AP Poll Top 25, Week 15: Northern Illinois claims No. 16, awaits BCS fate

Dave Reginek

Northern Illinois lands at No. 16 in the AP Poll, which does not figure in the BCS formula. The Huskies need to finish in the top 16 to bust the BCS. Notre Dame finishes the year No. 1.

With the college football season complete, the eyes of the nation do not turn to the top of the final regular season Associated Press Top 25 poll, where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish finish the year as an unanimous No. 1, but instead to the middle, to find the Northern Illinois Huskies at No. 16.

That position, if replicated in tonight's final BCS standings of the season, would give the Huskies just enough to bust the BCS and knock Oklahoma out of a spot in a BCS bowl. The AP Poll does not count toward the BCS formula, which includes the Harris Interactive Poll, Coaches' Poll and the six computer rankings, but the AP Poll has long served as an indicator of what might be in store in the BCS rankings.

The MAC champion Huskies will try to crack the top 16 in the BCS, a position which would assure the Huskies of a BCS bid as a result of finishing ahead of the Big East's BCS representative this year, the Louisville Cardinals.

Elsewhere in the poll, the Alabama Crimson Tide close out the year at No. 2, followed by the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 4 Florida Gators. The No. 5 Oregon Ducks round out the top five.

Here's the entire AP Top 25:

Rank	Team	Votes
1	Notre Dame (60)	1,500
2	Alabama	1,424
3	Ohio State	1,302
4	Florida	1,279
5	Oregon	1,250
6	Georgia	1,213
7	Kansas State	1,129
8	Stanford	1,094
9	LSU	1,051
10	Texas A&M	1,025
11	South Carolina	907
12	Oklahoma	851
13	Florida State	789
14	Clemson	691
15	Oregon State	638
16	Northern Illinois	534
17	UCLA	440
18	Utah State	379
19	Michigan	306
20	Boise State	276
21	Northwestern	266
22	Louisville	248
23	Nebraska	227
24	San Jose State	157
25	Kent State	117