The final 2012 college football rankings are coming out, and there is plenty of intrigue over how many first-place votes the LSU Tigers will receive in the poll. The final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, on the other hand, must put the Alabama Crimson Tide as the No. 1 team, not only because they won the National Title game, but also because the voters are contractually obligated to put the winner at No. 1.
Related: LSU Vs. Alabama BCS Title Game
After the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 1 come the LSU Tigers, the Oklahoma St. Cowboys, the Oregon Ducks and the Arkansas Razorbacks to close out the top five. The Boise St. Broncos finished at No. 6, not moving from the previous Coaches Poll. This was tied for the second-highest finish in the USA Today for the Broncos.
The Broncos, as Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman points out, play three non-conference games in 2012 against opponents who finished ranked: No. 10 Michigan State, No. 19 Southern Miss and No. 25 BYU.
Here is the final Coaches Poll:
|
Rank
|
Team (first-place votes) |
Record
|
Points
|
Last week's poll
|
|
|
1.
|
Alabama (59)
|
12-1
|
1,475
|
2
|
|
|
2.
|
LSU
|
13-1
|
1,404
|
1
|
|
|
3.
|
Oklahoma State
|
12-1
|
1,367
|
3
|
|
|
4.
|
Oregon |
12-2
|
1,290
|
5
|
|
|
5.
|
Arkansas |
11-2
|
1,188
|
7
|
|
|
6.
|
Boise State
|
12-1
|
1,162
|
6
|
|
|
7.
|
Stanford |
11-2
|
1,106
|
4
|
|
|
8.
|
South Carolina |
11-2
|
1,084
|
9
|
|
|
9.
|
Michigan
|
11-2
|
925
|
12
|
|
|
10.
|
Michigan State
|
11-3
|
912
|
13
|
|
|
11.
|
Wisconsin
|
11-3
|
911
|
8
|
|
|
12.
|
Baylor |
10-3
|
775
|
16
|
|
|
13.
|
TCU
|
11-2
|
710
|
15
|
|
|
14.
|
Houston |
13-1
|
673
|
17
|
|
|
15.
|
Oklahoma |
10-3
|
610
|
19
|
|
|
16.
|
Kansas State |
10-3
|
602
|
10
|
|
|
17.
|
Virginia Tech |
11-3
|
574
|
11
|
|
|
18.
|
West Virginia |
10-3
|
554
|
22
|
|
|
19.
|
Southern Mississippi |
12-2
|
429
|
21
|
|
|
20.
|
Georgia |
10-4
|
345
|
18
|
|
|
21.
|
Cincinnati |
10-3
|
248
|
24
|
|
|
22.
|
Clemson |
10-4
|
237
|
14
|
|
|
23.
|
Florida State |
9-4
|
205
|
25
|
|
|
24.
|
Nebraska |
9-4
|
144
|
20
|
|
|
25.
|
Brigham Young |
10-3
|
79
|
NR
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| No. 23 Penn State (9-4, lost to then-No. 17 Houston 30-14 in TicketCity Bowl). | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Others receiving votes | |||||
| Northern Illinois (11-3) 36; Missouri (8-5) 33; Texas (8-5) 29; Auburn (8-5) 28; Rutgers (9-4) 11; Penn State (9-4) 10; Texas A&M (7-6) 5; Virginia (8-5) 4; Temple (9-4) 2; Washington (7-6) 2; Arkansas State (10-3) 1; Florida (7-6) 1; Louisiana-Lafayette (9-4) 1; Mississippi State (7-6) 1; Notre Dame (8-5) 1; Ohio (10-4) 1. | |||||
For more on the Broncos, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God. For more college football news and notes, visit SB Nation NCAA Football.