Polling: Mike Wilbon laughs at your tears

Prominent Northwestern grad, Washington Post writer and ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon had a pretty good day on Saturday, watching his purple-clad Wildcats kill Iowa’s national championship hopes. The Hawkeyes dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 in the BCS standings, No. 9 to No. 11 in the Harris Poll, No. 9 to No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and (though it doesn’t matter), No. 8 to No. 15 in the AP Poll. Gah, you’re probably going to hear about this all during “PTI” on Monday.

In other news, Alabama moved back to No. 2, displacing Texas. What’s bizarre is that last week, when Bama had a bye, the sportswriters, coaches and “Harris Poll voters” slid the Crimson Tide to No. 3. After Bama beat a Top 10 team in LSU, the Tide is supposed to still be No. 3? That’s asinine. Three computer polls have Alabama at No. 1, one at No. 2 and two at No. 3.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9842)
2. Alabama (.9516)
3. Texas (.9234)
4. TCU (.8620)
5. Cincinnati (.8580)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Yes, it all looks the same. That’s good, for what it’s worth. Barring a playoff, it’s nice to see that all the polls are shaping up the same. As well, we’re getting excited about the possibility of Alabama returning to postseason action in Pasadena. The Tide haven’t done that since 1945, when Bama beat the hell out of Southern Cal and after that, the West Coast teams and Big Ten claimed the Rose Bowl for themselves.

Alabama in Pasadena
1925: Alabama 20, Washington 19
1926: Alabama 19, Stanford 19
1930: Alabama 24, Washington State 0
1934: Alabama 29, Stanford 13
1937: Alabama 0, California 13
1945: Alabama 34, Southern Cal 14

Ain’t nothing wrong with a 4-1-1 record and a few national championships. The Crimson Tide put Southern football on the map with the win over Washington — before that, it was all about the Ivy League, the service academies, Penn State and Notre Dame. You’re welcome, SEC.

There’s three more games left before the SEC Championship Game of the Century II, but it can’t come quick enough.