The legendary voting panel was high on Alabama all year. The Crimson Tide held the No. 1 spot for six consecutive weeks, before being unseated by unbeaten LSU.

But in the season’s final rankings, Alabama received all 19 first-place votes, swapping spots with No. 2 LSU.

“Alabama’s defense was just outstanding,” former Crimson Tide coach Gene Stallings. “Even after LSU won the first game this year, I wasn’t so sure Alabama wasn’t the better team. I think they proved they were the better team (Monday) night.”

Oklahoma State remained third in the rankings, one spot behind LSU. The Cowboys finished with just one blemish on their record and outlasted Stanford in spectacular fashion in the Fiesta Bowl, 41-38.

No. 4 Oregon moved up a spot after its 45-38 Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. The Badgers fell four spots to No. 12.

Despite the Fiesta Bowl defeat, Stanford rounded out the top five.

No. 6 Arkansas moved up three spots, followed by Boise State, Houston, USC and Michigan State.

Sugar Bowl champion Michigan finished the season at No. 13, and Orange Bowl champs West Virginia moved up three spots to No. 20.

No. 14 Oklahoma was the second-biggest mover in the rankings, jumping eight spots. No. 23 Clemson fell 10 spots, which was the biggest drop in the final rankings.

The SEC finished with the most teams in the final top 25 with five, followed by the Big 12 and Big Ten which each had four.

Penn State was the only team to drop from the rankings. The Nittany Lions were replaced by No. 25 Cincinnati.

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Oklahoma State managed to take four second place votes from Alabama after the Cowboys beat rival Oklahoma 44-10 en route to a Big 12 championship. However, Oklahoma State still wound up one spot behind the Crimson Tide, which received the other 15 second-place votes.

“Oklahoma State has had a heck of a season,” former Auburn coach Pat Dye said. “But I still think that LSU and Alabama are the two best football teams in the country, and that’s why I put Alabama No. 2.”

LSU is the only unbeaten team left standing in college football, and after another dominating victory over Georgia in the SEC championship game, the Tigers once again received all 19 first-place votes. No. 15 Georgia fell five spots after the loss.

Idle Stanford remained at No. 4, one spot ahead of Oregon, which won the inaugural Pac-12 championship game over UCLA in impressive fashion. The Ducks will face No. 8 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl after the Badgers won the first ever Big Ten championship game over Michigan State.

No. 6 Boise State moved up a spot after finishing its regular season with just one loss. USC followed at No. 7, moving up four spots with its highest ranking of the season. No. 9 Arkansas and No. 10 Kansas State rounded out the top 10.

No. 13 Clemson made the biggest jump in the rankings after a resounding 38-10 victory over Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game. The ACC champs climbed eight spots.

No. 20 Houston fell 12 spots this week — more than any other team — after suffering its first loss of the season to No. 21 Southern Miss in the Conference USA title game. No. 22 Oklahoma dropped nine spots.

West Virginia, Penn State and Florida State rounded out the rankings.

The one-loss Cowboys still potentially have an outside shot at reaching the BCS championship game, but they will need a dominant performance against Oklahoma and some help in the polls.

On Monday’s Scripps Legends Poll teleconference, Fisher DeBerry gave six reasons why he thinks Oklahoma State will prevail in the game.

1. Oklahoma State is rested

DeBerry: Oklahoma State has had two weeks now to get ready for the game and get healed up a little bit. Also, heal their pride.

2. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon

DeBerry: Oklahoma State has a great quarterback and they’ve got several wide receivers, but particularly Blackmon who I think is as good as there is in the country. I think it’ll be tough to beat Oklahoma State this year based on the concerns I mentioned earlier about Oklahoma Sooners.

3. Landry Jones is struggling of late

DeBerry: Oklahoma concerns me a little bit for the fact that their quarterback, Landry Jones, who was having such a great year and he’s still been consistent – throwing about 400 yards the other night, but he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in two games.

4. Oklahoma’s injuries

DeBerry: Oklahoma has had a lot of injuries. In fact, they had one the other day to their defensive end, Alexander, who might be the defensive player of the year in the conference. I hope it’s not a serious injury and would get to play this weekend.

5. Oklahoma’s red zone offense

DeBerry: Oklahoma also concerns me because they just haven’t been very good in the red zone. They have trouble getting the ball across the goal line.

6. The game may have lost some luster, but it’s still bedlam

DeBerry: But at the same time the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game is just like the Auburn-Alabama game. It’s pretty intense. Last year’s game was 47-41. I think it’ll be a similar type game.

Image courtesy of Flickr, RASMITH116

Because of its probation, No. 11 USC is not allowed to participate in postseason play this season, despite having a far better record and ranking than archrival UCLA. Pac-12 experts Don James and Terry Donahue — former UCLA coach — discussed the championship matchup on Monday’s Scripps Legends Poll teleconference.

James: Well, the gamblers have got it 30 points. So, it’s not a toss up game. It’s at Oregon and they’ve just got so many weapons. They’re fighting for their lives down there. UCLA is really under the gun and it’s a shame with USC’s problems that they’re not in the game. It would’ve been quite a game.

Donahue: UCLA just got beat 50-0 by SC, you think I’m going to talk?

Unless there’s some kind of a modern miracle, like Don said, it’s a 30-point spread and it’s being billed down here as the Nikes v. Yikes. That may be appropriate.

Oregon can’t do exactly what USC can do in terms of throwing the ball. They don’t have the same kind of receiving core, but they do it another way with their running game with the speed of LaMichael James and defense. Anthony Thomas and those guys are just unbelievable.

I would imagine that UCLA will get absolutely steamrolled. And I think we’re playing Friday night, it’s a short week, maybe that’s good after getting beat 50-0 – I’m not sure. But I don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you except that it’s not really a championship game in the sense that the best team in the South clearly is Southern Cal and they went up to Oregon and beat Oregon and a re-match would have been a really interesting game.

But other than that, UCLA has got to go up and play and somehow try to play well and make it a competitive game. The problem we had Saturday night was that after the first quarter the game wasn’t competitive. Somehow in the championship game we’ve got to find a way to just be competitive. I don’t know if UCLA can do that or not.

Image courtesy of Flickr, krmcguire

The reward? A chance to play top-ranked LSU. An unbeaten LSU team that’s knocked off the likes of Oregon, West Virginia, Alabama and Arkansas.

On Monday’s Scripps Legends Poll conference call, the Legends discussed the top 7 ways Georgia could pull off the upset.

1. Keep showing improvement

Vince Dooley: Georgia has become a much better team as the season progressed.  And they’re a much sounder football team in the last two or three ballgames than they’ve been and they’re playing with a lot of confidence.

Gene Stallings: Well, I think Georgia really improved.  In fact, I think they’ve probably improved more than anybody in the conference.

Pat Dye: Georgia is the third best team in the SEC right now.  They’re close to probably being as good as Arkansas on offense and a tremendous amount better on defense.  But Arkansas has played all of these teams and Georgia hasn’t.  Arkansas handled South Carolina pretty good when they came over.  So, it’ll be interesting to see.  Who you play has a lot to do with the way you look.

2. Stop the run and contain Jordan Jefferson

Dye: Plus I think Georgia can stop the run or be more consistent stopping the run than anybody in the conference except Alabama.  I think LSU is two touchdowns better with Jefferson playing quarterback all the time and his ability to run the option and run the read play and he’s throwing the heck out of the football.

3. Follow Aaron Murray’s lead

Dooley: Murray, their quarterback, throws the ball well.  He’s broken all kind of records at Georgia on touchdown passes.  He’s got a lot of confidence and he can scramble.

Dye: Well, I feel the same way Vince does.  I think Georgia may have a better chance of beating LSU than Alabama or somebody else because of their quarterback and their ability to throw the football. There’s no question, LSU is going to get pressure on Murray but he has the ability to scramble and move around and that’s a big factor.  But with LSU and Alabama and I say Georgia, too, I don’t think you can beat those defensive football teams without a quarterback that can make plays. But I think Jefferson has given LSU that ability now.  And certainly Georgia has got that ability in Murray because he’s good and they’ve got good wide receivers and good skilled people.

4. Take advantage of home field in Atlanta

Dye: I think Georgia will have some advantage with the home field advantage and playing in Atlanta, but LSU is going to have a lot of folks there, too.

5. Be better on special teams

Dye: If I had to say that there was real difference in the ball game, I’d say it was in the specialty teams where LSU is second to none in the nation – in the kicking game.  There’s a tremendous psychological warfare in this ball game.  I think Coach Miles has done a good a job of having his team ready to play every week as anybody that I’ve seen in a long time in this conference.

6. Play loose

Dooley: Georgia is in a good position if they can play loose and go in and throw it around some. LSU is heavily favored.  LSU, as we all know, has just incredible playmakers – they’ve got so many of them.  It ought to be a good game. I think it’s going to be a real good football game, a tight game, that Georgia’s got an outside chance to win.

7. Catch LSU off guard

Dooley: It’s always good if you can play tougher competitions, but I think Georgia has an outside chance to win the game with LSU sandwiched between Arkansas and what will be the national championship game.

Dye: I do think that winning the Southeastern Conference championship is a big deal to everybody in this conference.  It’s not just winning a national championship; it’s winning the SEC because they give a ring for that, too.

(Image courtesy of Flickr, sonny kennedy photography)

After capping off regular season play with resounding victories, LSU received all 19 first-place votes and Alabama tallied all of the second-place votes in the rankings.

“We’ve been saying all year long that LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the country,” former Georgia coach Vince Dooley said. “With what they both have done to SEC competition this season, I’m not sure how you can put any team ahead of them in the polls.”

Despite a win over Notre Dame, No. 4 Stanford dropped a spot behind Oklahoma State. The third-ranked Cowboys face their toughest test next week in a showdown with No. 13 Oklahoma.

Virginia Tech came in one spot behind Stanford, making its first top five appearance of the season, after the Hokies clinched a berth in the ACC title game. No. 6 Oregon moved up a spot and also clinched a spot in its conference title game after a 49-21 win over in-state rival Oregon State.

Non-AQ’s Boise State and Houston followed at No. 7 and No. 8.

Arkansas had the biggest fall in the rankings, dropping six spots to No. 9 after suffering a loss at top-ranked LSU on Friday, 41-17. LSU will face No. 10 Georgia — which made its first top 10 appearance of the season — in the SEC championship game.

The inaugural Big Ten championship game will feature No. 12 Michigan State and No. 14 Wisconsin. The Badgers seek revenge in a rematch from earlier this season, which Michigan State won.

No. 24 Florida State and No. 25 Southern Miss reentered the top 25 after two week absences from the rankings.

Georgia Tech and Notre Dame dropped out.

(Image courtesy of Flickr, rjaffray)

LSU remained the unanimous No. 1 team and Alabama moved back into a familiar spot at No. 2. No. 3 Arkansas made its highest showing of the season, giving the SEC West all three teams at the top of the rankings.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen three teams from the same conference in the top 3, let alone from the same division,” former Auburn coach Pat Dye said. “It just shows how strong our conference is down here in the SEC.”

Oklahoma State was stunned Friday night by Iowa State in double overtime, 37-31, handing the Cowboys their first loss and dropping them three spots to No. 5.

No. 7 Oregon fell three spots as well after its game-tying field goal attempt went begging as time expired against USC. The win vaulted USC four spots to No. 13. No. 12 Oklahoma also suffered its second loss of the season at Baylor on the Bears’ late game-winning drive, dropping the Sooners seven spots and out of the top 10.

No. 17 Clemson fell 10 spots — the most of any team this week — after being blown out at North Carolina State, 37-13.

All the chaos in the top 10 helped No. 4 Stanford move back into the top 5, just one week after it suffered its first loss at the hands of Oregon. However, Oregon still controls its own destiny in the Pac-12 North.

Virginia Tech moved up three spots to No. 6, followed by Oregon, Boise State and Houston. Michigan State rounded out the top 10 after a four-week absence.

No. 22 Baylor and No. 23 Georgia Tech moved back into the Scripps Legends Poll rankings this week, joined by No. 24 Notre Dame, which made its first appearance in the top 25 of the season.

Southern Miss, Florida State and Cincinnati fell out of the rankings.

John Robinson:  SC has two really good receivers.  One of them is kind of hurt, Robert Woods has a sore shoulder, but Marqise Lee and Woods are two very good receivers.  Oregon is going to play them man-to-man and they’ll be with them and I’m not sure how good or how proficient any college team is right now against a good man-to-man coverage with a lot of pressure.  But SC has a chance to match you scoring-wise probably more than most teams.  They can put points on the board and they’ve got a runner now, a little guy, McNeal¸ that’s doing well.  And SC is playing well.  SC also did an interesting thing, they changed their outside linebacker position from a year ago 230 pound medium speed guy to – one of them is about 200 pounds and the other is 210. And so they’re playing basically in essence a Dime defense all the time.  They can have a load up defense occasionally.  But basically they have improved their speed and particularly on the edge on that outside perimeter, just outside the numbers there where LaMichael James hits that turning point and turns upfield.  They’ll be better there than they were.  They’ll play three freshmen at linebacker in this game.  And their middle linebacker is a young kid who has really great speed.  I think the key to the defense is – does their speed come closer to Oregon than it did a year ago?

Richard Billingsley:  I think this game is the game of the week.  What I’m going to be very interested in seeing is how Oregon comes out and plays – whether they can keep that same level of intensity that they played against Stanford because it was obvious the Ducks were very, very well prepared and ready to play that game against Stanford.  They won on the road and they just played their best game.  And it was a huge win for them.  I’m anxious to see if they can maintain their focus.

It’s at Oregon.  So, I think that that’s an advantage for them.  USC is a very good team and they’re going to play Oregon a great game.  I noticed the line on that is Oregon by 16 and I thought that’s a lot of points.  I think it’s going to be a close game, to be honest with you.  It wouldn’t surprise me if the Trojans won, but it’s going to be a very, very good game.  I think it’s going to be a close game.

Coming off a big win in Happy Valley, Nebraska now takes on Michigan.

Richard Billingsley: The Nebraska-Michigan game is such a key game in the Big Ten.  Nebraska had that 17-14 win over Penn State last week and put them in a really good position for winning their division, but Michigan is playing very good football and it’s at Michigan.  I see the Wolverines are favored by 2 and I think that’s probably about right.  It’s going to be a key game in the Big Ten for the division race and the right to go to that championship game.

John Robinson:  I think its classic in terms of history – that stadium – Michigan and Nebraska – from a historical standpoint its big time.  But the conference has slipped a little bit and it just seems like the Big Ten is the one conference that doesn’t have a speed element in it.  I think they have some good teams and team that could come out and play, but they don’t have the speed element that Oklahoma State seems to have, Oregon, LSU – those teams that are ranked high and all have an unusual quality about them in that regard.  But I sure like Brady Hoke, I think he’ll return Michigan right to the very top.