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Daniel Charbonnet and Texas Tech gave fans the best game of the season with their wild win over Texas.

Best Freshman
Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor. When he hits his stride in 2009, watch out for the Buckeyes.

Second-Best Freshman
Alabama WR Julio Jones. Terrific playmaker, physical, great hands, breakaway speed. What’s not to like? He has the look of a future Heisman candidate. And he wasn’t even considered the best freshman WR in the SEC (Georgia’s A.J. Jones had better receiving statistics).

Third-Best Freshman
Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers. USC fans will acknowledge that. Rodgers gashed the Trojans for 186 yards on a bizarre Thursday night in September, a result that had plenty to do with the national-title race. Rodgers, who averaged 113 yards per game, didn’t play against Oregon and that was a factor in the Beavers failing to clinch their first Rose Bowl bid since 1965.

Best Statistics No One Knows
Rice WR Jarett Dillard had 19 touchdown receptions, which gives him 54 in three seasons.

Best Offense
Can’t go against Oklahoma, which became the only team to score 60 or more points in five straight games. The Sooners have scored, gulp, 97 offensive touchdowns.

Worst Offense
The punchless (and winless) Washington Huskies, which managed just 19 offensive touchdowns (a mere 78 behind Oklahoma).

Best Defense
USC. The Trojans held eight of their 12 opponents to single-digits and surrendered just 11 touchdowns all season (seven combined to Oregon State and Stanford, so just four TDs for the other 10 opponents). The Trojans allowed an average of just 7.8 points during the regular season (no team had allowed fewer than an eight-point average since 1988 Auburn).

Worst Defense
The Big 12. A group effort, if ever there was one.

Biggest Collapse
Troy led LSU 31-3 in the second half. The final: LSU 40, Troy 31.

Coach of the Year
Nick Saban, Alabama. Was it really just a year ago that Alabama lost at home against Louisiana-Monroe? Saban clearly has the Tide rolling again, going 12-0 and reaching the SEC title game before getting Tebowed by the Florida Gators. Scary thought — With Saban’s recruiting in full swing, Alabama will just keep getting better and better.

Coach of the Year runners-up
Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly, Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, Oregon State’s Mike Riley.

Turnaround Coach (in a bad way)
June Jones went from an unbeaten Hawaii team earning a BCS bowl bid (and losing to Georgia) to a 1-11 squad at SMU.

Two Best NFL Prospects (defense)
Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins, Florida State DE Everette Brown.

Two Best NFL Prospects (offense)
Alabama OT Andre Smith, Georgia QB Matthew Stafford.

More news

Dave Martin / AP

'Bama-Michigan set for prime-time

CFT: Alabama and Michigan announced Tuesday that their highly anticipated season opener will kick off in prime-time at Cowboys Stadium. The game is slated to begin at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 1.

CFT: Texas AD says Big 12 doesn't need to expand

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