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DENNY O'BRIEN'S
FINAL 2007
HARRIS BCS POLL BALLOT
OBrien:
LSU, USC top my ballot
By Denny O'Brien
Dec. 2, 2007
©2007 Bonesville.net
Editor's
note: For the second year in a row,
Bonesville columnist Denny O'Brien was a member
of the
voting panel
for the Harris Interactive College Football Poll,
commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series. O'Brien was nominated to the panel by Conference USA. The
Harris Poll is a component of the
BCS Standings.
The final BCS Standings for 2007
were released on Sunday. |
|
Ranking teams is no
exact science, and this year made the voting process an
increasingly difficult task.
Though I’ll never be a
proponent of a playoff, the 2007 season has provided the
best argument yet. Even so, there is enough evidence to
at least differentiate who is in the championship
conversation, and who isn’t.
I feel strongly that only
five schools have a legitimate argument for
consideration for the Bowl Championship Series title
game. Those programs have the most complete résumés, and
quality wins, strength of schedule, and the overall
strength of the conference weigh heavily.
Other factors that I use
include a team’s health, how it performed down the
stretch, and, in tie-breaking scenarios, an overall
head-to-head assessment.
All that said, here are
the best: 1. LSU:
Sure, the Tigers have two losses, but both occurred in
triple overtime. LSU had the most treacherous path and
plays in by far the best conference. Any win in this
league is a quality one. The Bayou Bengals get bonus
points for winning the SEC championship game with their
backup quarterback. Ditto for doing it amid speculation
surrounding the future of their head coach.
2. Southern Cal: Another
two-loss team, but the Trojans are peaking. Southern Cal
lost both of its games when it was depleted with
injuries, and now is healthy and surging at the right
time. It was difficult to overlook the Stanford loss,
but that did occur very early in the season. The Pac Ten
wasn’t too far behind the SEC this year, and finishing
out with convincing wins over Oregon State, Cal, Arizona
State, and UCLA really boosted the résumé. And in the
end, I just think the Trojans would take Oklahoma in a
head-to-head match-up.
3. Oklahoma: It was
tempting to slide the Sooners into the No. 2 spot, but
they weren’t as consistent as LSU or USC. When the
Sooners were on — see Missouri twice — they were as good
as anyone. When they weren’t — Colorado and Texas Tech —
they were hardly impressive.
4. Georgia: The Dawgs are
penalized because they didn’t even qualify for the SEC
title game, let alone win it. Georgia is a great team
and had no business bowing to South Carolina earlier
this season. That loss likely cost the Bulldogs a shot
at the title. 5.
Ohio State: Though the Buckeyes have one loss, I have a
hard time believing they are championship material.
Maybe it’s because they don’t have a marquee win. The
Big Ten was down this year, and beating heated rival
Michigan was anything but impressive. Ditto for
Wisconsin and Penn State. And using your non-conference
schedule to feast on MAC opponents? Seriously, you
belong in Pasadena. You’ll be wishing you were once LSU
finishes with you.
The rest…
6. Missouri: If only
Oklahoma didn’t make this year’s schedule. Even so, how
do the Tigers get left out of the BCS, and Kansas gets
in? Mizzou beat both Illinois and Kansas and gets the
Big XII’s dregs.
7. West Virginia: Were those bottles I saw being thrown
at the Pittsburgh players?
8. Kansas: Mark Mangino
can expect a big, fat, contract extension. No pun
intended. That said, the Jayhawks didn’t deserve a BCS
spot over their border rival.
9. Virginia Tech: That
48-7 shellacking in Baton Rouge still looms large. That
any ACC school finished third in the BCS standings means
somebody wasn’t paying attention.
10. Hawaii: Sorry, but
rallying to escape a Pac 10 bottom dweller isn’t very
impressive. 11.
Florida: Gators are a preseason favorite next year.
12. Illinois: The Fighting
Zooks join the Gators as a trendy pick in ’08.
13. Arizona State: Dennis
Erickson knows how to coach. He also knows how to bolt.
14. Clemson: The Tigers
had the ACC’s best talent. Too bad they couldn’t close
the deal. 15.
Tennessee: Fulmer does just enough to keep his job, and
just enough to tick fans off.
16. Wisconsin: The Badgers
eternally live in the land of 9-3.
17. Texas: Talk about
puzzling losses. Kansas State and A&M?
18. Boise State: The
Broncos got stronger as the season progressed.
19. Virginia: To think
fans wanted Al Groh fired.
20. Brigham Young: The
Cougars are the hottest team you don’t know about.
21. Boston College:
Overrated for most of the season.
22. South Florida: What
happened during that three-week stretch?
23. Central Florida: If
Kevin Smith returns, the Knights will grow accustomed to
this kind of press.
24. Arkansas: The Hogs’
ability to run makes them a threat against anyone. Just
ask Les Miles.
25. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders completely dismantled
the Sooners.
View the final 2007 BCS Standings.
|
2007
Harris Poll Voting Panel |
Aillet, Bobby
Alberts, Trev
Aldridge, Denny
Arnsparger, Bill
Bestwick, Dick
Biddle, Joe
Bishop, Blaine
Brandt, Gil
Browning, Wilt
Bruce, Earle
Buckner, Brentson
Carlin, Chris
Casciola, Bob
Cavagnaro, Charlie
Cawood, David
Collins, Tony
Copeland, Jim
Corrigan, Gene
Crowder, Eddie
Curci, Fran
Dawkins, Pete
Dickey, Doug
Dohn, Brian
Donnelly, Boots
Dorsey, John
Duhé, Kevin
Dunlevy, Bob
Esiason, Boomer
Fehlberg, Rondo
Francis, Anthony
Frederick, Bob
Glazier, David
Goldsmith, Fred
Grace, Mike
Griffith, Howard
Grim, Bob
Grosscup, Lee
Hammond, Tom |
Hicks, Tommy
Hines, Clarkston
Housel, David
Jacoby, Fred
Jacoby, Joe
Joe, J.J.
Johnson, Dr. Charles
Johnson, Scott
Kearney, Joe
Keech, Larry
Kerkhoff, Blair
Kern, Mike
Kolen, Mike
Kramer, Roy
Kurtz, Jesse
Lachey, Jim
Lapides, George
Lawrence, David
Leach, Bobby
Lessig, James
Limon, Iliana
Lucas, Mike
Lude, Mike
Luicci, Tom
Luis, Cindy
Mandich, Jim
Matthews, Loren
McConnell, Joe
McGee, Mike
McIlhenny, Lance
McLellan, Bill
Melick, Ray
Miller, Ted
Minter, Cedric
Moody, Darrell
Moran, Mike
Morse, Jim
Morton, Craig |
Moss, Jack
Neverett, Tim
O'Brien, Denny
Owens, Steve
Paschall, David
Perles, George
Pinkett, Allen
Pont, John
Ponti, Gene
Preece, Steve
Pruett, Bob
Richter, Pat
Rimington, Dave
Roach, Paul
Robinson, Earle
Roda, Kenny
Sandusky, Jerry
Schiller, Harvey
Schmidt, Dr. Terry
Schneider, Paul
Smallwood, Irwin
Smigiel, Joe
Socci, Bob
Stephenson, Ron
Taylor, Rick
Thalman, Budd
Thulin, Ron
Toner, John
Urick, Max
Valdiserri, Roger
Vardell, Tommy
Vruggink, Jim
Wagner, Bob
Walden, Jim
Watson, Graham
White, Jack
Windegger, Frank
Yoshida, Hugh |
©2007 All rights rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. A Harris Interactive press release contributed to this report.
Graphic courtesy of Harris Interactive.
12/03/2007 05:22:43 AM |
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