CFN 2008 Final Rankings
No. 26 to 50
CFN Final 2008 Rankings
1-10
| 11-25 | 51-75
| 76-100
| 101-119
CFN Final 2009
Opinion Rankings
Based on how good we thought the teams were at the end of the
year.
|
1 |
Florida (13-1) |
|
2 |
Texas (12-1) |
|
3 |
Oklahoma (12-2) |
|
4 |
USC (12-1) |
|
5 |
Utah (13-0) |
|
6 |
TCU (11-2) |
|
7 |
Alabama (12-2) |
|
8 |
Penn State (11-2) |
|
9 |
Oregon (10-3) |
|
10 |
Ohio State (10-3) |
|
11 |
Georgia (10-3) |
|
12 |
Ole Miss (9-4) |
|
13 |
Boise State (12-1) |
|
14 |
Texas Tech (11-2) |
|
15 |
Virginia Tech (10-4) |
|
16 |
Iowa (9-4) |
|
17 |
Missouri (10-4) |
|
18 |
Florida State (9-4) |
|
19 |
Cincinnati (11-3) |
|
20 |
Oregon State (9-4) |
|
21 |
West Virginia (9-4) |
|
22 |
Oklahoma State (9-4) |
|
23 |
LSU (8-5) |
|
24 |
Georgia Tech (9-4) |
|
25 |
Pitt (9-4) |
|
26 |
California (9-4) |
|
27 |
Michigan State (9-4) |
|
28 |
Nebraska (9-4) |
|
29 |
Kansas (8-5) |
|
30 |
Rutgers (8-5) |
|
31 |
North Carolina (8-5) |
|
32 |
Miami (7-6) |
|
33 |
Northwestern (9-4) |
|
34 |
Vanderbilt (7-6) |
|
35 |
Boston College (9-5) |
|
36 |
Maryland (8-5) |
|
37 |
Arizona (8-5) |
|
38 |
Kentucky (7-6) |
|
39 |
East Carolina (9-5) |
|
40 |
Houston (8-5) |
|
41 |
Tulsa (11-3) |
|
42 |
Rice (10-3) |
|
43 |
Wake Forest (8-5) |
|
44 |
Clemson (7-6) |
|
45 |
BYU (10-3) |
|
46 |
Connecticut (8-5) |
|
47 |
NC State (6-7) |
|
48 |
South Carolina (7-6) |
|
49 |
South Florida (8-5) |
|
50 |
Navy (8-5) |
|
51 |
Air Force (8-5) |
|
52 |
Troy (8-5) |
|
53 |
Southern Miss (7-6) |
|
54 |
Tennessee (5-7) |
|
55 |
Nevada (7-6) |
|
56 |
Wisconsin (7-6) |
|
57 |
Buffalo (8-6) |
|
58 |
Ball State (12-2) |
|
59 |
Florida Atlantic (7-6) |
|
60 |
Central Michigan (8-5) |
|
61 |
Western Michigan (9-4) |
|
62 |
Illinois (5-7) |
|
63 |
Colorado State (7-6) |
|
64 |
Notre Dame (7-6) |
|
65 |
Hawaii (7-7) |
|
66 |
Virginia (5-7) |
|
67 |
Baylor (4-8) |
|
68 |
Arkansas (5-7) |
|
69 |
Auburn (5-7) |
|
70 |
Louisville (5-7) |
|
71 |
Arizona State (5-7) |
|
72 |
Colorado (5-7) |
|
73 |
Kansas State (5-7) |
|
74 |
Louisiana Tech (8-5) |
|
75 |
Purdue (4-8) |
|
76 |
Stanford (5-7) |
|
77 |
Miss State (4-8) |
|
78 |
Arkansas State (6-6) |
|
79 |
Fresno State (7-6) |
|
80 |
Texas A&M (4-8) |
|
81 |
Minnesota (7-6) |
|
82 |
Northern Illinois (6-7) |
|
83 |
Bowling Green (6-6) |
|
84 |
Duke (4-8) |
|
85 |
Memphis (6-7) |
|
86 |
New Mexico (4-8) |
|
87 |
UNLV (5-7) |
|
88 |
UCLA (4-8) |
|
89 |
UL Lafayette (6-6) |
|
90 |
San Jose State (6-6) |
|
91 |
UAB (4-8) |
|
92 |
UCF (4-8) |
|
93 |
Akron (5-7) |
|
94 |
Middle Tennessee (5-7) |
|
95 |
Ohio (4-8) |
|
96 |
Marshall (4-8) |
|
97 |
Kent State (4-8) |
|
98 |
UL Monroe (4-8) |
|
99 |
Indiana (3-9) |
|
100 |
Iowa State (2-10) |
|
101 |
Army (3-9) |
|
102 |
Syracuse (3-9) |
|
103 |
UTEP (5-7) |
|
104 |
Temple (5-7) |
|
105 |
Toledo (3-9) |
|
106 |
Michigan (3-9) |
|
107 |
Wyoming (4-8) |
|
108 |
Eastern Michigan (3-9) |
|
109 |
Washington State (2-11) |
|
110 |
Washington (0-12) |
|
111 |
FIU (5-7) |
|
112 |
New Mexico State (3-9) |
|
113 |
Utah State (3-9) |
|
114 |
San Diego State (2-10) |
|
115 |
Miami Univ (2-10) |
|
116 |
Tulane (2-10) |
|
117 |
SMU (1-11) |
|
118 |
Idaho (2-10) |
|
119 |
North Texas (1-11) |
|
26. North Carolina
(8-5) CFN Score: 15.22
2007 Score: 3.43 2007 Ranking: 92
The final result might not have been special, but it was a fun ride.
The Tar Heels had their best season in years, starting out 7-2 and with
the ACC title in sight. But losses to Maryland and NC State killed the
dream, and a Meineke Bowl loss to West Virginia soured the end. Six wins
over bowl teams helped the score, while four of the five losses were by
a total of nine points.
27. California (9-4) CFN Score: 15.09
2007 Score: 10.87 2007 Ranking: 48
The Bears had an odd season, beating mid-level teams like Oregon and
Michigan State while losing to Maryland and Arizona, but the win over
Miami in the Emerald Bowl was solid and there weren't any problems with
the lousy teams in the Pac 10. The defense carried the team through an
inconsistent offensive year.
28. Michigan State (9-4) CFN Score: 14.83
2007 Score: 12.13 2007 Ranking: 40
The Spartans couldn't beat most of the good teams, but there weren't a
lot of good teams in the Big Ten. The four losses came to Cal, Ohio
State, Penn State and Georgia, while the best win was at home against
Iowa. Even so, Mark Dantonio's club had the Rose Bowl still in play up
until the end despite not being able to do any one thing particularly
well.
29. West Virginia (9-4) CFN Score: 14.42
2007 Score: 22.15 2007 Ranking: 2
While it wasn't a BCS year, West Virginia represented itself well
winning eight of their final ten games including the 31-30 win over
North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Two of the losses came in
overtime (Colorado and Cincinnati) and the loss to Pitt was by four.
30. Oklahoma State (9-4) CFN Score: 14.34
2007 Score: 10.95 2007 Ranking: 46
For all the attention and all the fireworks, the Cowboys didn't
really beat anyone outside of Missouri. Houston? Okay, that's not a bad
win, but Troy, Colorado and Texas A&M were the other wins of note.
Against the big boys, the Cowboys fizzled losing to Texas, Texas Tech,
Oklahoma and Oregon in the Sun Bowl.
31. Rice (10-3) CFN Score: 14.31
2007 Score: -0.88 2007 Ranking: 111
For some reason, one of the best stories of the year flew under the
radar. Rice, the smallest school in the FBS, went from a doormat to a
powerhouse, at least for a year, with Chase Clement and the offense
cranking out 471 yards and 41 points per game. The Owls won their final
seven games including a 38-14 victory over Western Michigan in the Texas
Bowl.
32. Wake Forest (8-5) CFN Score: 13.97
2007 Score: 12.92 2007 Ranking: 33
There wasn't any offense, but Aaron Curry and the defense picked up
the slack, for the most part. However, almost every game was a struggle.
There were nice wins over Ole Miss, Florida State and Clemson early, and
the Demon Deacons avenged an early loss to Navy with a 29-19 win in the
EagleBank bowl.
33. BYU (10-3) CFN Score: 13.87
2007 Score: 16.60 2007 Ranking: 17
The Cougars were supposed to be BCS busters, but TCU ended all of
that with a 32-7 destruction in Fort Worth. While it's hard to dog a
ten-win season, the only win of note was against Air Force; the second
best win was over Colorado State ... yippee. Finishing up with losses to
Utah and Arizona showed how much work there is to be done before next
year.
34. East Carolina (9-5) CFN Score: 13.72
2007 Score: 11.70 2007 Ranking: 41
The Conference USA champions started the season out as the
hot team with wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia, but the offense
started to fizzle a bit. There were way too many close games, but ECU
won six of its final seven games of the regular season before losing to
Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl. Six of the nine wins were by five points
or fewer.
35. Nebraska (9-4) CFN Score: 13.58
2007 Score: 7.13 2007 Ranking: 66
Call it year one on the road to recovery as Bo Pelini stepped in and
started to improve things right away. The Huskers won six of their final
seven games, with the only loss coming at Oklahoma, but outside of a
Gator Bowl win over Clemson, they only beat two teams that went to
bowls, Western Michigan and Kansas.
36. Maryland (8-5) CFN Score: 13.03
2007 Score: 9.54 2007 Ranking: 55
A 14-7 win over Delaware and a loss to Middle Tennessee to start the
season didn't exactly inspire confidence, and then came a shocking win
over Cal and everything changed. There were some major duds, like a 31-0
loss to Virginia and a 37-3 loss to Florida State, but the Terps
finished with a nice eight-win season with a win over Nevada in the
Humanitarian Bowl.
37. Arizona (8-5) CFN Score: 12.86
2007 Score: 6.81 2007 Ranking: 69
It might not have been a stellar season, but for a program starved
for a bowl game, going 8-5 with a win over Arizona State, Cal, and
against BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, this was a big year. The losses to
New Mexico and Stanford weren't a plus, but the Wildcats gave USC a
major push in the 17-10 loss.
38. Rutgers (8-5) CFN Score: 12.69
2007 Score: 12.46 2007 Ranking: 37
The Scarlet Knights started out 1-5 and appeared to be headed for an
epic disaster, and then Mike Teel and the passing game got hot on the
way to a seven game winning streak to close out the year. Three of the
five losses were by a total of 12 points with the lone blowout coming
against North Carolina. The offense was the best in the Big East in
passing and scoring.
39. Kansas (8-5)
CFN Score: 12.46
2007 Score: 20.60 2007 Ranking: 5
Funny things happen when you face a nasty schedule. The Jayhawks
missed all the big boys from the South last year and went to the Orange
Bowl. They faced Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas this year and, had to
deal with South Florida before the Big 12 season, and they ended up in
the Insight Bowl. With the comeback win to beat Missouri, and the win
over Minnesota, KU closed out strong.
40. LSU (8-5) CFN Score: 12.25
2007 Score: 223.23 2007 Ranking: 1
The fall was swift and ugly with the passing game giving the ball away
way too often and the defense struggling to come close to matching its
national title production. The Tigers only beat two bowl teams, South
Carolina and Troy, and they struggled in both needing a huge fourth
quarter to beat the Trojans. However, the Chick-fil-A domination of
Georgia Tech calmed everything down and might have set the tone for
2009.
41. Houston (8-5) CFN Score: 12.13
2007 Score: 8.07 2007 Ranking: 62
Kevin Sumlin took over the team and kept the offense rolling. The
Cougars finished second in the nation in both passing and total offense
highlighted by a 70-30 win over Tulsa. But there were maddening
performances against Colorado State and Marshall to keep the season from
being special. Beating Air Force in a rematch in the Armed Forces Bowl
ended things on a high note.
42. Navy (8-5) CFN Score: 11.79
2007 Score: 7.25 2007 Ranking: 65
Ken Niumatalolo
showed that he could keep the success of the Paul Johnson era going with
Navy finishing yet another year with the nation's No. 1 rushing offense
on the way to yet another bowl game. Unlike past years under Johnson,
the defense became a plus. For all the good things the team did,
there was only one decent win: Rutgers.
43. Vanderbilt (7-6) CFN Score: 11.48
2007 Score: 5.06 2007 Ranking: 81
A bowl! A bowl! The program finally got the sixth win needed to go
bowling? It wasn't pretty, losing six of the final seven games of the
regular season, but the Commodores made up for it with a 16-14 win over
Boston College in the Music City Bowl. A strong defense carried one of
the nation's worst offenses.
44. South Florida (8-5) CFN Score: 11.36
2007 Score: 15.86 2007 Ranking: 19
The program didn't build on the big 2007 with a disastrous second
half of the season. Things started out well with a 6-1 start highlighted
by a comeback win over Kansas, but losing four of the last five games
meant a trip to the St. Petersburg Bowl. The Bulls went 3-3 in games
decided b seven points or fewer.
45. Clemson (7-6) CFN Score: 11.31
2007 Score: 14.06 2007 Ranking: 28
Even with the mega-disappointment of the 3-4 start and the canning of
head coach Tommy Bowden, the Tigers showed tremendous heart and made it
a good year by wining four of the last five regular season games,
including a 31-14 win over South Carolina. A 36-21 Gator Bowl loss to
Nebraska doesn't take away from the heart the team showed.
46. Air Force (8-5) CFN Score: 11.21
2007 Score: 12.84 2007 Ranking: 34
The Falcons had their spot cemented in the pecking order. This
wasn't quite a good enough team to beat the elite Mountain West teams,
but it managed to be just above the mediocre. Losing three straight to
close the season, including an Armed Forces Bowl loss to Houston, put a
damper on a campaign that started out 8-2.
47. Troy (8-5) CFN Score: 10.86
2007 Score: 10.05 2007 Ranking: 52
The Trojans took back the Sun Belt throne with a nice season that
was close to being truly special. They should've beaten LSU and lost to
UL Monroe by one. All the good things the team did, especially on
defense, unraveled in the New Orleans Bowl loss to Southern Miss.
However, this still was the Sun Belt's best team without question.
48. Connecticut (8-5) CFN Score: 10.79
2007 Score: 12.16 2007 Ranking: 39
The Huskies started out well with a 5-0 record, and then struggled
with their consistency losing five of their last seven regular season
games. Donald Brown finished with a 2,000-yard rushing season, and he
needed to carry things with one of the nation's most woeful passing
games sputtering all year long.
49. Northwestern (9-4)
CFN Score: 10.74
2007 Score: 6.13 2007 Ranking: 74
Pat Hill's team had a fantastic bounceback season complete with a
Humanitarian Bowl win over Georgia Tech and a win over Kansas State.
With a balanced offense and a defense that wasn't awful, this might have
been the stepping-stone for a big 2008 when the Bulldogs will likely be
the preseason WAC favorites.
50. Western Michigan (9-4) CFN Score: 10.42
2007 Score: 5.18 2007 Ranking: 80
Forgetting that the Broncos got destroyed by Rice in the Texas Bowl
and blown out by Ball State, this was still a great year with a 9-2
start with a win over Illinois and an overtime victory over eventual MAC
champion Buffalo. The offense was among the best in the country with the
MAC's best passing attack, but the veteran defense was a disappointment.
CFN Final 2008 Rankings
1-10
| 11-25 | 51-75
| 76-100
| 101-119