CBSSports.com Blogpoll #16

How high can you rank half a team who has three losses by a total of four points? In Nebraska's case, I went with 17.

The more interesting question might be how high can Nebraska start next season? That will largely depend on how the offense performs in the Holiday Bowl. Remember how much Notre Dame's "big win" over Hawaii helped them last year? (In terms of preseason rank, that is.) A good offensive performance, as unlikely as it seems, might make Nebraska a favorite to win the conference next year.

That's what the next three weeks are about. Building momentum for 2010. But there's plenty of time to get into the questions surrounding this team. For now, let's tackle the last pre-bowl poll.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	1
2	Texas	1
3	TCU	1
4	Florida	3
5	Cincinnati
6	Boise State
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Georgia Tech	2
10	Iowa
11	Penn State	1
12	Stanford	2
13	Virginia Tech	4
14	Brigham Young	2
15	Pittsburgh	2
16	Miami (Florida)	3
17	Nebraska	4
18	Oregon State
19	Houston	10
20	Oklahoma State
21	LSU	1
22	Arizona
23	West Virginia	1
24	Utah	1
25	Southern Cal	10
Last week's ballot

OUT
Clemson. Tough to drop the Tigers after losing close to Georgia Tech, but I had to make room for...

IN
Arizona. We're not set up for a very exciting Holiday Bowl given the Wildcats strong defense but who knows? Wacky things happen in bowl games.

METHODOLOGY, ETC.
--There's very good reason to believe that Alabama is going to destroy Texas' offensive line just like Nebraska did. There's also good reason to believe that getting pushed by Nebraska might've been the best thing to happen to the Horns. I think they'll be ready.
--TCU...I'm sorry. I really am.
--Cincinnati...you don't quite warm my heart like the Frogs do, but I appreciated Brian Kelly's Husker shout out after beating Pitt and I appreciated his candor after the fact. Good luck at Notre Dame? (Yeah, I don't mean that.)
--Man that season went quick. Another nine wins for Pelini. It's happening.