My, I wasn't hugely successful picking the bowl winners. There were some interesting surprises. The Big Ten, favored in NONE of their games and, with the exception of Northwestern, playing teams with better records and higher rankings, played tough. Purdue was the only disappointment; all others either won or beat their spreads. The ACC was also a pleasant surprise. Many of their teams struggled at times during the season, yet they became a behemoth during the bowls. On the other hand, the MAC, who spent several weeks surprising strong opponents from BCS conferences, fell flat in the bowls. So did the Big XII, who had the best overall record of all conferences, and the SEC. While the SEC finished 6-3 and won the BCS National Championship Game, they struggled in many of their games. Alabama and Ole Miss were the most impressive, and Vandy was next. Georgia needed a fourth quarter spurt to beat Nebraska after dominating them in the first half. Florida was embarrassed by Louisville in a game that had the largest anticipated margin of victory for the SEC.
So how did the conferences do? Here is my annual rankings of the bowl performances for the conferences:
1. WAC (2-0) : They were short-changed, with only two representatives, but won both of the games.
2. Conference USA (4-1) : They were competitive throughout the season, and proved that they can no longer be ignored. The anticipated collapse of the Big East (exemplified by their failed television renewal) has given the Conference USA officials an opening to plead for an automatic BCS bid.
3. ACC (4-2) : They turned around a mediocre season with a strong post-season performance
4. SEC (6-3) : They are here based upon their bowl record, not because of a wealth of outstanding performances. Winning the National Championship, especially in such a dominant fashion, does count for something.
5. Big East (3-2) : Louisville and Syracuse were big surprises
6. Pac-12 (4-3) : Better than they've done in recent years, and they won the Rose Bowl (although Stanford did not beat the spread). Oregon and Arizona State had great games.
7. Big Ten (2-5) : By record, they should be in ninth place, but they played better than expected in all but one game, and both teams from Michigan lost on last minute drives.
8. Sun Belt (2-2) : They had more teams in bowls than they ever had, and had only a mediocre result
9. Big XII (4-5) : For the conference whose teams accumulated the best overall record for all conferences, they had trouble demonstrating that in the bowls. Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas State were embarrassed, Texas and TCU didn't match expectations, and most of the teams produced lackluster performances.
10. MAC (2-5) : Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the bowls. Given how they played during the season, I expected the MAC to excel. Instead, they bombed.
11. Mountain West (1-4) : They may have severely damaged their bid for an automatic BCS bid.
Final Top 25 [Last season position]
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (13-1) [3] : They defended their title with a dominant performance against Notre Dame. That Irish defense didn't seem to bother them at all.
2. Oregon Ducks (12-1) [4] : Maybe the Ducks should have played in the National Championship Game
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0) [2] : They didn't play in a bowl, but they are the only unbeaten team
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-1) [1] : Their vaulted defense was ineffective
5. Georgia Bulldogs (12-2) [5] : They established a large lead and then got lazy, letting Nebraska back into the game. If not for some Cornhusker mistakes, their game could have ended much differently.
6. Florida State Seminoles (12-2) [9] : Okay, maybe Northern Illinois shouldn't have been in a BCS bowl
7. Texas A&M Aggies (11-2) [8] : Johnny Football lit up the Sooner defense
8. Clemson Tigers (11-2) [13] : They beat LSU in the Tiger Bowl, proving to the SEC that they should not underestimate the ACC
9. Kansas State Wildcats (11-2) [6] : The Wildcats offense couldn't keep up with Oregon and the defense couldn't stop them
10. Utah State Aggies (11-2) [17] : They engineered the first dominant performance of the bowls
11. South Carolina Gamecocks (11-2) [12] : They held back a surging Michigan offense at the end
12. Stanford Cardinal (12-2) [11] : Wisconsin didn't do anything unusual in the Rose Bowl, but Stanford struggled to stop them
13. LSU Tigers (10-3) [10] : Losers in the Tiger Bowl
14. Florida Gators (11-2) [7] : Their loss to Louisville may have been the most shocking bowl result
15. Boise State Broncos (11-2) [16]
16. San Jose State Spartans (11-2) [19] : Great game, and San Jose gets their first 11-win season!
17. Northern Illinois Huskies (12-2) [15] : Florida State ruined their best season ever
18. Oklahoma Sooners (10-3) [14] : Latest casualty of Johnny Football
19. UCF Golden Knights (10-4) [NR] : Large gap between this and the higher position, UCF finished a strong season with a strong bowl win
20. Northwestern Wildcats (10-3) [NR] : The Wildcats ruined Mississippi State's Cinderella season
21. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (11-3) [26]
22. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-3) [22]
23. Michigan Wolverines (8-5) [23] : The only five-game loser in the Top 25, they nearly beat the Gamecocks with an impressive comeback
24. Kent State Golden Flashes (11-3) [21]
25. Texas Longhorns (9-4) [NR]
Honorable Mentions: Arkansas State Red Wolves (10-3), Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-5), Louisville Cardinals (11-2), Wisconsin Badgers (8-6)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment