The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Auburn Tigers to win the final BCS Championship Game. The victory ends the seven-year run of national championships for the SEC, with the ACC champs taking the national championship to cap off a perfect season. Still, despite the loss by the Tigers, it is the SEC who still reigns supreme in terms of sporting the most teams in the final Top 10 poll of the season, at least according to the AP Top 25 Poll. I assume that the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll will be the same, as the fans who have been surveyed have been spot on throughout the entire college football season.
- My views are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Discover Products Inc. and its affiliates.
Entering the bowl season, fans in the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll said that the Seminoles were the best team in the nation, although they also predicted the Tigers would win the BCS Championship Game. Still, considering how lucky and talented Auburn was, as well as what a fight they put up until the final minute against Florida State, it was not a bad prediction. Yet, while Florida State ends the season as the best team in college football, the SEC still has the most teams in the Top 10 of all of the biggest polls.
The Seminoles are joined by the Clemson Tigers, who defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Discover Orange Bowl, as the two teams from the ACC. Because of that loss by Ohio State, the Michigan State Spartans finished as the lone Big 10 representative following their big victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the Rose Bowl. That also left the Oregon Ducks as the only Pac-12 team to finish in the Top 10. They defeated the Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl, leaving the Oklahoma Sooners as the only team from the Big 12 in the Top 10, which is surprising, considering they were the fourth highest ranked team entering conference championship weekend.
In the end, it was the SEC with four teams who still dominated the Top 10. They may not be able to boast of another national championship, but it is difficult to question the depth of the conference that saw Auburn (2), the South Carolina Gamecocks (4), Missouri Tigers (5) and Alabama Crimson Tide (7) finish in the Top 10 of the AP Poll at the conclusion of another exciting college football season.
It is worth noting that the UCF Knights rounded out the Top 10 as the only team from the American Athletic Conference to place that high in either poll. That actually could be a bit low, considering their only loss of the season was a close game against South Carolina, who finished fourth and defeated teams such as Missouri and Clemson.
* Discover Products Inc. sent me a Gift Card for participating as a Blogger in the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll program
Here is a look at the final AP Poll of the past NCAA Football season:
1. Florida State Seminoles
2. Auburn Tigers
3. Michigan State Spartans
4. South Carolina Gamecocks
5. Missouri Tigers
6. Oklahoma Sooners
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
8. Clemson Tigers
9. Oregon Ducks
10. UCF Knights
11. Stanford Cardinal
12. Ohio State Buckeyes
13. Baylor Bears
14. LSU Tigers
15. Louisville Cardinals
16. UCLA Bruins
17. Oklahoma State Cowboys
18. Texas A&M Aggies
19. USC Trojans
20. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
21. Arizona State Sun Devils
22. Wisconsin Badgers
23. Duke Blue Devils
24. Vanderbilt Commodores
25. Washington Huskies
Discover has been an incredible sponsor for college football throughout the entire season, highlighted by participation with the Fan Loyalty Poll, which asks college football fans across the country all sorts of entertaining questions related to their favorite college football team. You can follow Discover on Twitter and Facebook and make sure you use the hashtag #FanLoyaltyPoll!
Make sure that you stay tuned to Boston Super Blog for all of the latest polls and results from the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll. Although the bowl games and the final BCS Championship Game is in the books, college football is a year-long process! Make sure to Like Discover on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!
The Discover Fan Loyalty Poll is conducted twice a month by Rasmussen Reports, a nationally recognized leader in polling, who gathers sentiment by phone from 1500 college football fans who follow games at least once per week on television, radio, in person or online. The Poll leads up to the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl. Discover’s commitment to college football includes relationships with ESPN and Notre Dame Football on NBC.
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company issues the Discover card, America’s cash rewards pioneer, and offers home loans, private student loans, personal loans, home equity loans, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its direct banking business. It operates the Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation’s leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discover.com/company.
