Several college football experts and fans are still debating whether the Bowl Championship Series got it right when the final standings revealed a national championship matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 LSU.
Earlier this week, the USA Today released the final votes of the 60 coaches who vote in the USA Today Coaches’ poll, which makes up one-third of the BCS formula.
Big Ten champion Ohio State, which finished the regular season with a .959 BCS average, received 46 first-place votes in the final Coaches’ poll released Sunday.
As expected, Buckeyes’ coach Jim Tressel voted his team in the top spot. He was joined in that decision by fellow Big Ten coaches Lloyd Carr of Michigan, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and Ron Zook of Illinois.
Numerous Southeastern Conference coaches also helped solidify the Buckeyes’ position in the BCS National Championship game. Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom, Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer, former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt and Georgia’s Mark Richt all voted Ohio State No. 1.
Richt was one of seven coaches that voted Georgia No. 2 in the poll.
Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis and Tulane’s Bob Toledo were among the coaches voting the Bulldogs second.
The Tigers (11-2) finished the season ranked No. 2 in the BCS with a .935 average.
Eleven coaches voted LSU No. 1, including Tigers’ coach Les Miles.
Ironically, the only SEC coach to have LSU as his No. 1 team was Tommy Tuberville, coach of one of the Tigers’ most bitter rivals, Auburn.
North Carolina’s Butch Davis, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden and Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer all put the Tigers in the top spot of their Coaches’ poll.
Beamer’s Virginia Tech squad, which finished No. 3 in the final BCS standings, witnessed LSU’s full potential earlier this season when the Tigers beat Hokies in Tiger Stadium, 48-7.
Big 12 champion Oklahoma finished No. 4 in the BCS standings and picked up two first-place votes in the Coaches’ poll.
One of those votes were from Sooners’ coach Bob Stoops.
The other came from South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.
The only other team receiving a first-place vote in the final poll was undefeated Hawaii.
The Warriors finished the season with a 12-0 record and No. 10 in the BCS standings.
Former Southeastern Louisiana coach and current New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme was the only coach to cast his first-place vote for Hawaii.
The Warriors will make their first BCS-bowl appearance Jan. 1 when they face No. 5 Georgia in the AllState Sugar Bowl.
No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 LSU will face each other in the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans on Jan. 7.
The Buckeyes’ lowest spot in the Coaches’ poll was No. 6. That vote was given by Florida International coach Mario Cristobal.
No. 6 was also the Tigers’ lowest position in the poll. Stoops cast that vote.