that Boise State gets penalized because Utah is also good?

8 Texas Tech (11-1)
- Mike Leach's run up the score offense finally got some national attention this year after their win against Texas. But, when faced against a similar challenge on the road, the Red Raiders turtled against Oklahoma. Enjoy the Cotton Bowl. Side note: Can we please STOP talking about Texas Tech QB's being considered for the Heisman Trophy. Graham Harrell was in the mix before the OU loss. No dis on Graham, but the offense is designed such that if you can throw the ball accurately 5 yards, you will have great success. Giving the Heisman to a Texas Tech QB would be like giving a lottery winner the Entrepeneur of the Year award.

9 Alabama (12-1)
- I thought Bama was a bit overrated all season, and #1 by default since they were the only undefeated major conference team. Their loss to Florida proved those suspicions.

10 Utah (12-0)
- Give credit to the Utes, they swept through an unusually strong Mountain West and have earned their BCS trip. But...let's just say I don't think they will fare well at whatever bowl they wind up in.

11 Cincinnati (11-2)
- The Bearcats snuck up on everybody and won the competitive (if mediocre) Big East.

12 Oregon (9-3)
- The Ducks saved Penn State a boring Rose Bowl rematch against Oregon State by dismantling them in the Civil War rivalry game.

13 TCU (10-2)
- Poor TCU. Most years, this team would have gone unbeaten and made a BCS bowl. But this year, they had Oklahoma on the schedule and Utah was good too and beat them.

14 Ole Miss (8-4)
- The Rebels won their last 5 to cement their place as the third best SEC team. Key wins were at Florida and at LSU.

15 Michigan State (9-3)
- The Spartans choked against each of the powers in the league, but otherwise were solid in Big Ten play.

16 Pittsburgh (9-3)
- My current neighbors (I live just down the road from the Pitt campus) recovered from the season opening loss to Bowling Green to have a pretty good year for Dave Wannstache. But somehow, they still can't seem to consistently fill the seats at Heinz Field...

17 Buffalo (8-5)
- This is normally where Ball State would go, but they choked in epic fashion against Buffalo in the MAC Championship Game.

18 Oregon State (8-4)
- The Beavs were USC's only blemish and were just one game away from the Rose Bowl. And then they lost that game at home to their biggest rival by 27. Oops.

19 Oklahoma State (9-3)
- Solid team, but just couldn't get past the clump at the top of the Big 12 South.

20 Virginia Tech (9-4)
- So you're telling me the Big East and ACC champions get automatic BCS berths, but WAC champ Boise State will have to settle for something called the Poinsettia Bowl. How about not discerning between "major" and "non-major" conferences and just automatically rewarding the 6 highest ranked conference champions with BCS berths and then giving out additional berths based on the Top 12 rule. That would put both Boise State and Virginia Tech in the bowls they belong in.

21 Troy (8-4)
- You know it was a bad year for the ACC when the Sun Belt champ (at least in one blogger's eyes) is just one spot lower in the rankings than the ACC champ.

22 Missouri (9-4)
- Preseason national title favorite turned into afterthought fairly quickly.

23 East Carolina (9-4)
- Knocked off Virginia Tech and West Virginia at start of season, then lost 3 in a row, then rebounded to win the C-USA championship. They get rewarded with a trip to Memphis. Yup.

24 Rutgers (7-5)
- Rebounded from a horrendous 1-5 start to win their final 6 in stylish fashion.

25 Georgia Tech (9-3)
- Probably the best team in the ACC, but didn't get to play in the championship game due to early season loss to Virginia Tech. Texas fans weep.