FanHouse Top 25: A Topsy-Turvy Season

Now that Alabama has disposed of Florida and Texas edged Nebraska by the slimmest of margins to set up the Citi BCS national title game between the Crimson Tide and Longhorns, let's take a quick look back and see how unpredictable this college football season really was.

Unpredictable or, if you prefer, how clueless the Associated Press voters were (yes, including me).

Let's step inside the WABAC machine -- youngsters if you're not Rocky and Bullwinkle fans go ahead and Google, I'll wait -- and go back to Aug. 22 when the AP preseason poll was released.

First, the good: ranking Texas No. 2, Penn State No. 9, LSU No. 11, Utah No. 19 and BYU No. 20.

Now the bad: ranking Notre Dame No. 23 and Kansas No. 25.

And the ugly: not ranking Cincinnati, while ranking Oklahoma No. 3, Ole Miss No. 8, California No. 12 and Georgia No. 13.

In all, nearly one-third of the teams that were ranked in the preseason poll are not ranked in this week's final regular season poll: No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 12 California, No. 13 Georgia, No. 18 Florida State, No. 21 North Carolina, No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 25 Kansas.

Cincinnati heads the list of nine teams on my AP ballot that I ranked this week that were not ranked in the preseason poll. The others: Oregon State, Miami, Stanford, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Arizona and East Carolina.

Here is my final regular season AP ballot this week with my ranking last week in parenthesis.

1. Alabama (2)
The Crimson Tide (13-0) will play Texas in the Citi BCS national title in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 7. AP preseason rank: No. 5.
2. Texas (3)
The Longhorns (13-0) will play Alabama in the Citi BCS national title in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 7. AP preseason rank: No. 2.
3. TCU (4)
The Horned Frogs (12-0) will play Boise State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 4. AP preseason rank: No. 17.
4. Cincinnati (5)
The Bearcats (12-0) will play Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
5. Boise State (6)
The Broncos (12-0) will play TCU in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 4. AP preseason rank: No. 14.
6. Florida (1)
The Gators (12-1) will play Cincinnati in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: No. 1.
7. Oregon (8)
The Ducks (10-2) will play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: No. 16.
8. Ohio State (9)
The Buckeyes (10-2) will play Oregon in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: No. 6.
9. Virginia Tech (9)
The Hokies (9-3) will play Tennessee in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31. AP preseason rank: No. 7.
10. LSU (11)
The Tigers (9-3) will play Penn State in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: No. 11.
11. Penn State (12)
The Nittany Lions (10-2) will play LSU in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: No. 9.
12. Oregon State (9)
The Beavers (8-4) will play BYU in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas on Dec. 22. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
13. Miami (17)
The Hurricanes (9-3) will play Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 29. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
14. Georgia Tech (7)
The Yellow Jackets (11-2) will play Iowa in the FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 5. AP preseason rank: No. 15.
15. Iowa (18)
The Hawkeyes (10-2) will play Georgia Tech in FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 5. AP preseason rank: No. 22.
16. Stanford (18)
The Cardinal (8-4) will play Oklahoma in the Brut Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
17. Oklahoma State (19)
The Cowboys (9-3) will play Ole Miss in the AT&T Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 2. AP preseason rank: No. 9.
18. Wisconsin (23)
The Badgers (9-3) will play Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 29. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
19. Nebraska (21) The Cornhuskers (9-4) will play Arizona in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 30. AP preseason rank: No. 24.
20. West Virginia (NR)
The Mountaineers (9-3) will play Florida State in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 1. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
21. Pittsburgh (16)
The Panthers (9-3) will play North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 26. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
22. Arizona (NR)
The Wildcats (8-4) will play Nebraska in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 30. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
23. East Carolina (23)
The Pirates (9-4) will play Arkansas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 2. AP preseason rank: Not ranked.
24. BYU (24)
The Cougars (10-2) will play Oregon State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas on Dec. 22. AP preseason rank: No. 20.
25. Utah (NR)
The Utes (9-3) will play California in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 23. AP preseason rank No. 19.

Teams that are close to making my Top 25 (in alphabetical order): Northwestern, Texas Tech.

See you later (teams that fell out of my Top 25 this week): California, Clemson, USC, Houston.