My (Final) Harris Poll Vote: From the Bird’s Nest
I said last week if Florida State and Ohio State were both undefeated, I would vote them 1-2 in my final poll.
I was criticized (especially here in SEC country) for suggesting Ohio State was more deserving than, oh, let's say, the top seven teams in the SEC.
But my view has been consistent over the years. If there are only two teams from the top five conferences that are undefeated, they should play for the title. Yeah, I know about strength of conference and strength of schedule. But I have never thought a school should be penalized for the league they play in. If you have a schedule and navigate it unscathed, you get the nod over someone who did not, even if that team played a tougher schedule. Everything is relative.
But, with only one undefeated team, it's a no-brainer the one-loss team in the championship should come from the Southeastern Conference.
With that said, here is my final vote in the Harris Poll.
1. Florida State
2. Auburn
This will be a very interesting game. Florida State's defense is the second best Auburn will have faced (Alabama.) Yet, the Tigers are going to score points. Can they keep FSU from simply outscoring them? Time will tell.
3. Alabama
4. Michigan State
5. Ohio State
It was easy to put OSU at number five, especially after number six ( the OTHER OSU) lost.
6. Missouri
7. South Carolina
8. Baylor
9. Stanford
10. Clemson
That's four teams from the Southeastern Conference in the Top seven. Still think I'm biased against the SEC?
11. Oklahoma
12. Oklahoma State
13. Oregon
14. LSU
15. Fresno State
Looks like Oregon is going to be left out of a BCS bowl in favor of Oklahoma. That's too bad. A Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Oregon really could have been fun.
16. UCF
17. Louisville
18. Northern Illinois
19. Arizona State
20. Wisconsin
I might have the Badgers rated too low. That hosing they got at Arizona State puts a mark on them they probably don't deserve.
21. Duke
22. Ball State
23. Texas A&M
24. UCLA
25. Miami (FL)
Someone has to be ranked 21-25.
So, there you have it. The undefeated team is #1. The one-loss SEC team is #2. That part is easy.
I'll leave the rest to the bowl committees.