Postseason Non-BCS Rankings

The Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll rankings for the end of the season were released earlier today.  Obviously, Florida State retains the #1 position after defeating Auburn in last night's BCS National Championship game in Pasadena.  Congratulations to the Seminoles and head coach Jimbo Fisher on their achievement.  Though Auburn lost, both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll decided to leave the Tigers at the number #2 spot.  As a college football fan and a blogger, I am very disappointed in this development.  The decision to rank a two-loss Auburn team higher than a one-loss Michigan State team (ranked #3 in both polls) that won its postseason bowl championship only raises questions of whether or not ranking agencies like the AP and Coaches Poll favor one conference at the expense of the others.  The rest of the top ten in both polls were presented as follows:  South Carolina finished at #4 in both polls after their win over Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl.  Missouri jumped four places to finish at #5 in both polls after it beat Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.  Oklahoma rose five places in the AP (four in the Coaches Poll) to finish at #6 after it upset Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.  Alabama finished at #7 in the AP (#8 in the Coaches Poll) and Orange Bowl champion Clemson took the #8 spot in the AP (#7 in the Coaches Poll).  Oregon's win over Texas in the Alamo Bowl put them at the #9 position in both polls.  Finally, the #10 place belongs to three different teams.  The Associated Press gave its #10 position to Fiesta Bowl champion Central Florida.  The Coaches Poll however, split its #10 spot between Ohio State and Stanford.  It will be interesting to see how these final polls will compare to the 2014 preseason rankings once they are released next summer.  Enjoy the evening, everybody!  Stay warm. 


ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 

RK	TEAM	RECORD	CONFERENCE
1	Florida State (60)	14-0	ACC
2	Auburn	12-2	SEC
3	Michigan State	13-1	Big Ten
4	South Carolina	11-2	SEC
5	Missouri	12-2	SEC
6	Oklahoma	11-2	BIG XII
7	Alabama	11-2	SEC
8	Clemson	11-2	ACC
9	Oregon	11-2	PAC-12
10	UCF	12-1	AAC
11	Stanford	11-3	PAC-12
12	Ohio State	12-2	Big Ten
13	Baylor	11-2	BIG XII
14	LSU	10-3	SEC
15	Louisville	12-1	AAC
16	UCLA	10-3	PAC-12
17	Oklahoma State	10-3	BIG XII
18	Texas A&M	9-4	SEC
19	USC	10-4	PAC-12
20	Notre Dame	9-4	Independent
21	Arizona State	10-4	PAC-12
22	Wisconsin	9-4	Big Ten
23	Duke	10-4	ACC
24	Vanderbilt	9-4	SEC
25	Washington	9-4	PAC-12

USA TODAY COACHES POLL

RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Florida State (59)	14-0	1475
2	Auburn	12-2	1388
3	Michigan State	13-1	1375
4	South Carolina	11-2	1219
5	Missouri	12-2	1200
6	Oklahoma	11-2	1189
7	Clemson	11-2	1091
8	Alabama	11-2	1086
9	Oregon	11-2	975
10	Ohio State	12-2	872
10	Stanford	11-3	872
12	UCF	12-1	865
13	Baylor	11-2	796
14	LSU	10-3	719
15	Louisville	12-1	703
16	UCLA	10-3	597
17	Oklahoma State	10-3	587
18	Texas A&M	9-4	443
19	USC	10-4	313
20	Arizona State	10-4	302
21	Wisconsin	9-4	266
22	Duke	10-4	202
23	Vanderbilt	9-4	180
24	Notre Dame	9-4	125
25	Nebraska	9-4	123

 
Numbers in parentheses represent amount of first-place votes.