Devin Gardner wins the 2013 Stanzi!

The final week of the season was short on contests but rich in quality football. From the Thursday night showdown in the AAC to the epic Big Ten title bout Saturday, we were treated to game after game of entertaining play. Auburn completed its miracle run in a laughably defense-less SEC Championship. Stanford reasserted that its style wins out against spread teams in Tempe. In the Big 12, Oklahoma had our curiosity before Baylor got our attention. And Florida State… well, Florida State did what Florida State does.

There’s little doubt now that FSU is the best team in America. I moved the Seminoles to the top spot after their shellacking of Clemson, but assumed Alabama was still at the same level. The Crimson Tide fell by the wayside, though, victims of the long college football season. Now there’s no one left to take up the proverbial mantle. Ohio State? Auburn? Let’s be real. This is the Seminoles’ world we’re living in. It’s up to them to determine who’s worthy to share their spotlight.

It’s clear that conference championship games, unnecessary though they may be, are here to stay. Without them we would never have the same level of drama on the final day of the season, which certainly won’t do for conference commissioners. It’s hard to determine what it is these games accomplish, other than filling the coffers of money-hungry TV networks, but the excitement they ensure more than makes up for their lack of purpose. In recent years the outcomes of league title games have vastly altered both conference and national championships, which has hurt the sport more often than not. Do you think Ohio State thinks the Big Ten needed such a contest now? NIU, like mid-major peers Houston and Ball State before it, can appreciate the frustration the Buckeyes are feeling.

The bowls are set, so my postseason preview will begin to appear over the next few weeks. For now, let’s revisit the top 25 one last time and smile at the notion that next year it won’t be just two teams that matter at this time of year.

Top 25

1) Florida State

Everyone expected Duke to get spanked, and although the Blue Devils valiantly hung in there for a half it wasn’t surprising to see the dam burst. FSU is simply too good to be contained. With Jameis Winston off the hook (legally speaking), the Seminoles are free to run wild in the title game. Can this team be beaten? I’m not sure. FSU hasn’t won by fewer than 14 points (Boston College) and that was the only game within 27.

2) Michigan State

It came down to Michigan State and Auburn and I took the Spartans. The Big Ten is weaker than the SEC. That isn’t in question. But MSU didn’t need lucky breaks to get where to this point, either. None of the Spartans’ wins were by fewer than 10 points and the loss, though it came to Notre Dame, was a one-possession game. Auburn’s wins were slightly (though not much) better, but the loss was a decisive affair to LSU. MSU beats out the Tigers by a hair.

3) Auburn

Luck, though it’s a flimsy thing, isn’t calculated in the BCS. I have no problem with the Tigers playing in the title game. I just happen to believe Michigan State is probably better. As charmed as this run has been for Auburn, there are several red flags attached to the campaign as well. In particular, that near-loss to WSU to start the season. The Tigers have improved since then, but have they really improved THAT much? The Cougars, for the record, are a .500 Pac-12 team.

4) Alabama

‘Bama got one-half of the magical upset weekend it needed when Michigan State came through, but FSU proved to be too much for Duke. It’s off to the Sugar Bowl for the Crimson Tide, which might bring back traumatic memories for some fans in Tuscaloosa. Those fears are probably unfounded; Alabama didn’t take Utah seriously in that game and it showed. I doubt the coaches will allow that to happen again.

5) Stanford

Oh, Stanford. How many times have I typed that this year? There are times when I’m right and there are times when I’m wrong, but there are very few times I’m right and hate myself for it. Almost every instance of that emotion seems to involve Stanford. The Cardinal did just as I expected in Tempe, crushing ASU again to claim a second straight conference title. If only this team could play a full season at that level.

6) Ohio State

There are two schools of thought regarding OSU’s first loss under Urban Meyer. The one favored by Ohio State fans is that the Buckeyes played a bad game and still almost went undefeated for the second straight year. The other is that OSU was exposed by the first quality team it faced under Meyer. Both have elements of the truth, but I’d lean closer to the latter. As talented as the Buckeyes are, MSU made them look ordinary for the majority of the game.

7) Baylor

Take a bow, Baylor. You’ve not only earned your first BCS bowl, you’ve won me over (mostly). While a good defense or inclement weather have proved to be nasty roadblocks for the Baylor offense, this is still a quality team capable of simply running away from the majority of the country. Are the Bears very fortunate to be facing UCF in the Fiesta Bowl? Yes. But after decades of undignified faceplants, Baylor deserves a break.

8) South Carolina

This might be too high for the Gamecocks, but sorry, they have to be ahead of the Mizzou team they beat. South Carolina managed to avoid the West’s best teams but still notched better wins than almost any SEC squad. With victories over UCF and Clemson in the non-conference slate, it’s impossible to argue against the quality of this team. In retrospect, that Tennessee loss robbed us of a great Carolina season.

9) Missouri

It’s hard to evaluate Mizzou’s performance in Atlanta. The offense put up a bunch of points, but it was facing a bad defense. The D was facing a statistically prolific offense, but one that's ludicrously one-sided. I’d guess Gary Pinkel and his staff would like to do a lot of things over. What happened to defense in the SEC? Did that narrative die when it wasn’t convenient any longer? The Tigers are still searching for that elusive conference title.

10) Oregon

It’s extremely silly that Oklahoma is playing in a BCS game ahead of Oregon, but the Ducks didn’t do themselves any favors with that tepid final month. UO did get a giant boost this week when Marcus Mariota and Hroniss Grasu announced they would return in 2014. Getting back the best Center-QB combination in the country has to bolster the team’s spirits after a disappointing November.

11) Clemson

The Tigers should be higher than this, but for whatever reason they can’t seem to beat South Carolina. Although 10 wins is still a pretty solid year, there’s a distinct feeling that this team peaked early and coasted through the second half of the season. Should it have been rewarded with a BCS bowl? Probably not. Clemson will get a chance to prove the naysayers wrong in the Orange.

12) UCF

It took a lot of close calls to get there, but the Knights did it. A BCS berth, and a well-deserved one at that. The cliché is that you can only play the teams in front of you; UCF did that and more by running undefeated through the AAC and playing South Carolina tough in its only loss. The defense will be under fire against Baylor, but there are few offenses more capable of going blow-for-blow with the Bears than this one.

13) Oklahoma

I was impressed by the Sooners’ one-score (because that’s what it was) victory at Oklahoma State. However, I can’t reward OU too much because I’ve seen just how awful this team can look at times. We still don’t know how good the Big 12 is, but all signs have pointed to it being as down as the Big Ten. That doesn’t bode well against an Alabama team stacked with an array of future high draft picks.

14) Oklahoma State

The Cowboys and Sooners traded places early in my rankings, so it seems only fitting they should end up side by side. OSU was right there in 2013 but failed to finish off performances in a couple of games. Eventually, Okie State will learn the Oregon lesson that running your offense one way all the time isn’t as effective as you’d hope. This is still the league’s most promising program going forward.

15) LSU

The Tigers’ bowl game (versus Iowa in the Outback) is now a very intriguing affair given the injury to QB Zach Mettenberger and the “look to the future” we’ll be getting in January. LSU finally got over its frustrating lack of offense problem this season, only to graduate Mettenberger. The good news is the defense will probably return to form in 2014 to pick up the slack.

16) Arizona State

It was an unfortunately predictable outcome for the Sun Devils, although I expected ASU to make more of a game of it against Stanford. The Cardinal defense is simply a perfect match for ASU’s attack. Still, 10 wins and a division title is pretty rarified air for this program, which seems poised to be a player in the South for years to come. I’m a believer in what Todd Graham is selling at this point.

17) Louisville

We knew the winner of the Keg of Nails likely wouldn’t have any bearing on the AAC race, but that didn’t stop it from being a terrific football game. Time and time again Cincinnati seemed to have Louisville on the ropes, but Teddy Bridgewater saved his best for last, carrying the team on his back on a crucial fourth down scramble and delivering an eye-popping frozen rope to take a late lead. The Cardinals can finally look ahead to the ACC.

18) UCLA

The Bruins locked up Jim Mora for a longer term and now must take the next step as a program by winning a bowl game. UCLA was embarrassed in the postseason last year and has to show that was a letdown. As impressive as Mora’s tenure has been to this point, he needs to make his players (and fans) believe the future holds more than second-place division finishes. There’s no reason for UCLA to accept anything less.

19) Wisconsin

The pickings for the final spot are a little bare. USC and Notre Dame are both contenders, but I’ll go with Wisconsin. The Badgers very nearly eked out a BCS berth in a season in which they had absolutely no right to do so. With Joel Stave looking like a true long-term answer at QB – something UW hasn’t had for a long time – Wisconsin is set to stay a Big Ten power for the foreseeable future.

20) Duke

I can’t reasonably drop Duke from the rankings after a rough outing against the best team in the country. The Blue Devils have still had a magical season and deserve all the praise they’ve gotten. 10 wins in Durham?! What’s even more impressive is this isn’t a particularly senior-laden team. Academic schools tend to cycle to higher-win seasons when they have a glut of upperclassmen, but Duke is actually pretty well-off for 2014.

21) USC

Interesting time to be a Trojans fan. I understand the idea that Steve Sarkisian "knows the culture" in L.A., but considering who Washington just hired it's hard to look at this whole affair and not think SC got the lesser coach. Chris Petersen allegedly turned down the Trojans but was eager to leap to UW; that isn't very promising for this program.

22) Texas A&M

This end-of-year ranking is a nod to the explosiveness of the A&M offense, because I really doubt the Aggies are actually a top-25 team. A somewhat close game against Alabama in the second week does little to distract from the subsequent losses and downturn in scoring against the better opponents on the schedule. However, the biggest problem in the defense. Kevin Sumlin had better fix that first.

23) Notre Dame

Notre Dame is at a crossroads. If not for a string of miraculous breaks in 2012 the Fighting Irish would be an eight-win team every season with Brian Kelly. If that's good enough, so be it. But despite this team's overall level of quality, Kelly won't be able to coast on that 12-win season forever. Signs of improvement, like a return to the BCS, are necessary.

24) Fresno State

The Bulldogs bounced back from that defensive nightmare against San Jose State to hold Utah State completely in check (until the fourth quarter) and claim the Mountain West title. It's been far too long since one of the nation's strongest (historically) mid-majors has celebrated a conference championship. It seems fitting a Carr would be the one to lead the team back.

25) Northern Illinois

In perhaps my best prediction ever, I called Bowling Green's upset of NIU way back in August. My prediction was eerily accurate, as the Huskies struggled to move the ball on BGSU and couldn't get any help from their outmanned defense. Even with the win, the Falcons don't deserve to be ranked at 10-3. NIU does, right where I've had the team all year: the bottom of the rankings.

Pac-12 Report

Unlike in the first meeting, Arizona State managed to hang around for a quarter or so before getting overwhelmed, but the final result was pretty much identical. Stanford’s power running dominated the night, opening up huge windows for play-action bombs, which the Cardinal capitalized on quickly. ASU was once again unable to muster a consistent running or passing threat, putting too much pressure on the Sun Devils’ sometimes shaky air attack to win the game. It couldn’t, and here we are. After all of the strange losses and underwhelming performances over the past two years it seems unlikely to be talking about the Cardinal as back-to-back champs. However, Stanford has played well when it mattered most and taken advantage of every little 50-50 ball. When you play D, run the ball and win the turnover battle, it’s hard to lose too many games. Stanford has perfected this formula to the chagrin of the rest of the Pac-12.

Heisman Watch

The winner is Jameis Winston of Florida State. I’m uncomfortable, to say the least, about the sexual assault allegation that wasn’t. But with no charges and Winston the runaway winner on the field he’s the only logical answer. We don’t know the full story – despite what some FSU homers will tell you – and may never have a clear picture of what happened. But by the same token, there’s not enough to condemn Winston or deny him the award he’s earned. In the end, the Heisman’s “integrity” criterion is fairly meaningless historically anyway. If you look at the trophy purely as a football-related commendation, which we probably should, there’s only one obvious answer.

Random Thoughts and Observations

Next year at this time we’ll have a four-team playoff and a debate over whether the deserving fifth-ranked team got left out. There have already been calls to expand the playoff to eight, 16 or even more teams. That would a ridiculous overreaction and the worst mistake the sport could make. A small playoff allows the regular season to still have meaning and conference championships to retain their value. Moving to an NCAA basketball tourney-style mega-event is an incredibly greedy and ill-informed idea. There’s a reason college football is much more popular than college basketball. It’s because most of the country doesn’t watch the largely meaningless basketball season.

Making college football teams play as many as four more games – far more than they’ve ever played – would have the same effect it did in the NFL: a massive increase in injuries. The FCS playoff demonstrates this problem, as the former I-AA postseason has become a game of attrition as much as skill. Furthermore, THERE ARE NOT 16 TEAMS IN FBS FOOTBALL THAT DESERVE TO PLAY FOR THE NATIONAL TITLE. Look at the BCS standings today and consider some of the participants in a theoretical 16-team playoff. LSU, sans Mettenberger? The Oklahoma schools? Reeling Oregon and Clemson? It would be a farce if one of those teams won the title. A reasonable argument can be made for an eight-team playoff, provided at least five of the eight are major-conference champions. But anything more is misguided in the extreme.

It didn’t take long for Washington find its man. Shortly after I posted last week, UW hired Boise State’s Chris Petersen. Simply put, this is a dream scenario for the Huskies. Petersen saw the writing on the wall at Boise and knew the Broncos wouldn’t return to national prominence, so it works out well for him too. For the rest of the Pac-12, it’s a nightmare. At their peak Petersen’s Broncos toyed with some of the league’s best. The last thing anyone on the West Coast wanted to see was Petersen with a massive upgrade in funding, facilities, personnel and recruiting capability. This isn’t a home run for Washington, it’s a grand slam.

There were no Stanzi winners this week, which meant our four finalists didn’t have to fend off any late challengers. It’s been a long, delightful season of performances the original Stanzi would have been proud to call his own. Here are the expanded standings.

2013 Stanzi Awards Finalists

Devin Gardner, Michigan

Performances: Three INT (including one pick-six), one FUM versus Akron; two INT, one FUM (returned for TD) versus Connecticut; the losing QB in the year’s first Double Stanzi (Michigan – Penn State)

Totals: Five INT (one for TD), two FUM (one for TD), two weekly Stanzis

Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Performances: One INT, one FUM versus Ole Miss; three INT versus Mississippi State

Totals: Four INT, one FUM, two weekly Stanzis

Blake Bortles, UCF

Performances: One INT, one FUM versus Houston; two INT, one FUM versus USF

Totals: Three INT, two FUM, two weekly Stanzis

Keith Wenning, Ball State

Performances: One FUM (returned for TD), one INT versus Toledo; two INT versus Kent State

Totals: Three INT, one FUM (for TD), two weekly Stanzis

Just like with the Heisman, this is a no-brainer. Gardner has been living on the edge all season, he kick-started my effort to document the Stanzis with his four-turnover day against Akron AND he birthed the Double Stanzi along with Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg. He’s got two more turnovers in his weekly awards than the next closest competitor and more turnover for TD’s than the rest of the field combined. Congratulations to Michigan’s Devin Gardner, our 2013 Stanzi winner!

Army – Navy is next week, followed by the start of bowl season the following Saturday. It’s been another vivid and eventful regular season full of the joy and heartbreak this sport annually brings. I can’t wait to see what the postseason has in store.