The poll positions are set, let the jockeying begin

The AP college football poll was are released this morning and here is the way things stack up, right now.

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Mississippi
9. Oklahoma St.
9. Penn St.
11. LSU
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Boise St.
15. Georgia Tech
16. Oregon
17. TCU
18. Florida St.
19. Utah
20. BYU
21. North Carolina
22. Iowa
23. Notre Dame
24. Nebraska
25. Kansans


A little bit of history was made as the Florida Gators collected 58 of the 60 (96.7%) first place votes (Texas received the other 2) making the most overwhelming favorite since the poll was started in 1950. The previous high was the ’07 Trojans who received 62 of 65 first place votes (95.4%).

The template has now been set. When the two teams who will be playing for the BCS National Championship square-off against one another in January, their respective BCS standings journey can be walked-back week by week to this Saturday in late August.

To wit, a team like North Carolina may have too much ground to make-up at 21 to have a realistic shot at the title game, even if they go undefeated (this assumes that at least one or 2 teams ahead of them go undefeated).

And thanks for playing along TCU, Utah and BYU. The BCS has shown little regard for the non-BCS conferences though we will watch with keen interest BYU as they open up against Oklahoma on a semi-neutral site in Arlington TX on Sept. 5 and whose roster contains 3 other top 25 teams (Florida St. and conference foes Utah and TCU).