Fightin' Gators Top 13

Last week I asked if anyone on this panel would rank Florida ahead of two unbeaten teams. It was in essence a rhetorical question since I had already decided to do so. A week later with just one unbeaten remaining I am convinced that the best team in the country is in Gainesville and while every voter is free to vote his conscience I will put the Gators up top once again.

That said, we still have a lot of excitement still to come, especially in this neck of the woods with both Florida and Alabama facing major rivals as roadblocks to a berth in the BCS Title Game.

Now we move on to the FightinGators.com top 13 as chosen by the lawless firm of Vettel, Chmielenski, Redman and Cline.

1. Alabama

2. Florida

3. Texas ------- BR: Texas is going to be the biggest Baylor fans in the world. A Baylor win over Texas Tech puts the Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship Game.

4. Oklahoma

5. USC

6. Penn State ----- CC: Did an impressive drubbing of Michigan State put Penn State back in BCS contention? An upset in the Big 12 Championship game could have the Nittany Lions heading to Miami.

7. Utah --------- LV: Urban Meyer obviously left a very solid foundation behind four years ago. The Utes are legit with wins over Oregon State, BYU and TCU.

8. Texas Tech

9. Ohio State

10. Missouri

11. Boise State --- HC: Undefeated and out of luck thanks to Utah. Now, can they keep their coach?

12. Oklahoma St.

13. Georgia

Dubious Achievement Awards -----

HC: Miami ----- Teams are not supposed to be able to win games by attempting just seven passes. Even UF didn't get to 472 rush yards against the Citadel, yet the Canes let Georgia Tech do it to them.

LV: Charlie Weis --- I know he’s a big target. Okay, a really big target. Still the one time offensive guru takes over the play calling for Notre Dame and the only significant change is a borderline win over Navy and an absolutely humiliating loss to a pitiful Syracuse team. Imagine how bad they would be if they didn’t have a genius in charge.

BR: Hail to Michigan --- The Wolverines finished 3-9 for the worst record in Michigan history. Brand new head coach Rich Rodriguez inflicted his style of offense on the Wolverines despite not having the personnel to run it. Losses to a three win Toledo, a four win Purdue team and a five win Illinois team, and a Notre Dame team that may be as bad as all of them are is inexcusable.

CC: Vanderbilt --- There is maybe one team in the SEC East that Gator fans can root for when they're not facing the Orange and Blue and that's Vandy. Bobby Johnson runs a classy program at one of the nation's most prestigious universities. But to lose to an uninspired Tennessee team at home is inexcusable. The Dores allowed the league's second worst rushing offense to run for more than 220 yards on Saturday.