DALLAS (FWAA) – The Ohio State Buckeyes have
finished their regular season as the top-ranked team in the
Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll. The Buckeyes, who held off
Michigan 42-39 in the regular-season finale, received all 16
first place votes. Michigan, despite the loss, remained the No.
2 team in the poll as the top five remained the same with USC,
Florida and Arkansas following the Wolverines.
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The
FWAA debuts the Grantland Rice
Super 16 Blog. Check out how each pollster
voted and why at
grantlandrice.com |
Ohio State, a five-time winner of the Grantland Rice Trophy as
the national champion as chosen by the FWAA, will play for the
BCS national championship and the opportunity to win a sixth
FWAA national title.
Saturday, No. 3 USC plays host to No. 6 Notre Dame in a game
that could eventually decide who takes on Ohio State in the BCS
National Championship on Jan. 8, 2007 in Glendale, Ariz. Friday,
No. 5 Arkansas hosts No. 10 LSU in another pivotal battle
involving ranked teams.
Wisconsin moved up to No. 8 and is the third Big Ten team in
the poll, but it's the SEC that continues to set the pace with
four ranked teams. In addition to Florida and Arkansas, LSU and
Auburn are among the top 16. The Big East also continues to
boast three teams in the FWAA poll (West Virginia, Louisville
and Rutgers). Texas and Oklahoma give the Big 12 a pair of
ranked teams as well. Boise State, at 11-0, is college
football's only other unbeaten team and is 12th this week, up
one spot.
Georgia Tech rejoined the rankings at No. 16, replacing Wake
Forest, which is the only team to fall out this week.
The complete poll through games of Nov. 19 is as follows:
FWAA GRANTLAND RICE
SUPER 16 POLL (NOV. 21) |
Rk. |
School [1st] |
Conference |
W-L |
Pts. |
Pvs. |
Upcoming game |
1. |
Ohio State [16] |
Big Ten |
12-0 |
256 |
1 |
Regular season complete |
2. |
Michigan |
Big Ten |
11-1 |
232 |
2 |
Regular season complete |
3. |
USC |
Pac-10 |
9-1 |
225 |
3 |
11/25 vs. No. 6 Notre Dame |
4. |
Florida |
SEC |
10-1 |
201 |
4 |
11/25 at Florida State |
5. |
Arkansas |
SEC |
10-1 |
194 |
5 |
11/24 vs. No. 10 LSU |
6. |
Notre Dame |
Independent |
10-1 |
159 |
7 |
11/25 at No. 3 USC |
7. |
West Virginia |
Big East |
9-1 |
139 |
8 |
11/25 vs. South Florida |
8. |
Wisconsin |
Big Ten |
11-1 |
136 |
11 |
Regular season complete |
9. |
Louisville |
Big East |
9-1 |
135 |
9 |
11/25 at Pittsburgh |
10. |
LSU |
SEC |
9-2 |
108 |
10 |
11/24 at No. 5 Arkansas |
11. |
Texas |
Big 12 |
9-2 |
96 |
12 |
11/24 vs. Texas A&M |
12. |
Boise State |
WAC |
11-0 |
83 |
13 |
11/25 at Nevada |
13. |
Oklahoma |
Big 12 |
9-2 |
59 |
15 |
11/25 at Oklahoma State |
14. |
Rutgers |
Big East |
9-1 |
55 |
6 |
11/25 vs. Syracuse |
15. |
Auburn |
SEC |
10-2 |
46 |
16 |
Regular season complete |
16. |
Georgia Tech |
ACC |
9-2 |
23 |
- |
11/25 at Georgia |
Also receiving votes:
Boston College (9-2) 9, BYU (9-2) 7, Virginia Tech (9-2)
7, California (8-3) 4, Tennessee (8-3) 2. |
Dropped out: Wake
Forest (14). |
By conference:
SEC (4), Big East (3), Big Ten (3), Big 12 (2), ACC (1),
Independents (1), Pac-10 (1), WAC (1). |
The Grantland Rice Trophy has been presented to the national
champion in college football since 1954. Named in honor of the legendary
sportswriter who passed away in 1954, the trophy was the first national
championship award to be presented following college football's
traditional post-season.
In 2002, the FWAA introduced the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll
to determine the association's national champion. The 16 regionally-balanced
voters will not present weekly rankings and will make their ballots
public. For the first time, those ballots will be also posted online
at grantlandrice.com,
an interactive weblog.
In addition to the poll, the 16 pollsters also decide the
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week. For the second
straight season, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will take part
in presenting the weekly honor. Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta
Bowl has hosted five games that have decided the college football
national championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title
games. The 2007 game will be played on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta
Bowl, along with the Tostitos BCS Championship Game, moves to the
new stadium in Glendale, Ariz., this season.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team
of the Week, go to
footballwriters.com
or fiestabowl.org.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization
founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women across
North America who cover college football for a living. The membership
includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works
to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards, a
national poll and its annual All-America team.
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