Irish, Tide Top Final Rankings
Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson is a quarterback who can run around and make plays. He could be a big factor in the BCS Championship game, as Alabama has struggled against dual threat quarterbacks this season. (Photo courtesy of Gett Images)
Six Southeastern Conference teams are in the top 10 of the final BCS rankings, which were revealed Sunday night.
The No. 1 spot in the BCS standings remains with Notre Dame, which did not play this past week. Notre Dame finished their regular season at 12-0 and will be heading to the BCS National Championship. The Irish have not been there since 1988 when they defeated West Virginia.
The Fighting Irish will face the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide for the title. The Tide is heading back to the National Championship for the second straight season. Last season, Alabama defeated LSU to take home the title.
After a loss late in the season to Texas A&M, many analysts thought the Tide would have no chance to make it back to the title game, but thanks to a few upsets, the Tide will get the chance to defend its title.
Florida finished the season at No. 3 with a record of 11-1 with a loss to Georgia causing the Gators to fall short of taking the SEC East. Florida’s defense only allowed an average of 12.9 points per game. The Gators will play in the Sugar Bowl.
The No. 4 spot went to the 11-1 Oregon Ducks. The Ducks suffered a loss to Stanford at the end of the season that crushed their national title hopes. The Ducks averaged 50.8 points per game on the season.
The only game that Oregon did not score over 40 points was in their loss to Stanford, where they were held to only 14 points. Oregon will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl.
Kansas State was picked fifth in the BCS standings. Kansas State, like Oregon, also had its national title hopes crushed, in the same night, with a loss to Baylor. Kansas State is led by quarterback Collin Klein, with 2,490 passing yards and 890 rushing yards. Kansas State will be Oregon’s opponent in the Fiesta Bowl.
The first two-loss team in the in the BCS standings is No. 6 Stanford. Stanford suffered losses to Washington and Notre Dame early on. Stanford was predicted to struggle this season after losing star quarterback Andrew Luck, but they have proven many analysts wrong. After a win over UCLA to end the regular season and then again in the PAC 12 title game, they will be heading to the Rose Bowl.
The No. 7 spot goes to the Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs fell from the No. 3 spot after suffering a loss to Alabama in the SEC championship. They also suffered a loss to South Carolina earlier in the season. With the loss to Alabama, Georgia lost their bid to a BCS bowl game and will be playing in the Capital One Bowl.
The LSU Tigers hold the No. 8 spot in the BCS standings. The Tigers fell short to Alabama in winning the SEC West and possibly picking up a BCS bowl game. LSU’s two losses come from Florida and Alabama, both close games. The Tigers will be going to the Chick-Fil-A bowl.
No. 9 in the standings are the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies are 10-2 on the season with losses to Florida and LSU. The Aggies are lead by Heisman hopeful, redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny “Football” Manziel. Manziel has 3,419 passing yards and 1,181 rushing yards and leads the team in both. Texas A&M will be playing in the Cotton Bowl.
The South Carolina Gamecocks get the No. 10 spot in the BCS standings. The Gamecocks are the sixth SEC team in the top 10 of the BCS standings. South Carolina is 10-2 with losses to LSU and Florida. They will be playing in the Outback Bowl.
The 11-15 spots in the BCS standings are Oklahoma, Florida State, Oregon State, Clemson and Northern Illinois. No. 16-20 goes to Nebraska, UCLA, Michigan, Boise State,and Northwestern. The final spots are filled by Louisville, Utah State, Texas, San Jose State and Kent State.
