Perfect Utah is No. 2
Voters give Florida No. 1 ranking; perfect Utah is No. 2
Associated Press
MIAMI -- Florida is No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Utah is perfect at No. 2, though not perfectly happy.
Texas and USC also claimed to be the best -- but media voters didn't think so.
The Gators received 48 first-place votes and 1,606 points in the poll released early Friday, after they beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS national title game.
Utah, the only team in major college football to go undefeated this season, got 16 first-place votes and 1,519 points.
"I thought we had an outside chance," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a telephone interview with the AP. "There was enough national sentiment, I thought we might get the No. 1 slot. It wasn't to be."
Florida won its third AP national championship and second in the last three seasons. Steve Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led the Gators to the 1996 title.
No. 3 USC received one first-place vote. Texas was No. 4, and will have to settle with finishing ahead of fifth-ranked Oklahoma.
The Longhorns beat the Sooners in the regular season and thought they deserved OU's spot in both the Big 12 and national championship games.
The Utes from the Mountain West Conference swept through their regular season, while Florida and Alabama from the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 and Southern California from the Pac-10, jockeyed for position in the national title chase.
The Mountain West does not have an automatic bid to the BCS -- it's not considered a strong enough league to deserve one -- but the Utes earned their way in.
Utah was seventh in the final regular-season poll, but that perfect record looked much more impressive after the Utes beat Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl last week.
"All you can do is go out and beat the people on the schedule, which was exactly what our guys did," Whittingham said.
Whittingham proclaimed his team No. 1. USC's Pete Carroll had already done that after the Trojans' 38-24 victory in the Rose Bowl against Penn State. Texas coach
Mack Brown followed suit, proudly touting his Longhorns as the nation's best after a 24-21 victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl earlier this week.
Whittingham said he would vote his team No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, even though the American Football Coaches Association has agreed to have all its voters place the winner of the BCS national championship game first on their ballots.
Utah did receive one first-place vote in the coaches' poll and finished fourth.
Whittingham isn't worried about losing his vote.
"That's their call," he said. "I have to look out for my players."
Brown said he'd vote for his team, too.
Carroll has never had a vote in the coaches' poll, always skeptical of the way major college football crowns a champion.
Florida's Urban Meyer became the 17th coach to win multiple AP national championships.
"I'll tell you, we're going to enjoy a big win, we're going to enjoy the national championship," he said, brushing off questions about other coaches claiming their team is best. "Let someone else worry about that. Gators are No. 1"
Alabama's loss to Utah dropped the Crimson Tide to No. 6 in the final poll.
TCU, Utah's Mountain West rival, finished seventh, followed by Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon.
Boise State led off the second 10, followed by Texas Tech, Georgia, Mississippi and Virginia Tech.
Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Oregon State, Missouri and Iowa rounded out the top 20.
Florida State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Michigan State and BYU were the final five.
Undisputed Utes
Utah completed its second undefeated season in the BCS era with Friday's 31-17 Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. Keep in mind that in 2004, Florida's Urban Meyer was the Utes coach. Here's a look at those years by the numbers:
Utah Unbeaten Seasons,
BCS Era
2004 2008
W-L 12-0 13-0
PPG 45.3 36.9
Yds PG 499.8 399.7
Opp PPG 19.5 17.2
Opp YPG 343.3 289.2
Final AP poll
School Record Points
1. Florida 13-1 1,606
2. Utah 13-0 1,519
3. USC 12-1 1,481
4. Texas 12-1 1,478
5. Oklahoma 12-2 1,391
6. Alabama 12-2 1,264
7. TCU 11-2 1,193
8. Penn State 11-2 1,153
9. Ohio State 10-3 1,013
10. Oregon 10-3 997
11. Boise State 12-1 938
12. Texas Tech 11-2 916
13. Georgia 10-3 903
14. Mississippi 9-4 857
15. Virginia Tech 10-4 712
16. Oklahoma State 9-4 534
17. Cincinnati 11-3 506
18. Oregon State 9-4 467
19. Missouri 10-4 435
20. Iowa 9-4 317
21. Florida State 9-4 246
22. Georgia Tech 9-4 223
23. West Virginia 9-4 144
24. Michigan State 9-4 138
25. BYU 10-3 137
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
This certainly was a very nice end to the University of Utah’s 2008 Football Season. Number 2 in the nation is not a poor final ranking. It is a very long way from YU’s spot at Number 25. I talked with the Princess today. We both agreed this was about as good as it will get for our Utes for some time. Interestingly enough, the Mountain West Conference which is generally regarded as not being in the same class as some other athletic conferences had two teams finish in the Top Ten, Utah and Texas Christian University.
So much for not being a high quality athletic conference.
Visitors
We had 947 visitors last week. The visitor level is getting back to the pre-holiday levels. With this visitor level, it is impossible to track the source of the visitors on a daily basis because the Sitemeter information is only valid for the last 100 visitors.
The most popular page is still January 1, 2007 because of the wide range of Women of the Moment features.
Visitor traffic is now predominantly foreign with domestic traffic amounting to around 45 to 40%. We did have a new visitor from the Maldives. The Maldives, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the nation, is a string of islands in the Indian Ocean.
I do appreciate all of you who take time out of your schedules to wander around the blog.
Balancing Checkbooks
The blog is now starting its fifth year; fascinating.
We ought to achieve at least two major, for the blog, milestones this year. We should reach the 50,000 visitor mark and we should hit the 1,000th blog posting.
Other Drama in My Life
I think I had a student ask me to become their mentor. We are planning to talk about this possibility during the week. I guess I really must be a good teacher.
I had my every three week blood tests on Friday. I had a new technician drawing my blood. She wasn’t very good so I now have a rather ugly look bruise on my left arm, hopefully it will go away in a few more days.
We are having a warm spell in Southern California right now. It was about 76F – 24C today. It should be like this all week long with a slight cooling by the weekend. This is our Winter and we should be cool and wet from the rains.
That’s fine with me. The young ladies were out today, playing beach volleyball, when I went for my walk along the beach this afternoon.
Be well and stay happy.
Associated Press
MIAMI -- Florida is No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Utah is perfect at No. 2, though not perfectly happy.
Texas and USC also claimed to be the best -- but media voters didn't think so.
The Gators received 48 first-place votes and 1,606 points in the poll released early Friday, after they beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS national title game.
Utah, the only team in major college football to go undefeated this season, got 16 first-place votes and 1,519 points.
"I thought we had an outside chance," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a telephone interview with the AP. "There was enough national sentiment, I thought we might get the No. 1 slot. It wasn't to be."
Florida won its third AP national championship and second in the last three seasons. Steve Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led the Gators to the 1996 title.
No. 3 USC received one first-place vote. Texas was No. 4, and will have to settle with finishing ahead of fifth-ranked Oklahoma.
The Longhorns beat the Sooners in the regular season and thought they deserved OU's spot in both the Big 12 and national championship games.
The Utes from the Mountain West Conference swept through their regular season, while Florida and Alabama from the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 and Southern California from the Pac-10, jockeyed for position in the national title chase.
The Mountain West does not have an automatic bid to the BCS -- it's not considered a strong enough league to deserve one -- but the Utes earned their way in.
Utah was seventh in the final regular-season poll, but that perfect record looked much more impressive after the Utes beat Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl last week.
"All you can do is go out and beat the people on the schedule, which was exactly what our guys did," Whittingham said.
Whittingham proclaimed his team No. 1. USC's Pete Carroll had already done that after the Trojans' 38-24 victory in the Rose Bowl against Penn State. Texas coach
Mack Brown followed suit, proudly touting his Longhorns as the nation's best after a 24-21 victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl earlier this week.
Whittingham said he would vote his team No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, even though the American Football Coaches Association has agreed to have all its voters place the winner of the BCS national championship game first on their ballots.
Utah did receive one first-place vote in the coaches' poll and finished fourth.
Whittingham isn't worried about losing his vote.
"That's their call," he said. "I have to look out for my players."
Brown said he'd vote for his team, too.
Carroll has never had a vote in the coaches' poll, always skeptical of the way major college football crowns a champion.
Florida's Urban Meyer became the 17th coach to win multiple AP national championships.
"I'll tell you, we're going to enjoy a big win, we're going to enjoy the national championship," he said, brushing off questions about other coaches claiming their team is best. "Let someone else worry about that. Gators are No. 1"
Alabama's loss to Utah dropped the Crimson Tide to No. 6 in the final poll.
TCU, Utah's Mountain West rival, finished seventh, followed by Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon.
Boise State led off the second 10, followed by Texas Tech, Georgia, Mississippi and Virginia Tech.
Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Oregon State, Missouri and Iowa rounded out the top 20.
Florida State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Michigan State and BYU were the final five.
Undisputed Utes
Utah completed its second undefeated season in the BCS era with Friday's 31-17 Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. Keep in mind that in 2004, Florida's Urban Meyer was the Utes coach. Here's a look at those years by the numbers:
Utah Unbeaten Seasons,
BCS Era
2004 2008
W-L 12-0 13-0
PPG 45.3 36.9
Yds PG 499.8 399.7
Opp PPG 19.5 17.2
Opp YPG 343.3 289.2
Final AP poll
School Record Points
1. Florida 13-1 1,606
2. Utah 13-0 1,519
3. USC 12-1 1,481
4. Texas 12-1 1,478
5. Oklahoma 12-2 1,391
6. Alabama 12-2 1,264
7. TCU 11-2 1,193
8. Penn State 11-2 1,153
9. Ohio State 10-3 1,013
10. Oregon 10-3 997
11. Boise State 12-1 938
12. Texas Tech 11-2 916
13. Georgia 10-3 903
14. Mississippi 9-4 857
15. Virginia Tech 10-4 712
16. Oklahoma State 9-4 534
17. Cincinnati 11-3 506
18. Oregon State 9-4 467
19. Missouri 10-4 435
20. Iowa 9-4 317
21. Florida State 9-4 246
22. Georgia Tech 9-4 223
23. West Virginia 9-4 144
24. Michigan State 9-4 138
25. BYU 10-3 137
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
This certainly was a very nice end to the University of Utah’s 2008 Football Season. Number 2 in the nation is not a poor final ranking. It is a very long way from YU’s spot at Number 25. I talked with the Princess today. We both agreed this was about as good as it will get for our Utes for some time. Interestingly enough, the Mountain West Conference which is generally regarded as not being in the same class as some other athletic conferences had two teams finish in the Top Ten, Utah and Texas Christian University.
So much for not being a high quality athletic conference.
Visitors
We had 947 visitors last week. The visitor level is getting back to the pre-holiday levels. With this visitor level, it is impossible to track the source of the visitors on a daily basis because the Sitemeter information is only valid for the last 100 visitors.
The most popular page is still January 1, 2007 because of the wide range of Women of the Moment features.
Visitor traffic is now predominantly foreign with domestic traffic amounting to around 45 to 40%. We did have a new visitor from the Maldives. The Maldives, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the nation, is a string of islands in the Indian Ocean.
I do appreciate all of you who take time out of your schedules to wander around the blog.
Balancing Checkbooks
The blog is now starting its fifth year; fascinating.
We ought to achieve at least two major, for the blog, milestones this year. We should reach the 50,000 visitor mark and we should hit the 1,000th blog posting.
Other Drama in My Life
I think I had a student ask me to become their mentor. We are planning to talk about this possibility during the week. I guess I really must be a good teacher.
I had my every three week blood tests on Friday. I had a new technician drawing my blood. She wasn’t very good so I now have a rather ugly look bruise on my left arm, hopefully it will go away in a few more days.
We are having a warm spell in Southern California right now. It was about 76F – 24C today. It should be like this all week long with a slight cooling by the weekend. This is our Winter and we should be cool and wet from the rains.
That’s fine with me. The young ladies were out today, playing beach volleyball, when I went for my walk along the beach this afternoon.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 8:05 PM
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