The Guru's BlogPoll (Final 2011)

The Guru's final 2011 BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 16

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	1
2	LSU Tigers	-1
3	Boise St. Broncos	1
4	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	1
5	Oregon Ducks	2
6	Stanford Cardinal	-3
7	USC Trojans	-1
8	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
9	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
10	Michigan Wolverines	2
11	TCU Horned Frogs	2
12	Houston Cougars	3
13	Wisconsin Badgers	-2
14	Kansas St. Wildcats	-4
15	Michigan St. Spartans	3
16	Virginia Tech Hokies	-2
17	West Virginia Mountaineers	5
18	Baylor Bears	2
19	Oklahoma Sooners	5
20	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	1
21	Georgia Bulldogs	-5
22	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-5
23	Clemson Tigers	-4
24	BYU Cougars	--
25	Cincinnati Bearcats	--
Dropouts: Penn St. Nittany Lions, Arkansas St. Red Wolves

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

* Reluctantly, I voted Alabama No. 1. The Tide really did not deserve their place in the BCS title game, but once there, they dominated an LSU team that seemed puzzlingly clueless on offense. For all the big games he's won, Les Miles should be held to account for this debacle. His refusal to replace Jordan Jefferson is the definition of insanity: Keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

* For what it's worth, Alabama becomes the first team to win a mythical national title without winning its conference or division - not counting indepedents, of course.

* The Big Ten barely salvaged some pride, with Michigan sneaking into the top 10 as the conference's lone representative. The Wolverines won an ugly contest against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl to help the Big Ten finish with a somewhat respectable 4-6 record in the bowl season.

* The same can't be said for the ACC and Big East, whose top teams finished 16th (Virginia Tech) and 17th (West Virginia), respectively. In contrast, the Mountain West placed two teams in the top 11 and Conference USA two in the top 20. The BCS's AQ status is now officially a joke.

* New teams on the ballot this week, after bowl victories: BYU and Cincinnati.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (5), Big Ten (4), Big 12 (4), Pac-12 (3), C-USA (2), MWC (2), ACC (2), Big East (2), Independent (1).