ZN's CFB Top 25 2008 :: Final

Close the book on 2008...

Rank. Team (LW), [Record, LW Result].

1. Florida (3), [13-1, Won vs Oklahoma 24-14]
2. Utah (6), [13-0, Won vs Alabama 31-17]
3. USC (8), [12-1, Won vs Penn State 38-24]
4. Oklahoma (1), [12-2, Lost vs Florida 24-14]
5. Texas (2), [12-1, Won vs Ohio State 24-21]
6. Penn State (5), [11-2, Lost vs USC 38-24]
7. Ohio State (7), [10-3, Lost vs Texas 24-21]
8. Alabama (4), [12-2, Lost vs Utah 31-17]
9. Texas Christian (12), [11-2, Won vs Boise State 17-16]
10. Oregon (13), [10-3, Won vs Oklahoma St 42-31]
11. Boise State (9), [12-1, Lost vs TCU 17-16]
12. Georgia (20), [10-3, Won vs Michigan St 24-12]
13. Iowa (21), [9-4, Won vs South Carolina 31-10]
14. Virginia Tech (22), [10-4, Won vs Cincinnati 20-7]
15. Missouri (24), [10-3, Won vs Northwestern 30-23]
16. Mississippi (NR), [9-4, Won vs Texas Tech 47-34]
17. Texas Tech (10), [11-2, Lost vs Ole Miss 47-34]
18. Cincinnati (14), [11-3, Lost vs Virginia Tech 20-7]
19. Oregon State (25), [9-4, Won vs Pitt 3-0]
20. Michigan State (16), [9-4, Lost vs Georgia 24-12]
21. BYU (17), [10-3, Lost vs Arizona 31-21]
22. Northwestern (19), [9-4, Lost vs Missouri 30-23OT]
23. Georgia Tech (11), [9-4, Lost vs LSU 38-3]
24. Oklahoma State (15), [9-4, Lost vs Oregon 42-31]
25. West Virginia (NR), [9-4, Won vs North Carolina 31-30]

Dropped Out:
Pittsburgh (18), [9-4, Lost vs Oregon St 3-0]
Ball State (23), [12-2, Lost vs Buffalo 42-24]
Boston College (25), [9-5, Lost vs Vanderbilt 16-14]

On the Cusp:
Nebraska (NR), [9-4, Won vs Clemson 26-21]
Florida State (NR), [9-4, Won vs Wisconsin 42-13]
California (NR), [9-4, Won vs Miami 24-17]
Pittsburgh (18), [9-4, Lost vs Oregon St 3-0]
Ball State (23), [12-2, Lost vs Buffalo 42-24]
Boston College (25), [9-5, Lost vs Vanderbilt 16-14]

Notes: I was very tempted to place Utah at the No. 1 slot, but that would have been out of pure bias. I'm not a fan of the SEC, but Florida did stake its legitimate claim as No. 1. I really liked what Utah had done this season. But from top to bottom, the level of competition was a little bit weaker (very little) than Florida's. It was almost too much to get over when the Gators lost to Ole Miss in the Swamp. In the end, though, clamping down on Oklahoma was enough for me. I also wanted to put USC at No. 2, but the loss to Oregon State still sticks out like a sore thumb. I still believe that USC could beat any team in the country, but they didn't. Texas was less than impressive in its win over Ohio State, which seemed too be the first real good defense the Horns faced all year. I won't get into my rah-rah speech about how Penn State played better against USC than most think, but I will say that the Lions are a much better team than the final AP/Coaches Polls show. Alabama, TCU and Oregon (kind of) barely looked like real top-10 teams, especially the Tide and the Frogs, but really, who else is going to go there? The Ducks are probably legit. The rest of the top 25 teams stunk it up this bowl season. The worst game of all being the 3-0 "win" by Oregon State over Pitt. And with that, on to 2009!