| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boise State |
 8 |
| 2 | Florida |
1 |
| 3 | Louisville |
1 |
| 4 | Ohio State |
 3 |
| 5 | LSU | -- |
| 6 | Wisconsin |
2 |
| 7 | Southern Cal | -- |
| 8 | Auburn |
2 |
| 9 | West Virginia |
2 |
| 10 | Rutgers |
5 |
| 11 | Michigan |
9 |
| 12 | Brigham Young |
5 |
| 13 | Oklahoma |
7 |
| 14 | California |
5 |
| 15 | Wake Forest |
2 |
| 16 | Boston College |
6 |
| 17 | TCU |
7 |
| 18 | Texas |
3 |
| 19 | Arkansas |
5 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech |
8 |
| 21 | Oregon State |
5 |
| 22 | Hawaii |
4 |
| 23 | Notre Dame |
7 |
| 24 | Georgia |
1 |
| 25 | Penn State |
1 |
Half-baked reasonings:
1. Boise State: Oh yeah, I went there. If the name on the front of the jersey is Miami, or if they started the season ranked #4 then they're playing for the national championship. When you set up a sport so that what a program did one, five and 20 years ago has a direct effect on that school's current squad's shot at a title, something is horribly horribly wrong. And then of course there's the whole thing about being the only undefeated team in the country and still having no ability to control your own destiny. If this game wants to leave things as completely screwed up as they are right now, then Boise State has every right to go out and buy some rings, and call themselves national champions.
2. Florida: Impressive. Not that it changes the fact that you should have lost to South Carolina and Tennessee, were within a score of losing to Florida State, Georgia and Vanderibilt, and did lose to Auburn by double digits, but still, impressive.
3. Louisville: Louisville's only loss was on the road in the biggest game in their opponent's (who just happened to be undefeated) history, and came via a last second field goal. Add to that the fact that the Cards beat eight teams that played in bowl games, and that those eight teams went a collective 6-2, and that their conference was the first league to go through a bowl season unscathed since the inception of the BCS, and I think Louisville deserves a top three ranking.
4. Ohio State: O-H-....you suck.
5. LSU: Said all year that this was the best team in the country, but I guess we'll never know. Also, I don't understand why everyone is jumping them after the Sugar Bowl. Do people really think Notre Dame is that much better than Wake Forest? In 2006, not 1966.
6. Wisconsin: Impressive. You still play at noon on ESPN or ESPN2 every single Saturday and make me want to kill myself, but still, impressive.
7. USC: An amazingly dominate performance...UCLA beat you.
8. Auburn: True story, I had to look up what bowl Auburn played in because I'd already forgotten.
9. West Virginia: Pat White is 100% my favorite non-Louisville player.
10. Rutgers: Mike Teel is going to be fantastic next year, and so are the Scarlet Knights.
11. Michigan: Perhaps the Ball State game wasn't the enigma it appeared to be.
12. BYU: Deserved a challenge that Oregon couldn't provide. This is a team I would have loved to have seen compete in a playoff.
13. Oklahoma: I'm pretty sure those mind-erasing places in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are going to be invented by a Sooner fan simply unable to cope with the 2006 college football season.
14. Cal: Your performance was completely satisfactory in every way, congratulations.
15. Wake Forest: Much better than I thought they were going to be. Jim Grobe is deserving of every award he receives.
16. Boston College: Always good for a win in the bowl challenge.
17. TCU: Would have been fun to see their hot streak put to the test against a more formidable opponent.
18. Texas: Hard to rank because of McCoy's injury, but in the end you have to go with on the field results.
19. Arkansas: Quarterbacks help.
20. Virginia Tech: Most forgettable team that consistently managed to stay in the top 25 of 2006.
21. Oregon State: Sad I was in the car during their bowl game, sounded fun.
22. Hawaii: Can a Hawaii quarterback win the Heisman Trophy. Tune in in 2007 to find out that the answer is absolutely not.
23. Notre Dame: 9-3 isn't good enough, but 10-3 with three hideously embarrassing losses totally is.
24. Georgia: Matthew Stafford is Georgia's quarterback for the next three years, and he's going to be awfully good.
25. Penn State: Had the talent to be as good as they were in the Outback Bowl all year.