College Football’s Top Ten Teams of 2012

The great thing about doing the College Football Top Ten is how many of these teams came within a drive, a few yards, or in Ohio State’s case, tattoos, of perhaps playing in the BCS title game.

When making the top ten, consideration was given to the teams’ season long success, but leaned heavier towards how teams were playing at year’s end and who I felt were truly the best teams.

#1 Alabama: Nick Saban is starting to collect rings like five star recruits. Is there any room on the stadium to add five letters. How does Bryant-Denny-Saban sound? A dynasty, yes, but with an assist from Baylor and Stanford this year.

#2 Texas A&M;: In the game of the year, Sumlin’s bunch rolled the Tide while Johnny Manziel’s mad dash and pass to Ryan Swope was the play of the year. Bryant-Denny was a mausoleum after the game. Impressive end to season beating Alabama and crushing Oklahoma. Sumlin needs to suspend Manziel’s Instagram privileges and keep him off the streets this spring.

#3 Georgia: Less impressive in bowl win than A&M.; S.E.C. title game was a classic, five yards from first title shot since Herschel Walker. Alec Ogletree is a stud, when he scooped up the blocked field goal and scored I thought Georgia had the S.E.C. title. Richt has regained his mojo and Aaron Murray will likely return next year.

#4 Notre Dame: Dream season ends in nightmare. Getting destroyed in title game leaves poor taste in Irish faithful’s mouth, but they are relevant again. Can Brian Kelly capitalize on momentum and recruit elite athletes nationally?

#5 Oregon: Can’t put them ahead of Notre Dame. Their loss came against the only good team they played. That, and U.S.C. hanging 51 points on them drops them to #5.

#6 Stanford: David Shaw is one of the best coaches in the country. He won at Stanford without Andrew Luck. Stepfan Taylor was the most underrated player in college football. Came within a controversial yard at Notre Dame of consideration for the B.C.S. Championship Game.

#7 Florida: Muhammad Ali rope a doped for the first two and a half minutes of a round, then tried to win the last 30 seconds. His reasoning: the judges remember what happened last the most. I can’t get by watching Louisville’s receivers race past Gator defensive backs or Jeff Driskel running for his life.

#8 L.S.U.: L.S.U. was two minutes and an A.J. McCarron drive from an S.E.C. Championship date with Georgia. What happened in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl? They went to sleep in Atlanta before the Peach dropped, giving Dabo’s boys a much needed bowl victory. Les Miles needs to jumpstart his offense next year.

#9 Ohio State: May have come within some body ink of playing in the title game. I can’t rank them higher because they never played a tough inter-conference game or a bowl and the Big 10 was weak. Urban Meyer will soon be stockpiling recruits in Columbus. The rest of the Big 10, and maybe the country, better beware.

#10 South Carolina/Clemson: Palmetto State residents, prepare to throw down. Tajh Boyd and Dabo Swinney redeem themselves after last year’s Orange Bowl disaster. Great win in Chick-Fil-A. Steve Spurrier wins without Marcus Lattimore in the S.E.C. Jadeveon Clowney is the most talented collegiate player, he almost ripped a Michigan Man’s head off in the Outback Bowl. Swinney and Spurrier in the same room would be more entertaining than Kris Kardashian and Bruce Jenner.

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