That wasn’t much fun on either side of the Red River, and who’s to say it can’t happen again? For the moment, despite its flaws, the BCS is the in-place solution for deciding a national champion. The 2009 winner will be determined on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif. The complaining and second-guessing will precede and follow the game.

Here’s the entire BCS schedule. (All times listed are Eastern):

Jan. 7: BCS Championship Game, Pasadena, Calif., 8 p.m. (BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2)
Jan. 5: Orange Bowl, Miami, 8 p.m.
Jan. 4: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz., 8 p.m.
Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, La., 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 1: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif., ABC 5 p.m.

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According to Rivals.com, Nick Saban and Alabama took the top spot with a big late push, outdistancing LSU, USC, Ohio State and Texas.

Here’s a look at the top 10, with total players signed, those rated as 5-star, 4-star and 3-star talents by Rivals, average stars in each class and total points scored according to Rivals’ rating system.

To see how the other schools did, and to find out who signed where, visit Rivals.com.

Since the trophy was first presented in 1935, the honor has grown in stature, to the point where colleges campaign shamelessly for their candidates of choice. Winning the Heisman is no guarantee of professional success, as the names below clearly indicate. Still, it’s a cool thing to have on your resume, and even if you’re a guy who doesn’t care much for individual honors, it makes a heckuva doorstop.

Here’s a list of winners:

1935: Jay Berwanger, Chicago, RB
1936: Larry Kelley, Yale, END
1937: Clint Frank,Yale, QB
1938: Davey O’Brien, TCU, QB
1939: Nile Kinnick, Iowa, RB
1940: Tom Harmon, Michigan, RB
1941: Bruce Smith, Minnesota, RB
1942: Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, RB
1943: Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame, QB
1944: Les Horvath, Ohio State, QB
1945: Doc Blanchard, Army, FB
1946: Glenn Davis, Army, RB
1947: John Lujack, Notre Dame, QB
1948: Doak Walker, Southern Methodist, RB
1949: Leon Hart, Notre Dame, E
1950: Vic Janowicz, Ohio State, RB
1951: Dick Kazmaier, Princeton RB
1952: Billy Vessels, Oklahoma, RB
1953: John Lattner, Notre Dame, RB
1954: Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, FB
1955: Howard Cassady, Ohio State, RB
1956: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame, QB
1957: John David Crow, Texas A&M, RB
1958: Pete Dawkins, Army, RB
1959: Billy Cannon, Louisiana State, RB
1960: Joe Bellino, Navy, RB

That makes sustained excellence as a good measuring stick as any in determining the true powers over any length of time. These are the teams who have produced the best overall record from 1998-2007:

10. Tennessee, 93-34 (.732) — A perfect season en route to the 1998 national championships helps these numbers.

9. Michigan, 93-32 (.744) — Three Rose Bowls and an Orange over that 10-year span.

8. USC, 93-32 (.744) — The Trojans haven’t been quite the same since losing the 2006 Rose Bowl and the national championship to Texas, but they’re still pretty good.

7. Miami, 95-30 (.760) — Losing 13 times over the past two seasons moved the Hurricanes down the list.

6. Georgia, 99-30 (.767) — Despite plenty of success, that national title remains elusive.

5. Virginia Tech, 99-29 (.773) — Frank Beamer’s Hokies are one of the nation’s best-kept secrets.

4. Ohio State, 98-27 (.784) — The Buckeyes have caught no shortage of flak for recent BCS Championship game failures, but, hey, at least they get that far.

3. Oklahoma, 102-27 (.785) — “Big Game Bob” Stoops has been stinking it up in the bowl games lately, but winning the Big 12 on a regular basis is nothing to sneeze at.

2. Texas, 103-25 (.805) — Going 25-1 over the 2004 and ‘05 seasons (and winning the national title in the second year) boosted a program that spends too many bowl seasons in San Diego and Dallas.

1. Boise State, 102-24 (.809) — The boys from Boise have more than that bowl win over Oklahoma on their resume.

To read more about these, visit FOX Sports. 

No Texas? What about Michigan? What happened to Nick Saban and Alabama? Isn’t Kansas supposed to be good again?

Alas, none of the aforementioned made the cut.

Here’s who did:

1. Georgia

2. Ohio State

3. Southern California

4. Oklahoma

5. LSU

6. Missouri

7. Clemson

8. West Virginia

9. Florida

10. Illinois

To read more about these, and to see who else is ranked, visit The Sporting News

Once summer comes, the preseason publications hit the stand, allowing brief bragging rights to those favored and incentive for those who don’t feel quite so much love.

Athlon has been in the prognostication business for nearly 40 years. Here are the editors’ picks for the Top 10 teams heading into the 2008 season:

1. Florida

2. Ohio State

3. Oklahoma

4. USC

5. Georgia

6. Missouri

7. West Virginia

8. Auburn

9. LSU

10. Clemson

Source: Athlonsports.com

Who else did the best job of hawking souvenir caps, T-shirts and pennants?

Here’s the list:

1 – Texas
2 – Michigan
3 – Florida
4 – LSU
5 – Notre Dame
6 – North Carolina
7 – Georgia
8 – Alabama
9 – Penn State
10 – Tennessee

Source: Collegiate Licensing Company