The Guru's BlogPoll Ballot (Final)

The Guru's final BlogPoll ballot for 2012, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 15

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	4
2	Oregon Ducks	1
3	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	-2
4	Ohio St. Buckeyes	-2
5	Texas A&M Aggies	5
6	Georgia Bulldogs	2
7	Stanford Cardinal	--
8	Florida Gators	-4
9	Florida St. Seminoles	3
10	South Carolina Gamecocks	3
11	Clemson Tigers	3
12	Kansas St. Wildcats	-6
13	LSU Tigers	-4
14	Utah State Aggies	2
15	San Jose St. Spartans	2
16	Louisville Cardinals	9
17	Oklahoma Sooners	-6
18	Northwestern Wildcats	3
19	Boise St. Broncos	5
20	Vanderbilt Commodores	New
21	Texas Longhorns	New
22	Oregon St. Beavers	-7
23	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-4
24	Northern Illinois Huskies	-2
25	Arkansas St. Red Wolves	New
Dropouts: UCLA Bruins, Michigan Wolverines, San Diego St. Aztecs

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings

* OK, so Notre Dame was thoroughly exposed as a fraud. In retrospect, that wasn't hard to see. While nine of the Irish's 12 opponents went to a bowl game, they only went 3-6 and five of those teams were pounded - Oklahoma, Purdue, Navy, Pitt and USC. The only "good" win they had turned out to be Stanford, at the time yet to start the more dynamic quarterback Kevin Hogan.

* The SEC is once again the best conference, leading all AQ leagues with a 6-3 bowl record, including New Year's Day (or later) wins by Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama. The only real disappointments were LSU, which lost a nailbiter to Clemson, and Florida, which was inexplicably routed by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl.

* Despite constant harping about the inadequacies of BCS 2.0, it'll be far superior to the current version - IF - it could've included Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon and another SEC team in the Final Four. We could've had Alabama-Oregon or an all-SEC championship game - and either would've been preferable to the debacle in Miami on Monday night.

* The worst BCS conference once again is the Big Ten, which was lucky to finish 2-5, as Michigan State really should've lost to TCU to make it 1-6. The only B1G team that did its conference proud was surprising Northwestern, which finished the season with a 10-3 record and routed Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl.

* But the most disappointing team of the year has to be USC. My - and many others' - preseason No. 1 team finished 7-6, ending the disastrous year with a desultory loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (7), Pac-12 (3), Big Ten (3), Big 12 (3), ACC (2), WAC (2), MWC (1), MAC (1), Big East (1), Sun Belt (1), Independent (1).

The Guru's BlogPoll Ballot (Final Regular Season)

The Guru's BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 14

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
2	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
3	Oregon Ducks	--
4	Florida Gators	1
5	Alabama Crimson Tide	1
6	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
7	Stanford Cardinal	1
8	Georgia Bulldogs	-4
9	LSU Tigers	--
10	Texas A&M Aggies	--
11	Oklahoma Sooners	--
12	Florida St. Seminoles	--
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
14	Clemson Tigers	--
15	Oregon St. Beavers	2
16	Utah State Aggies	--
17	San Jose St. Spartans	1
18	UCLA Bruins	1
19	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-4
20	Michigan Wolverines	--
21	Northwestern Wildcats	--
22	Northern Illinois Huskies	3
23	San Diego St. Aztecs	-1
24	Boise St. Broncos	New
25	Louisville Cardinals	New
Dropouts: Texas Longhorns, Kent St. Golden Flashes

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings

* I wouldn't have put Alabama in the BCS title game. In fact, I wouldn't have the Tide in the 4-team playoff were that to commence today. Simply put, Alabama has not played a schedule worthy of a No. 2 team. The Tide's best win was over Georgia in the SEC championship game, by a hair. Their best regular-season win was a comeback at LSU, by a hair. The rest of their wins were over a bunch of patsies, and they lost to Texas A&M.

* Oregon is the team that should be playing for the BCS title. Its only loss is in overtime to a conference champion that's ranked higher than Texas A&M. The Ducks absolutely destroyed everybody else. Why does Alabama get a pass for a home loss in regulation but Oregon doesn't for a home loss - to a better team - in overtime?

* I'd even make a case for Florida before Alabama. The Gators played arguably the toughest schedule among all the top teams. They beat four teams ranked in the top 13. Their only loss was a close one at a neutral site. That loss kept them out of the SEC title game, but last year that happened to the Tide and it didn't stop them from winning the "national championship."

* I have Northern Illinois at No. 22 on my ballot. While I made a passionate defense for the Huskies on why they deserve to be in the BCS based on the setup of the system, this is where they should be in a poll given the strength of their schedule and that their only loss was to 4-8 Iowa.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (6), Pac-12 (4), Big Ten (4), Big 12 (2), ACC (2), WAC (2), MWC (2), MAC (1), Big East (1), Independent (1).

The Guru's BlogPoll Ballot (Week 13)

The Guru's BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 13

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
2	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
3	Oregon Ducks	--
4	Georgia Bulldogs	--
5	Florida Gators	--
6	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
7	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
8	Stanford Cardinal	2
9	LSU Tigers	2
10	Texas A&M Aggies	2
11	Oklahoma Sooners	2
12	Florida St. Seminoles	-5
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	1
14	Clemson Tigers	-5
15	Nebraska Cornhuskers	2
16	Utah State Aggies	New
17	Oregon St. Beavers	-2
18	San Jose St. Spartans	4
19	UCLA Bruins	-3
20	Michigan Wolverines	--
21	Northwestern Wildcats	New
22	San Diego St. Aztecs	1
23	Texas Longhorns	-5
24	Kent St. Golden Flashes	--
25	Northern Illinois Huskies	New
Dropouts: Louisville Cardinals, Oklahoma St. Cowboys, Rutgers Scarlet Knights

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

* Is Notre Dame the best team of the nation? Well, probably not. On a neutral field, the Irish would be an underdog against more than half of the teams currently in the top 10. But the nature of the polls demand that they're ranked No. 1, so they are.

* ND gets the edge over Ohio State by virtue of its better win over Michigan State. The two lone unbeaten teams actually had three common opponents. Both eked out close wins against Michigan and Purdue, but the Irish blew out the Spartans while the Buckeyes won by just one.

* Michigan is the only four-loss team on the ballot, and it's really a bit of a head-scratcher of a team. The four teams the Wolverines lost to combined to have lost just three games (0 for Nos. 1 and 2 Notre Dame and Ohio State, 1 for No. 6 Alabama and 2 for No. 15 Nebraska). They easily could've been a top 10 team, but they're right about where they are.

* Two WAC teams (Utah State and San Jose State) and two MAC teams (Kent State and Northern Illinois) are on my ballot for the first time ever. The WAC is disbanding as a football conference after this season, but at least it's going out on a high note.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (6), Pac-12 (4), Big Ten (4), Big 12 (3), ACC (2), WAC (2), MAC (2), MWC (1), Independent (1).

The Guru's BlogPoll Ballot (Week 12)

This week's BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 12

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	2
2	Ohio St. Buckeyes	2
3	Oregon Ducks	-2
4	Georgia Bulldogs	1
5	Florida Gators	1
6	Alabama Crimson Tide	1
7	Florida St. Seminoles	1
8	Kansas St. Wildcats	-6
9	Clemson Tigers	--
10	Stanford Cardinal	3
11	LSU Tigers	-1
12	Texas A&M Aggies	-1
13	Oklahoma Sooners	-1
14	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
15	Oregon St. Beavers	--
16	UCLA Bruins	--
17	Nebraska Cornhuskers	--
18	Texas Longhorns	2
19	Louisville Cardinals	--
20	Michigan Wolverines	2
21	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	2
22	San Jose St. Spartans	New
23	San Diego St. Aztecs	1
24	Kent St. Golden Flashes	1
25	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	New
Dropouts: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, USC Trojans

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings

* Well, there's no way of getting around this, Notre Dame is the No. 1-ranked team in the land, even if it's not the BEST team. There is a difference, and we'll see what that difference is in the BCS title game - if, Notre Dame gets by USC.

* I don't understand why Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the AP and coaches polls. Is it because the Tide are the defending national champion? And why does that have to do with anything? Florida won at Texas A&M and lost a close game at a neutral site to Georgia and somehow it's ranked several spots behind Alabama, which lost at home to A&M?

* There are several quality if unheralded non-AQ teams quietly putting together an impressive resume. I'll just mention San Jose State, a beleaguered program that's having its best year in decades. The Spartans nearly knocked off Stanford in the season opener (which turned out to be no fluke) and also handed San Diego State one of its only two losses. They should get a decent bowl, but they won't.

* On the flipside, there's USC, my (and my others') preseason No. 1, which is going out with a whimper. The Trojans likely will finish 7-5 with Matt Barkley sitting out the regular-season finale against Notre Dame. SC's demise starts and ends with coaching, but Lane Kiffin will be back next season, even if he's forced to fire his own dad.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (6), Pac-12 (4), Big 12 (4), Big Ten (3), ACC (2), Big East (2), MAC (1), MWC (1), WAC (1), Independent (1).