Welcome to the fourth and final installment of the 2006 Preseason Consensus Poll.
Each year, it is my mission in life to produce an ongoing consensus preseason top 25 for college football. The premise is simple: We use the published polls on web sites and in magazines as “votes” in our own consensus poll. Teams ranked No. 1 get 25 points and so on down to one point for those ranked 25th.
The release of the Sports Illustrated preview magazine and the preseason Associated Press media poll makes this survey complete.
A year ago, the final edition of the Preseason Consensus Poll correctly predicted that prohibitive favorites USC and Texas would play for the national championship. (OK, the poll whiffed on the winner of that game, but to get one and two right was pretty good anyway.)
As for the other schools in the BCS bowls, their preseason poll positions were: Ohio State (fifth, while the Buckeyes ended up fourth), Georgia (13th), Florida State (14th), Penn State (35th) and Notre Dame and West Virginia (each unranked within the top 43).
So, although your favorite team may not be in the top 10 to start the year, that shows there is some hope that they will still play in a major bowl.
We wrap this up with as many as 23 preseason polls. With this update, we add the AP poll and the Sports Illustrated poll.
Previously, we listed polls from Gold Sheet, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, CBSSportsLine.com (Dennis Dodd), SI.com (Stewart Mandel), CollegeFootballNews.com, Lindy’s, NationalChamps.net, Street & Smith’s, Phil Steele, ESPN.com (Ivan Maisel), Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AutumnSpectacle.com, Blue Ribbon College Yearbook, RealFootball365.com, SouthernPigskin.com, StatFox.com, VegasInsider.com, the CBS SportsLine.com preseason magazine, JustCollegeFootball.com and the USA Today coaches poll.
We unveiled the first edition of the Preseason Consensus Poll on June 20. The top three schools remain unchanged with this update. They remain Ohio State, Texas and Notre Dame.
If you had to project the various BCS bowls off of these predictions, you would be looking at:
* Rose, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. (ABC) -- USC (Pac-10 champ) vs. Notre Dame (top at-large team on the board and Rose would have first pick, although this would create a rematch … boy, would it ever)
* Fiesta, Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. (FOX) -- Oklahoma (at-large) vs. California (last at-large spot; Fiesta will make good to the Bears for previous snubs; apologies to No. 9 Florida, which would not be eligible with LSU and Auburn in; as well as No. 11 Louisville and No. 13 Miami)
* Orange, Jan. 2, 8 p.m. (FOX) -- Florida State (ACC champ) vs. LSU (at-large)
* Sugar, Jan. 3, 8 p.m. (FOX) -- Auburn (SEC champ) vs. West Virginia (Big East champ)
* National championship game, Jan. 8, 8 p.m. (FOX) -- Ohio State vs. Texas (a rematch, which seems unlikely with one probably knocking the other out of title contention on Sept. 9)
If you see a published poll that we are missing, please send a link or the list to bucknuts@bucknuts.com
Here is a look at the final 2006 Preseason Consensus Poll on Aug. 20:
Preseason Consensus Poll
(First-Place votes; last year’s record in parentheses)
1. Ohio State (11 first-place votes; 10-2), 552 points
2. Texas (2, 13-0), 497 points
3. Notre Dame (4, 9-3), 494.5 points
4. West Virginia (1, 11-1), 477 points
5. USC (12-1), 465.5 points
6. Auburn (1, 9-3), 455 points
7. Oklahoma (4, 8-4), 449 points
8. LSU (11-2), 422 points
9. Florida (9-3), 413 points
10. Florida State (8-5), 337 points
11. Louisville (9-3), 311 points
12. California (8-4), 309 points
13. Miami (Fla.) (9-3), 288 points
14. Michigan (7-5), 287 points
15. Georgia (10-3), 250 points
16. Iowa (7-5), 213 points
17. Virginia Tech (11-2), 197 points
18. Clemson (8-4), 178 points
19. Nebraska (8-4), 147 points
20. Penn State (11-1), 135 points
21. Oregon (10-2), 117 points
22. Tennessee (5-6), 86 points
23. Arizona State (7-5), 78 points
24. TCU (11-1), 77 points
25. Texas Tech (9-3), 60 points
26. Alabama (10-2), 50 points
27. Boston College (9-3), 38 points
28. Utah (7-5), 24 points
29. Boise State (9-4), 23 points
30. Georgia Tech (7-5), 16 points
31. Arkansas (4-7), 15 points
32. Michigan State (5-6), 11 points
33. (tie) Fresno State (8-5), 6 points
33. (tie) Navy (8-4), 6 points
35. Texas A&M (5-6), 5 points
36. South Carolina (7-5), 4 points
37. (tie) UTEP (8-4), 3 points
37. (tie) Wisconsin (10-3), 3 points
39. Purdue (5-6), 2 points
40. UCLA (10-2), 1 point
Athlon Sports
1. Oklahoma
2. Notre Dame
3. USC
4. Ohio State
5. Florida
6. West Virginia
7. Texas
8. California
9. Auburn
10. Louisville
11. LSU
12. Clemson
13. Michigan
14. Miami (Fla.)
15. Georgia
16. Iowa
17. Florida State
18. TCU
19. Oregon
20. Tennessee
21. Virginia Tech
22. Texas Tech
23. Utah
24. Arizona State
25. Nebraska
The Sporting News
1. Notre Dame
2. Ohio State
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. West Virginia
6. USC
7. Texas
8. Florida
9. Oklahoma
10. Florida State
11. Iowa
12. Georgia
13. California
14. Miami (Fla.)
15. Penn State
16. Virginia Tech
17. Michigan
18. Tennessee
19. Louisville
20. Texas Tech
21. TCU
22. Nebraska
23. Oregon
24. Clemson
25. Alabama
ESPN.com (Ivan Maisel)
1. Ohio State
2. Oklahoma
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Florida State
6. USC
7. California
8. Notre Dame
9. Auburn
10. Iowa
11. Clemson
12. Florida
13. LSU
14. Oregon
15. Nebraska
16. Michigan
17. Louisville
18. Miami (Fla.)
19. TCU
20. Boston College
21. Penn State
22. Georgia
23. UTEP
24. Virginia Tech
25. Texas Tech
CBSSportsLine.com (Dennis Dodd)
1. Ohio State
2. West Virginia
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Texas
6. Notre Dame
7. USC
8. California
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Florida State
13. Oregon
14. Virginia Tech
15. Oklahoma
16. Iowa
17. Louisville
18. Clemson
19. Penn State
20. Michigan
21. Boston College
22. Nebraska
23. TCU
24. Arizona State
25. Georgia Tech
NationalChamps.net
1. Notre Dame
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. LSU
5. USC
6. West Virginia
7. Florida
8. Oklahoma
9. Auburn
10. Michigan
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Louisville
13. Georgia
14. Alabama
15. Florida State
16. Virginia Tech
17. Penn State
18. California
19. Clemson
20. Oregon
21. Nebraska
22. Arizona State
23. Iowa
24. Texas Tech
25. TCU
Lindy’s
1. Notre Dame
2. Ohio State
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. USC
7. Oklahoma
8. Auburn
9. California
10. LSU
11. Louisville
12. Michigan
13. Louisville
14. Georgia
15. Utah
16. Miami (Fla.)
17. TCU
18. Clemson
19. Arizona State
20. Virginia Tech
21. Penn State
22. Nebraska
23. Oregon
24. Texas Tech
25. Iowa
CollegeFootballNews.com
1. Texas
2. Florida
3. USC
4. LSU
5. Ohio State
6. Auburn
7. Oklahoma
8. Florida State
9. Tennessee
10. West Virginia
11. Notre Dame
12. California
13. Virginia Tech
14. Miami (Fla.)
15. Arizona State
16. Louisville
17. Nebraska
18. Penn State
19. Michigan
20. Alabama
21. Georgia
22. Texas Tech
23. Iowa
24. Georgia Tech
25. Clemson
SI.com (Stewart Mandel)
1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. West Virginia
5. LSU
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. California
9. Michigan
10. Auburn
11. Florida
12. Florida State
13. Georgia
14. Clemson
15. Louisville
16. Nebraska
17. Oregon
18. Iowa
19. Penn State
20. Miami (Fla.)
21. TCU
22. Alabama
23. Arizona State
24. Virginia Tech
25. Utah
Street & Smith’s
1. Ohio State
2. West Virginia
3. Texas
4. Notre Dame
5. Florida
6. California
7. USC
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida State
12. Michigan
13. Louisville
14. Miami (Fla.)
15. Virginia Tech
16. Arizona State
17. Nebraska
18. Alabama
19. Georgia
20. Penn State
21. Iowa
22. Texas Tech
23. Clemson
24. Oregon
25. TCU
Phil Steele’s College Football
1. Oklahoma
2. Auburn
3. Louisville
4. USC
5. Texas
6. Miami (Fla.)
7. Notre Dame
8. Ohio State
9. Virginia Tech
10. Florida State
11. Michigan
12. Tennessee
13. Arkansas
14. Georgia
15. Iowa
16. California
17. West Virginia
18. Clemson
19. Boise State
20. Florida
21. LSU
22. Nebraska
23. Utah
24. Purdue
25. Oregon
The Gold Sheet
1. Oklahoma
2. Auburn
3. West Virginia
4. Ohio State
5. Florida
6. Texas
7. USC
8. Florida State
9. Notre Dame
10. California
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Iowa
14. Georgia
15. Louisville
16. Miami (Fla.)
17. Michigan
18. Alabama
19. Virginia Tech
20. Navy
21. Utah
22. Arizona State
23. Tennessee
24. Boston College
25. Georgia Tech
CBS SportsLine.com (preview magazine)
1. Ohio State
2. West Virginia
3. LSU
4. Notre Dame
5. Auburn
6. Oklahoma
7. Texas
8. USC
9. Florida
10. Oregon
11. Georgia
12. Florida State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Iowa
15. Louisville
16. California
17. Clemson
18. Penn State
19. Michigan
20. Miami (Fla.)
21. Boston College
22. Nebraska
23. TCU
24. Georgia Tech
25. UCLA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Tony Barnhart)
1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. USC
4. West Virginia
5. Notre Dame
6. Oklahoma
7. Auburn
8. Miami (Fla.)
9. Florida
10. Florida State
11. LSU
12. Clemson
13. Georgia
14. California
15. Iowa
16. Oregon
17. Louisville
18. Virginia Tech
19. Michigan
20. Nebraska
21. Boston College
22. Tennessee
23. TCU
24. Georgia Tech
25. Penn State
AutumnSpectacle.com
1. Notre Dame
2. Oklahoma
3. Ohio State
4. Auburn
5. Texas
6. LSU
7. USC
8. Louisville
9. Michigan
10. Florida
11. West Virginia
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Iowa
14. Florida State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Nebraska
17. Georgia
18. Boise State
19. California
20. Arizona State
21. Tennessee
22. Texas Tech
23. Wisconsin
24. Boston College
25. South Carolina
Blue Ribbon College Yearbook
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas
4. West Virginia
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. California
8. USC
9. Miami (Fla.)
10. Auburn
11. Florida State
12. LSU
13. Iowa
14. Louisville
15. Penn State
16. Clemson
17. Nebraska
18. Michigan
19. Georgia
20. TCU
21. Arizona State
22. Virginia Tech
23. Texas Tech
24. Tennessee
25. Utah
RealFootball365.com
1. Oklahoma
2. Florida State
3. West Virginia
4. Michigan
5. LSU
6. Texas
7. USC
8. Ohio State
9. Auburn
10. Penn State
11. Florida
12. Notre Dame
13. TCU
14. Miami (Fla.)
15. Michigan State
16. Nebraska
17. Louisville
18. Georgia Tech
19. Texas Tech
20. Alabama
21. Texas A&M
22. Oregon
23. Georgia
24. Iowa
25. Arizona State
SouthernPigskin.com
1. Ohio State
2. Oklahoma
3. West Virginia
4. Notre Dame
5. LSU
6. Florida
7. Texas
8. Auburn
9. USC
10. Florida State
11. Louisville
12. Michigan
13. California
14. Virginia Tech
15. Miami (Fla.)
16. Penn State
17. Clemson
18. Georgia
19. Nebraska
20. Iowa
21. Oregon
22. Tennessee
23. Alabama
24. Arizona State
25. Texas Tech
StatFox.com
1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. USC
4. LSU
5. West Virginia
6. Oklahoma
7. Notre Dame
8. Auburn
9. Florida
10. Louisville
11. Florida State
12. Georgia
13. California
14. Michigan
15. Miami (Fla.)
16. Virginia Tech
17. Tennessee
18. Clemson
19. Nebraska
20. Penn State
21. Iowa
22. Arizona State
23. TCU
24. Boston College
25. Texas Tech
VegasInsider.com
1. West Virginia
2. Ohio State
3. Notre Dame
4. Auburn
5. LSU
6. Michigan
7. USC
8. Iowa
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Virginia Tech
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Texas
14. Louisville
15. Boston College
16. Florida State
17. Oregon
18. Oklahoma
19. California
20. Fresno State
21. Nebraska
22. Arizona State
23. South Carolina
24. Penn State
25. Georgia Tech
JustCollegeFootball.com
1. Auburn
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Notre Dame
6. Oklahoma
7. Louisville
8. Florida State
9. West Virginia
10. LSU
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Iowa
13. Clemson
14. Florida
15. Michigan
16. Nebraska
17. California
18. Tennessee
19. Georgia
20. Virginia Tech
21. Boise State
22. Texas Tech
23. Arizona State
24. Penn State
25. TCU
USA Today Coaches Poll
1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. (tie) Notre Dame
3. (tie) USC
5. Oklahoma
6. Auburn
7. West Virginia
8. Florida
9. LSU
10. Florida State
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. California
13. Louisville
14. Georgia
15. Michigan
16. Virginia Tech
17. Iowa
18. Clemson
19. Penn State
20. Oregon
21. TCU
22. Nebraska
23. Tennessee
24. Alabama
25. Texas Tech
Sports Illustrated (magazine)
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas
4. LSU
5. USC
6. West Virginia
7. Auburn
8. California
9. Florida
10. Michigan
11. Georgia
12. Florida State
13. Louisville
14. Oklahoma
15. Clemson
16. Arizona State
17. Miami (Fla.)
18. Nebraska
19. Penn State
20. Oregon
21. Iowa
22. Virginia Tech
23. Boise State
24. Arkansas
25. Texas Tech
Associated Press media poll
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas
4. Auburn
5. West Virginia
6. USC
7. Florida
8. LSU
9. California
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida State
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Louisville
14. Michigan
15. Georgia
16. Iowa
17. Virginia Tech
18. Clemson
19. Penn State
20. Nebraska
21. Oregon
22. TCU
23. Tennessee
24. Arizona State
25. Texas Tech