2nd Down: Top 25

Top 25
BCS-(AP)
1-(1) Notre Dame 12-0
2-(2) Alabama 12-1
3-(4) Florida 11-1
4-(5) Oregon 11-1
5-(6) Kansas State 11-1
6-(8) Stanford 11-2
7-(3) Georgia 11-2
8-(7) LSU 10-2
9-(9) Texas A&M 10-2
10-(10) South Carolina 10-2
11-(11) Oklahoma 10-2
12-(13) Florida State 11-2
13-(15) Oregon State 9-3
14-(14) Clemson 10-2
15-(21) Northern Illinois 12-1
16-(12) Nebraska 10-3
17-(16) UCLA 9-4
18-(19) Michigan 8-4
19-(20) Boise State 10-2
20-(21) Northwestern 9-3
21-(22) Louisville 10-2
22-(18) Utah State
23-(NR) Texas
24-(24) San Jose State
25-(25) Kent State 11-2
*Ohio State is ranked #4 in the AP but ineligible for the BCS

Overrated
Come on... How can you justify Nebraska at 16?  This team just got ripped apart by a five loss Wisconsin team.  If that had been a regular season game, the Huskers would have fallen a heck of a lot farther than four friggin spots. 

Pretty much every other team from the B1G. 

Underrated
Northern Illinois- The Huskies put together a great season and after dropping their first game of the season by one point to Iowa, NIU won their final 12 games by an average of 19 points.  Led by dynamic quarterback Jordan Lynch, the Huskies go for just over 250 rushing yards per game and boast the nations 18th ranked scoring defense. 

Jeremy's Top 25
1-(1) Notre Dame 12-0
The Irish finish as the only undefeated team in the nation and I think they've got a good shot against Alabama in the title game.
2-(2) Alabama 12-1
Alabama took perhaps the best shot Georgia had and lived to tell about it.  This running game will be fun to watch against a physical, athletic front seven for Notre Dame.
3-(4) Florida 11-1
This might just be the best team in the SEC- with the schedule they had, they earned it.  I would have liked to see them get a better draw in the BCS.
4-(5) Oregon 11-1
The Ducks had a great season and will get one of the better bowl matchups this season against Collin Klein and the Kansas State Wildcats.
5-(6) Kansas State 11-1
Kansas State finished the season strong and locked up the Big-12 with their win over Texas. 
6-(9) Stanford 11-2
Nick has it right- this program is turning into a power in the Pac-12 and with the emergence of Kevin Hogan they'll be right back in the race next season.
7-(3) Georgia 11-2
Tough loss for the Dawgs who played, arguably their best game of the season. 
8-(7) LSU 10-2
Given the offensive woes they had for most of the season, 10 wins looks pretty impressive for this squad.
9-(8) Texas A&M 10-2
Definitely one of the most exciting teams to watch all season.  Great matchup against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
10-(11) Oklahoma 10-2
The Sooners had a great season yet again and had a shot at the Big-12 going into the weekend.
11-(12) Florida State 11-2
Good luck putting a finger on these guys.  At times the Seminoles look like they could be the best team in the country.  Other times... they're getting shut out in the second half by Georgia Tech.
12-(10) South Carolina 10-2
Spurrier has done a great job at South Carolina and there's enough youth on this team to be right back in the mix next season.  Should be interesting to see them against Michigan in the Outback Bowl.
13-(14) Clemson 10-2
Good year for Dabo's boys, whose only losses were to top 12 teams, FSU and South Carolina.  Their matchup with LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl will be one to circle on the schedule.
14-(19) Northern Illinois 12-1
Great season for the Huskies and hat's off for crashing the big boy party.  They'll have a chance against an unpredictable FSU team.
15-(18) Oregon State 9-3
What a turn around from last seasons and a 3-9 record.
16-(20) Boise State 10-2
There are a lot of teams that would like 10-2 to be a down year. 
17-(23) Louisville 10-2
Despite a few tough losses, the Cardinals are headed to a BCS game.  Too bad it's against Florida and they're going to get smoked!
18-(21) Utah State 10-2
The Aggies closed the door on the WAC with a conference championship in their final season.
19-(15) UCLA 9-4
It was a good season for UCLA who was 9-2 until two weeks ago but back to back losses to Stanford tell us that they're not quite ready for the big-time.
20-(24) Northwestern 9-3
It was a great season for Northwestern who was in the hunt for the B1G until late in the season.  Pat Fitzgerald has done a great job here.
21-(16) Kent State 11-2
Kent State was on the brink of a BCS birth, but a heartbreaking loss to NIU ended the dream.
22-(NR) Michigan 8-4
I'm not sure Michigan is a top 25 team but there really no one else out there that I like ahead of them.
23-(13) Nebraska 10-3
It's hard to excuse the ass-whipping the took at the hands of five loss Wisconsin.  They stay in the top 25 because, unlike Wisconsin, Nebraska was the top team on their side of the conference and lost in the conference championship... (look at me making excuses for the B1G).
24-(25) San Jose State 10-2
The team has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years, from 1-12 in '09 to 5-7 last season and now, 10-2 and a top 25 finish.
25-(17) Texas 8-4
See Nebraska.  Except for the winning the conference thing.


Nick's Top 25
1-(1)-Notre Dame 12-0
The Irish were idle, but are looking to the National Championship game against Alabama.
2-(2)-Alabama 12-1
The Bama-Georgia game was an instant classic. Both teams knew that they were playing for a chance at the Irish in the National Championship and the Tide wanted it a little more. Huge performances from Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon carried the Tide to victory in that one. Now Bama will be the Irish in the title game.
3-(4)-Florida 11-1
Great season for Florida. Its too bad they did not get a better draw in the Sugar Bowl, not sure if Louisville can hang with the Gators.
4-(8)-Kansas State 11-1
This team came out of now where but with a quarterback like Collin Kline it showed it was one of the best teams in the country this season. The Wildcats got a tough draw in the Fiesta Bowl but it is one of the most intriguing BCS games other than the NC.
5-(6)-Stanford 11-2
This team is becoming a Pac 12 power. The Cardinal beat UCLA two weeks in a row to earn the Rose Bowl bid, but yet again another bad draw getting a five loss Wisconsin team. Too bad. I would have loved to see Flordia-Stanford in a BCS game.
6-(5)-Texas A&M 10-2
Here is another team that really came out of no where. Wow, Johnny Manziel, a Heisman finalist, put this team on his back and won 10 games including probably one of the biggest wins in program history at Alabama. The Aggies have one of the better non-BCS bowl matchups this season with Oklahoma.
7-(7)-Oregon 11-1
Solid season for the Ducks but the late loss to a very good Stanford team knocked them out of the BCS title race, but they have a great matchup with K-State in the Fiesta Bowl.
8-(3)-Georgia 11-2
Tough loss for the Dawgs in the SEC Championship, but Bama just would not be stopped. Interesting draw getting Nebraska, who just gave up 70 points to a five-loss Wisconsin team, in the Capital One Bowl.
9-(9)-LSU 10-2
The Mad Hatter puts another 10-win season together in Baton Rouge. This team has a great defense but could not get over average offensive play.
10-(10)-South Carolina 10-2
The Gamecocks finished the season strong after losing star tailback Marcus Lattimore and 10-wins in the SEC is nothing to sneeze at. Spurrier was also rewarded with a pretty large extension.
11-(11)-Florida State 11-2
Tough finish for a team that was a dark horse for the National Championship this season. Still an ACC Championship is a great start for a still fairly young Nole squad. This team is not going anywhere for a while.
12-(12)-Oklahoma 10-2
Stoops and the Sonners were "snubbed" out of the BCS but they did not take care of business like they needed to, to impress the voters enough to bump the Huskies out of that No. 15 spot. Still great season, but one loss for the Sooners gets them in a BCS game and a Big 12 title.
13-(15)-Clemson 10-2
This Tiger team is improving, Sweeny has them playing at a very high level and this team is headed in the right direction.
14-(19)-Oregon State 9-3
Another come from no where team. I in now way would have expected the Beavers to get to nine possibly 10 wins this season, but here they are finishing in my top 15.
15-(17)-Northern Illinois 12-1
The Huskies won a thriller in the MAC title game and the voters rewarded them for a 12-win season with a BCS game. I like the pick and I love them crashing the BCS party and making talking heads like Kirk Herbstreit try and say what a travesty it is when the little boys get a chance to play with the big boys.
16-(18)-Utah State 10-2
This is a tough team and nothing better to leave with a share of the WAC Championship in its final season in the league.
17-(21)-Boise State 10-2
Boise is in the same boat as Utah State. This is not a Bronco team of old but 10-2 is a great season and a share of the MW Championship in its final season.
18-(14)-UCLA 9-4
Tough to keep UCLA in the top 25 with four losses, but two of the four came against Stanford in consecutive weeks. This team overachieved this season and the future looks bright in LA.
19-(16)-Kent State 11-2
Heartbreaking loss for the Golden Flashes in the MAC Championship and now they lost their coach, but still a great season winning 11 games.
20-(23)-Louisville 10-2
Charlie Strong is one of the hottest coaches in the country but he decided to stay at Louisville long term thanks to its move to the ACC. Strong did a great job taking this team to a BCS game- problem for them is they have one of the toughest draws against Florida.
21-(22)-Northwestern 9-3
Great season in Evanston and this team looks like it could contend for a B1G Championship in years to come.
22-(13)-Nebraska 10-3
This team is lucky to stay in the top 25 after giving up 70 points to a five-loss Wisconsin team, but they stay because of lack of teams behind them. The Huskers have a tough draw with Georiga in the Capital One Bowl.
23-(24)-San Jose State 10-2
I would have never guessed the Spartans would win 10 games in my life time but they finished off a great season before the move to the MW.
24-(NR)-Rutgers 9-3
Tough loss for the Scarlet Knights to Louisville but still a solid season in the first year without Greg Schiano.
25-(20)-Texas 8-4
After it looked like Texas was on its way to another five or six loss season the Longhorns pulled it together and managed eight wins. Still not back to where it was or should be but Texas will be back as long as Mack Brown is its head coach.