My Top 25

LSU (12-0, 8-0, +31) - It may too late to get him back in the Heisman race, but Tyrann Mathieu secured LSU's BCS championship aspirations on Friday against Arkansas. The Razorbacks came out fighting, and led 14-7 in the second quarter, when Mathieu returned a punt 92 yards to tie the game. On Arkansas' next possession, Honey Badger caused a fumble that was recovered by LSU. Arkansas would score a grand total of 3 points the rest of the game. I'm willing to say that, even if they get upset by Georgia in the SEC Championship game, LSU's spot in the national championship is secured. Their schedule has just been so brutal, with wins over current BCS No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 10 Oregon, and No. 24 Auburn, with No. 13 Georgia still on the horizon. They would still be the best 1-loss team in the nation.

Alabama (11-1, 7-1, +18) - At one point in the Alabama-Auburn game, the Tigers had 14 points, but only 44 yards. They scored their only two touchdowns on 1) a recovered A.J. McCarron fumble in the endzone, and 2) a kickoff return to start the third quarter. For those of you keeping track at home, that means that Auburn's offense got outscored by their defense AND their special teams. I hate to admit it, but I'm convinced: LSU-Alabama rematch for the BCS National Championship game.

Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1, +13) - In my opinion, Oklahoma State is the only team who has an argument that they should be in the NC game instead of Alabama. If they beat Oklahoma, then they'll end the season with wins over BCS Nos. 9, 11, 18, and 25. But, as Mark May said, if the Cowboys were to meet the Tide on a neutral field, they would be two touchdown underdogs. So here's the question: Should the BCS-NC be a game of #1 vs. #2 regardless of conference, or should it be treated as a Bowl Game, matching the top teams from two different conferences? I don't know. But it'll be interesting if, if the Cowboys beat the Sooners, you see an exodus of voters abandon Alabama and endorse Oklahoma State instead. (Like the 1968 Democratic Convention?)

Stanford (11-1, 8-1, +13) -

Oregon (10-2, 8-1, +13) -

Arkansas (10-2, 6-2, +12)

Houston (12-0, 8-0, +12) - Congratulations to the Cougars for winning the Conference USA West Division with their 48-16 win over Tulsa. They will play Southern Miss for the conference championship, in a possible matchup of two top 25 teams with a possible BCS bowl invitation on the line for Houston.

Michigan State (10-2, 7-1, +10) - The Spartans have their first ever back-to-back 10 win seasons, and can get to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988 with a win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship. Unfortunately, because of the realities of college football politics and the need to sell tickets, if the Spartans lose to Wisconsin, they'll probably drop out of the BCS altogether, their spot taken by hated rivals Michigan - who they beat 28-14 in October. It would be the second consecutive BCS snub for MSU, who played in the Capital One Bowl despite being co-Big Ten Champions with Wisconsin (Rose Bowl) and Ohio State (Sugar).

Virginia Tech (11-1, 7-1, +8)

Boise State (10-1, 5-1, +8)

Oklahoma (9-2, 6-2, +8)

Kansas State (9-2, 6-2, +9)

USC (10-2, 7-2, +8)

Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2, +6)

Georgia (10-2, 7-1, +5)

South Carolina (10-2, 6-2, +4)

Michigan (10-2, 6-2, +3) - It wasn't pretty at the end, with the Wolverines having a potentially game sealing touchdown taken away after a review, and then a holding/personal foul penalty taking away another. But, in the end, they beat Ohio State 40-34, their first win in the rivalry since 2003. The Wolverines could also secure an at-large BCS bid, either the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl, which would be their first since the 2007 Rose Bowl.

Baylor (8-3, 5-3, +5)

TCU (9-2, 7-0, +3)

Nebraska (9-3, 5-3, +4) - The Cornhuskers ended their regular season with a convincing 20-7 home win over Iowa, with the Hawkeyes' only touchdown coming in garbage time. The win probably will not be enough to elevate Nebraska to BCS bowl as an at-large team, but they should get a chance to play against the SEC on Jan. 2 in the Outback Bowl or the Capital One Bowl.

Penn State (9-3, 6-2, +1)

Southern Miss (10-2, 6-2, -1)

Clemson (9-3, 6-2, -3)

West Virginia (8-3, 4-2, -5)

Texas (7-4, 4-4, -3)

Georgia Tech (8-4, 5-3, -6)
Notre Dame (8-4, 0-0, -6)
Northern Illinois (9-3, 7-1, -6)
Brigham Young (8-3, 0-0, -7)
Cincinnati (8-3, 4-2, -10)