By Stewart Mandel, SI.com

After vaulting past Michigan in the AP poll (and BCS), Chris Leak led Florida past Ohio State in the title game to finish No. 1. Robert Beck/SI

Heading into the final weekend of the 2006 season, the BCS standings were: No. 1 Ohio State (12-0), No. 2 USC (10-1), No. 3 Michigan (11-1), No. 4 Florida (11-1). The Buckeyes had defeated the Wolverines 42-39 in both teams' season finale two weeks earlier to fill one spot in the national championship game, and the Trojans were widely expected to defeat 6-5 rival UCLA to clinch the other spot. The Gators, despite playing for the SEC championship that weekend against Arkansas, had barely entered the discussion despite much public lobbying by their coach, Urban Meyer. But then the Bruins stunned the Trojans 13-9 in a game that ended around halftime of the Florida-Arkansas SEC title game. As the Gators pulled away in the second half of a 38-28 victory, CBS game analyst Gary Danielson urged voters to tab Florida over Michigan for the No. 2 spot. Meyer did much the same in his postgame comments. "Another team had their shot [at Ohio State]," he said, in a reference to the Wolverines. "... If you're going to tell me that we can go 12-1 against the toughest schedule in the country and don't deserve a shot, I have a problem with that."

Whether the voters succumbed to the lobbying or acted on their own, we'll never know. But when the final ballots were cast, an estimated 40 of 113 Harris Poll voters and 25 of 65 coaches moved the Gators ahead of idle Michigan, according to BCS expert Jerry Palm, enough to lift Florida from No. 4 to No. 2 in the final BCS standings. "It's safe to say we would have never seen that much movement if this was Nov. 3 and not Dec. 3 simply based on the results of last weekend," wrote Palm. "However, the voters weren't simply picking this week's number two team, they were choosing who would play for a national championship." Never before had voters behaved in this way -- and the ensuing controversy was heated. Jilted Michigan coach Lloyd Carr blasted Meyer for his lobbying tactics, calling his comments "inappropriate," and pointed out, correctly, that had USC won, voters likely would have kept the Wolverines ahead of the Gators. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, faced with voting on his potential title-game opponent, created his own mini-controversy by abstaining from voting in the final poll, a move Carr referred to as "real slick" and ever-outspoken Texas Tech coach Mike Leach called, "a bunch of sanctimonious bunk." And South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, a former Heisman-winning quarterback and record-setting coach at Florida, exposed for the umpteenth time the transparent agendas afoot in the coaches poll, saying he voted the Gators over Michigan because, "Heck, I'm a Gator."

Even though my AP ballot bore no influence on the BCS matchup, I, too, bumped Florida to No. 2. It was the right thing to do. When you're trying to decide between three 5-2 teams for the No. 15 ranking in the middle of October, you don't have much to go by besides your own personal eyeball test. But by the end of the season, teams have built up a fairly comprehensive body of work by which to judge them. By the end of the '06 regular season, the Gators had won their conference championship, beaten three ranked opponents and eight bowl teams; Michigan had finished second in its conference while beating two ranked foes and six bowl teams. At the time, I couldn't have told you with any certainty which was the better team -- the Gators would bear that out pretty convincingly come bowl season -- but there wasn't much question which team was "more deserving." Apparently, other voters felt the same way.

So, while on the one hand the idea of voter polls in college football may seem completely outdated and archaic, not to mention ripe with conflicts of interest and other pitfalls, at least there's been one positive advancement: Voters who actually put some thought into their ballots. No longer does the next team automatically move up when the one ahead of it loses. No longer are matters of common sense like head-to-head matchups or strength of schedule thrown out the window. Voters will never get the order of teams exactly right -- if they could, they'd be smart to move to Vegas and start a new, more lucrative career -- but they're coming closer today than ever before. Which, of course, is not to say that you're going to agree with them.

Jan. 8, 2007, 9:25 p.m., University of Phoenix Stadium press box, Glendale, Ariz.: The fourth quarter of the national championship game is playing out below me, with Florida's victory over Ohio State well in hand. I'd like to be concentrating on my column that's due later tonight or figuring out the quickest route to the field to conduct interviews, but my final AP ballot is due as soon as the game ends. Now I must decide on the spot how far Ohio State should fall and where 13-0 Boise State, now the lone remaining undefeated team, should finish. I quickly decide the Buckeyes, by virtue of their perfect regular season, deserve to remain above everyone but Florida. LSU, USC and Boise will round out the top five. I quickly review the rest of my ballot, which I prepared before the game, before hitting the "Send" button. A smile crosses my face as I see Penn State at No. 25. All season long, Nittany Lions fans have been pestering me about their poll absence, despite the fact they hadn't beaten a soul, but after upsetting Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, I slip them into the final poll. I figure they'll be pleased.

My final ballot gets posted on SI.com shortly after the game. Upon finishing my column a couple of hours later, I check my e-mail. The first message reads: "Got an idea for you ... FIND A TALL BUILDING AND JUMP OFF IT!!! Ranking Tennessee ahead of Penn State after Penn State thumped them in the Outback Bowl!!! Are you insane?? How do you still have a job?" Ah, the rewards of being a pollster.

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