National Signing Day 2011 is all but in the books now, with the day's last five-star college football recruit, De'Anthony Thomas, adding to one amazing Oregon Ducks class that's about to join the top 10 -- while knocking some shine off of Lane Kiffin's confounding USC Trojans class, which will surely abandon its No. 2 Rivals ranking any minute now.
Who else killed it today? A conference-by-conference glance:
SEC winners: Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs. Nick Saban nabbed Jeoffrey Pagan and landed the nation's No. 1 class according to Rivals, which might extend its advantage if Cyrus Kouandjio flips, thereby following fellow Auburn ship-jumper Brent Calloway. And the Dawgs made good on their "Dream Team" recruiting pitch by landing Isaiah Crowell, the state's biggest-name recruit.
Also stay winning: LSU Tigers (signing Jermauria Rasco), Auburn Tigers (signing Gabe Wright and Erique Florence), Tennessee Volunteers (signing Curt Maggitt and Antonio Richardson).
Stay losing: Mississippi St. Bulldogs. (Sure, they're not supposed to finish much higher than the Kentucky Wildcats or Vanderbilt Commodores, but Dan Mullen has raised expectations around Starkville. The Dawgs are losing a lot of talent this year, as evidenced by the contingent they sent to the Senior Bowl.)
Pac-12 winners: USC, Oregon. The Ducks aren't likely to overtake the Trojans in the overall rankings, at least until NCAA investigators start sorting through the astounding 28 signees Kiffin brought in despite, you know, not being allowed to do so. Oregon got better pound-for-pound talent despite signing only 24. Still the Trojans brought 'em in today, picking up Christian Heyward, Lamar Dawson, and Aundrey Walker.
Also stay winning: UCLA Bruins (signing Devin Lucien), California Golden Bears.
Stay losing: Colorado Buffaloes. (Finishing just higher than Washington State is no way to make a first impression.)
ACC winners: Florida St. Seminoles, Clemson Tigers. FSU and Clemson battled for defensive line recruits all day long, with Tony Steward picking the Tigers and Tim Jernigan heading to Tallahassee. The Noles will have the nation's No. 2 class according to Rivals after USC's post-Thomas adjustment, while Clemson merits an impressive top-10 finish. The Tigers also landed Spencer Region and Stephone Anthony.
Also stay winning: North Carolina Tar Heels (signing Delvon Simmons), Virginia Cavaliers (signing Dominique Terrell and Darius Jennings).
Stay losing: N.C. State Wolfpack. (Losing Russell Wilson and Nate Irving and finishing below Duke and Wake Forest?)
Big 12 winners: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners. Hey, remember Texas? Recruiting juggernaut, mainlines talent every year? Just another top-five finish for the Horns, who didn't pick up any major surprises today, but didn't really need to. RB Malcolm Brown is the prize, a bruiser who committed in August. The Sooners completed most of their class last year as well, but did pick up three-star DB Bennett Okotcha today.
Also stay winning: Nebraska Cornhuskers (signing Todd Peat), Texas A&M Aggies (signing Floyd Raven in a signing day story for the ages).
Stay losing: Missouri Tigers. (Losing Blaine Gabbert and finishing below Kansas and Baylor?)
Big Ten winners: Ohio St. Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines. Jim Tressel's big Signing Day pickup was Curtis Grant, snagged away from Florida, while new guy Brady Hoke held together a good enough class to finish No. 21 in the nation. Among Michigan's highlights: four-star DB Blake Countess of Our Lady Of Good Counsel, who dares you to snicker.
Also stay winning: Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan St. Spartans.
Stay losing: The five worst classes belong to Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Northwestern, and Purdue. What do you want me to do with that? Top to bottom, the Big Ten is as orderly as Tressel's nightstand.
Other winners: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (signing Troy Niklas), TCU Horned Frogs. Hard to evaluate teams without conferences and teams in transition against each other. Could compare their classes to some Big East schools, but it's been way too long of a day to start digging into Big East 'cruiting.