Graduating to a new standard

By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Staff | December 4, 2006

The matchups are all set for the bowl games that will end the 2006 college football season. But which teams in the Associated Press Top 25 would be the most deserving of the national title game, by the graduation rates of their players?

The answer would not be Ohio State vs. Florida.

It would be Navy vs. Boston College, in my 11th-annual Graduation Gap Bowl. Those schools have respective National Collegiate Athletic Association graduation success rates of 98 percent and 96 percent.

To be fair, Florida is no slouch. It ranks sixth in graduation rates among the AP teams, at 80 percent. But it is one of only two Top 10 teams to also be in the Top 10 in the classroom. Michigan is the other team, but its 71 percent graduation rate cuts down the middle of a horrible gap between white players (91 percent) and black players (50 percent). Ohio State is tied for 23rd at 55 percent. Check out the comparisons below.

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The Globe's Derrick Z. Jackson chatted about the graduation rates of bowl teams in an online chat on Wednesday. Check out the transcript.

AP Top 25 College Football Poll

Team (First-place votes)	Record
1. Ohio State (65)	12-0
2. Florida	12-1
3. Michigan	11-1
4. LSU	10-2
5. Louisville	11-1
6. Wisconsin	11-1
7. Oklahoma	11-2
8. USC	10-2
9. Boise State	12-0
10. Auburn	10-2
11. Notre Dame	10-2
12. Arkansas	10-3
13. West Virginia	10-2
14. Virginia Tech	10-2
15. Wake Forest	11-2
16. Rutgers	10-2
17. Tennessee	9-3
18. Texas	9-3
19. BYU	10-2
20. California	9-3
21. Texas A&M	9-3
22. Nebraska	9-4
23. Boston College	9-3
24. Oregon State	9-4
25. TCU	10-2

Others receiving votes: Georgia 57, Georgia Tech 53, Hawaii 25, Houston 21, Penn State 9, Maryland 6, South Florida 6, Navy 4, South Carolina 3, UCLA 2.

Top 25 Graduation Rates

Team	Players' graduation %
1. Navy	98
2. Boston College	96
3. Notre Dame	95
4. Wake Forest	93
5. Nebraska	88
6. Florida	80
7. Penn State	80
8. Texas Christian	78
9. Virginia Tech	74
10. Michigan	71
11. South Florida	66
12. Boise State	65
13. Maryland	64
14. South Carolina	64
15. Auburn	63
16. Texas A&M	63
17. West Virginia	63
18. Wisconsin	62
19. Oregon State	60
20. UCLA	59
21. Rutgers	58
22. Tennessee	58
23. Arkansas	55
24. Georgia Tech	55
25. OSU and USC	55

Barely passing graduation rates in the AP rankings: Brigham Young 53, Louisville 53, Oklahoma 52, Houston 51.
Teams that should be dropped from bowls on overall graduation success rates: Hawaii 49, LSU 49, California 44, Georgia 41, Texas 40.