Nothing makes the season seem as close as when the polls are released. It’s the last big benchmark between summer and kickoff.
Today, the Associated Press released their initial 2009 poll. As expected, the Florida Gators are the favorites to win their second straight BCS National Championship trophy – and third in four years.
But that’s not the only story from today’s poll. Here’s a couple of my thoughts after seeing the initial version. Feel free to let me know yours below.
1. If Florida does not win the National Championship it will be the biggest surprise since….ever. In today’s poll, the Gators are the most overwhelming favorite in the history of the poll. To put this into perspective, not even when Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and company returned to defend their BCS Championship did they receive this level of confidence from the voters.
2. It’s a matter of who, not if, a non-BCS team will make it into a BCS game. One of the provisions of the BCS Selection Criteria is that if a non-BCS team finishes the year ranked higher than the champion of an automatic qualifying conference (ACC, SEC, Big 12, etc.), they automatically receive a bid. Interestingly enough, four non-BCS teams (Boise State, TCU, Utah & BYU) are all ranked higher than ANY team in the Big East. The top vote getter from the Big East was Pittsburgh, who came in at 28th.
3. Mike Gundy from Oklahoma State really has a lot of people thinking highly about his program. Their ranking at #9 is the highest in nearly a quarter century, back when the Cowboys had Thurman Thomas in the backfield. The only downside for Gundy is he might have a great season and still finish as the third best team – in his division.
4. Charlie Weis has people thinking he is getting closer to waking up the echoes at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish entered the rankings for the first time in nearly three years – since the end of the 2006 season.
