The Last and Final GGFB Top 25

Looking at the final rankings for this year, our beloved Big Ten shows up pretty well. Our four top teams all won against good competition, and what's better, three of the four return a ton of talent for next year. I want to wait until January 15th for all the underclassmen to declare for the draft before looking ahead to 2010, but the Big Ten looks to be very, very strong for next year.

Anyway, onto the final top 25, made completely and totally with my own bias, but mixed with love, care, and hatred for Iowa. You're welcome. As always, here is the official BCS Standings, as well as the final Sagarin rankings.

FINAL 2009 GGFB TOP 25

1 Alabama (14-0)
Bama 2010= Florida 2009, but in some ways reversed. The Gators lost some key players on offense but returned their entire 22 deep on defense. Bama returns almost their entire offense, but will lose some key pieces on defense, including all-world linebacker Rolando McClain and Mt. Cody. Still, the Tide should be the undisputed #1 to begin 2010.

2 Boise State (14-0)
I'm out of excuses for trying to keep Boise State behind the big boys. Sure, they only played two good teams all year in Oregon and TCU, but they thumped them well enough to make me believe they'd have a chance against Alabama. Not saying they'd win, but they'd be at least as competitve as Florida and Texas were.

3 Florida (13-1)
Ok so both the Gators and Horns lost to Alabama, so the hypothetical question is: who would win on a neutral field? After watching the bowl games, I'm going to side with Florida. I would not fault you for choosing Texas with a healthy Colt McCoy.

4 Texas (13-1)
I know I play too many video games when my thought watching the NC game is "This isn't fair! Somebody hit the reset button? Why can't we hit the reset button?" Tough way for Colt McCoy to go out, but hopefully his shoulder recovers in time for him to work out for scouts. I'd love to see him in Purple next year. Also, why the end was tough for Longhorns fans, the future looks pretty bright with frosh QB Garrett Gilbert. A pretty impressive performance going against a defense with 11 starters who will all probably play on Sundays sometime soon.

5 Ohio State (11-2)
This is me standing up and applauding The Sweater Vest. I applaud him and credit him for opening up the offense and turning Terrelle Pryor loose, which I never thought he would do. THAT Pryor, and that style of Ohio State offense, makes them a national championship contender in 2010, and unlike past years againt LSU and FLorida when they got blown out, they're going to have the horses and the speed to compete with anybody. Once again, the Big Ten title conversation for next year will begin and end with the Buckeyes.

6 TCU (12-1)
I almost dropped them out of the top 25 just for those gawd-awful uniforms. Um, Coach Patterson? Just because Nike wants you to wear some crazy new-fangled crap, doesn't mean you have to. That's about the only bad decision he's made in his time at TCU though.

7 Iowa (11-2)
WHO HATES IOWA?!? I certainly still do, but as much as it kills me, you have to give them a ton of credit for slowing down the Georgia Tech triple-option. While they lose some very key players, they also return a ton of talent, and are right behind Ohio State in the Big Ten entering next year, and could very well start the year in the national top 10.

8 Cincinnati (12-1)
This is not a list of who had the best season, but who the best teams are at season's end, and without head coach Brian Kelly, the Bearcats are just not the same team. That or Florida, and the other teams above them, are simply better. I'd say yes to both.

9 Penn State (11-2)
This will be last time to take shots at Penn State for their gutless non-conference scheduling, as next year's slate includes a trip to Tuscaloosa to face the defending national champs. They didn't play many good teams, and sucked against Iowa and Ohio State, but they played well in poor conditions against LSU.

10 Virginia Tech (10-3)
I might not even have them ranked high enough. Another national title threat next year as they return a boatload of talent.

11 Oregon (10-3)
12 Wisconsin (10-3)
13 Brigham Young (11-2)
14 Georgia Tech (11-3)
15 Nebraska (10-4)
16 LSU (9-4)
17 Miami (FL) (9-4)
18 Utah (10-3)
19 Pittsburgh (10-3)
20 Stanford (9-4)
21 USC (9-4)
22 Mississippi (9-4)
23 Texas Tech (9-4)
24 Central Michigan (12-2)
25 Navy (10-4)