A quick check-in on the Pick Six while we're in a holding pattern until the final AP Poll, issued after the bowls wrap up. Take a look.
This football season featured some surprising upstarts, and also exposed some overated pretenders. Take a look at the current AP standings juxtaposed with the preseason AP poll. It's a bit stunning to see how far some of the preseason mighty have fallen (and just how non-predictive the preseason polls really are.) At least the preseason top 5 are all still ranked; some years, it's much more embarrassing.
Current AP Poll, 12/13/08
| | Rk | Team | Record | Pts | Pts PRE. | Change | | 1 | Florida (50) | 12-1 | 1602 | 1415 | +187 | | 2 | Oklahoma (9) | 12-1 | 1540 | 1444 | +96 | | 3 | Texas (6) | 11-1 | 1530 | 966 | +564 | | 4 | Alabama | 12-1 | 1410 | 89 | +1,321 | | 5 | USC | 11-1 | 1372 | 1490 | -118 | | 6 | Penn State | 11-1 | 1259 | 293 | +966 | | 7 | Utah | 12-0 | 1225 | 53 | +1,172 | | 8 | Texas Tech | 11-1 | 1193 | 786 | +407 | | 9 | Boise State | 12-0 | 1101 | 17 | +1,084 | | 10 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 1069 | 1506 | -437 | | 11 | TCU | 10-2 | 921 | 0 | +921 | | 12 | Cincinnati | 11-2 | 863 | 44 | +819 | | 13 | Oklahoma State | 9-3 | 853 | 0 | +853 | | 14 | Georgia Tech | 9-3 | 761 | 0 | +761 | | 15 | Oregon | 9-3 | 710 | 366 | +344 | | 16 | Georgia | 9-3 | 599 | 1528 | -929 | | 17 | Brigham Young | 10-2 | 477 | 590 | -113 | | 18 | Pittsburgh | 9-3 | 428 | 85 | +343 | | 19 | Michigan State | 9-3 | 423 | 21 | +402 | | 20 | Mississippi | 8-4 | 389 | 0 | +389 | | 21 | Virginia Tech | 9-4 | 318 | 578 | -260 | | 22 | Northwestern | 9-3 | 262 | 0 | +262 | | 23 | Ball State | 12-1 | 249 | 0 | +249 | | 24 | Oregon State | 8-4 | 163 | 5 | +158 | | 25 | Missouri | 9-4 | 150 | 1266 | -1,116 |
| Boston College | 9-4 | 95 | 32 | +63 |
| Florida State | 8-4 | 13 | 41 | -28 |
| East Carolina | 9-4 | 12 | 0 | +12 |
| West Virginia | 8-4 | 12 | 1116 | -1,104 |
| California | 8-4 | 8 | 59 | -51 |
| Rice | 9-3 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
| Nebraska | 8-4 | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| Tulsa | 10-3 | 2 | 7 | -5 |
| Iowa | 8-4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| Rutgers | 7-5 | 1 | 32 | -31 | | | Preseaon AP Poll | | Rk | Team | Pts | Pts Now
| Change | | 1 | Georgia (22) | 1528 | 599 | -929 | | 2 | Ohio State (21) | 1506 | 1069 | -437 | | 3 | USC (12) | 1490 | 1372 | -118 | | 4 | Oklahoma (4) | 1444 | 1540 | +96 | | 5 | Florida (6) | 1415 | 1602 | +187 | | 6 | Missouri | 1266 | 150 | -1,116 | | 7 | LSU | 1135 | 0 | -1,135 | | 8 | West Virginia | 1116 | 12 | -1,104 | | 9 | Clemson | 1105 | 0 | -1,105 | | 10 | Auburn | 968 | 0 | -968 | | 11 | Texas | 966 | 1530 | +564 | | 12 | Texas Tech | 786 | 1193 | +407 | | 13 | Wisconsin | 771 | 0 | -771 | | 14 | Kansas | 707 | 0 | -707 | | 15 | Arizona State | 631 | 0 | -631 | | 16 | Brigham Young | 590 | 477 | -113 | | 17 | Virginia Tech | 578 | 318 | -260 | | 18 | Tennessee | 509 | 0 | -509 | | 19 | South Florida | 496 | 0 | -496 | | 20 | Illinois | 483 | 0 | -483 | | 21 | Oregon | 366 | 710 | +344 | | 22 | Penn State | 293 | 1259 | +966 | | 23 | Wake Forest | 227 | 0 | -227 | | 24 | Alabama | 89 | 1410 | +1,321 | | 25 | Pittsburgh | 85 | 428 | +343 |
| South Carolina | 84 | 0 | -84 |
| Fresno State | 83 | 0 | -83 |
| California | 59 | 8 | -51 |
| Utah | 53 | 1225 | +1,172 |
| Cincinnati | 44 | 863 | +819 |
| Florida State | 41 | 13 | -28 |
| Michigan | 36 | 0 | -36 |
| Boston College | 32 | 95 | +63 |
| Rutgers | 32 | 1 | -31 |
| Michigan State | 21 | 423 | +402 |
| Boise State | 17 | 1101 | +1,084 |
| Arkansas | 14 | 0 | -14 |
| North Carolina | 14 | 0 | -14 |
| Connecticut | 10 | 0 | -10 |
| Tulsa | 7 | 2 | -5 |
| UCLA | 6 | 0 | -6 |
| Oregon State | 5 | 163 | +158 |
| Mississippi State | 4 | 0 | -4 |
| Virginia | 4 | 0 | -4 |
| Arizona | 3 | 0 | -3 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 5 | +3 |
| Notre Dame | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | -1 | |
If you go by AP points, it looks like LSU, Mizzou, Clemson, West Virginia and Auburn turned out to be the biggest flops this year, although Georgia (or maybe those who picked them) should get a special boobie prize, having garnered 22 preseason 1st-place votes but ending up with three losses and a rousing #14 ranking. On the positive side of the ledger, Alabama, Utah, Boise State, Penn State and TCU were the biggest surprises.
It goes to show you never can tell.
