Check out this lineup of college hoops today (all times ET):

12 PM: #2 Kansas @ #24 Missouri (CBS)
The Jayhawks need a victory in Columbia to win the Big 12 outright. They have a one-game lead over Texas with one game to play and are hoping to secure a #1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament as well. Meanwhile, Missouri is hoping to complete an unbeaten season at home.

2 PM: #7 Notre Dame @ #16 UConn (ESPN)
It’s senior night for the Huskies, who have beaten the Irish seven straight times at Gampel Pavilion. Notre Dame can earn the #1 seed in the Big East tournament with a win today and a Pittsburgh loss to Villanova.

4 PM: #19 Villanova @ #5 Pittsburgh (CBS)
Villanova has faded after a strong start to the season, but could still spoil the Panthers’ bid to be the top seed in the Big East Championship if they’re able to upset Pitt on their home floor. The Panthers need a win to solidify their bid to be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

6 PM: #14 Florida @ #20 Vanderbilt (ESPN)
These two teams went into overtime the first time they met this season and the Gators can clinch the outright SEC title with a win against the Commodores in Nashville.

8 PM: #4 Duke @ #13 North Carolina (CBS)
The ACC regular season championship is on the line as the Blue Devils face the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. In the first meeting at Cameron, UNC had a 16-point lead before Duke came back to win 79-73. Duke is hoping to be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and needs a win tonight to round out its resume.

It’s not often that there are five Top 25 matchups lined up every two hours like there are today. And don’t forget, #10 Wisconsin plays #1 Ohio State at 4 PM (on CBS) on Sunday.

Almost a year ago we decided to try to quantify the stature of college football programs so that we could rank them against one another. (Click here for the 2010 Rankings.) Then our football guru, Anthony Stalter, wrote a little bit about each program and the direction that it’s headed.

Here’s how the total points are determined — 20 points for a national championship, 10 for a BCS title game loss, seven for a BCS bowl win, five for a BCS bowl loss, five for a BCS conference championship, three for a mid-major conference championship, two for a BCS conference runner-up and one for a major bowl appearance (i.e. a bowl that has a recent payout of more than $2 million, so for 2011 that would be Capital One, Outback, Chick-fil-A, Cotton, Gator, Insight, Holiday, Champs Sports and Alamo.) You’ll see the total points in parenthesis after the team’s name.

We put some thought into the point values for each accomplishment, paying special attention to how the point values are relative to one another. For example, we figured that one national championship would equate to four BCS conference championships, or three BCS bowl wins. We only looked at the last five years, as college football has increasingly become a fluid and fickle sport, and that’s about how far back a recruit will go when deciding amongst a list of schools.

Lastly, since a program is so dependent on the guy in charge, we added or subtracted points if the program saw an upgrade or downgrade at the head coach position in the last five years. A max of 10 points would be granted (or docked) based on the level of upgrade or downgrade. Again, we tried to quantify the hire relative to the program’s other accomplishments. For example, hiring Nick Saban is probably worth two BCS bowl appearances, or 10 points. (Sure, he might lead Alabama to more, but he also might bolt for another job in a year or two.)

So, without further ado, here are the rankings. Every year we’ll go through and update the numbers based on what the program did that year (while throwing out the oldest year of data), so don’t fret if your team isn’t quite where you want them right now. Everyone has a chance to move up.

1. Ohio State (58)

Previous Rank: #2 (+1)
Some college football fans will take issue with the Buckeyes being No. 1 because of their “soft schedule.” But this is a team that has dominated its conference five of the past six years and has finished no worse than second in each of the past six seasons. They’ve also appeared in two title games (though they lost both) and nine straight BCS bowl games, winning the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the past two years. They’ve got an interesting season coming up though. Five of their players including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Dan Herron and receiver DeVier Posey will miss the first five games next year after being suspended. Can the Buckeyes stay unscathed until those players return?

2. Florida (51)

Previous Rank: #1 (-1)
If it weren’t for Urban Meyer leaving the program (and their lousy 2010 season), the Gators would probably still be ranked No. 1. They have three conference championships and two national championships in two years, but the lose of Meyer hurts big-time in these rankings. But don’t fret Florida fans, if Will Muschamp gets the program back on the right track then the Gators won’t be at No. 2 for long.

3. Oklahoma (47)

Previous Rank: #7 (+4)
The Sooners shot up our rankings quickly, moving from seventh to third in just one season. Of course, finally being able to win a BCS game under Bob Stoops certainly helped. Even if the victory came against overmatched UConn in the Fiesta Bowl, the BCS bowl win coupled with down years by Texas, Alabama and USC catapulted Oklahoma into the top 3. (They also now have four Big 12 championships in the last five years.) Whether or not OU remains ranked this high might be dependent on whether or not Texas rebounds after suffering its first losing season under Mack Brown. If the Longhorns stay down, there’s no reason to think the Sooners won’t rule the roost for a while, especially with Nebraska heading to the Big Ten.

4. Alabama (43)

Previous Rank: #4 (unchanged)
After winning the national championship in 2010, we thought Nick Saban’s team would steadily climb in these rankings every year. But ‘Bama took a step back this season record-wise, falling to 10-3 and settling for an appearance in the Capital One Bowl. The low point came in the final regular season game of the year when the Tide lost to Auburn 28-27 at home despite jumping out to a 24-0 lead in the first half. Still, Saban won’t have his team “down” (we use quotation marks around the word “down” seeing as how ‘Bama still had a winning year) for long and we suspect them to push Ohio State, Florida and Oklahoma in the short term.

T-5. LSU (35)

Previous Rank: #6 (+1)
It’s been three years now since Les Miles took his team to a BCS bowl game. The Tigers won the 2008 national championship but since then, their offense has sputtered since JaMarcus Russell left the program to become the biggest bust since Ryan Leaf graced the NFL with his presence. Maybe their 41-point outburst in the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M is a sign that LSU finally has found some offense but if not, they’re ceiling will probably remain right where it is.

T-5. Oregon (35)

Previous Rank: #13 (+8)
The Ducks jumped eight spots from last year thanks to yet another amazing coaching job by Chip Kelly. While their loss to Auburn in the title game stung, the pure fact that they appeared in the national championship was enough to catapult them into the top 5 (coupled with a Pac-10 title as well). Last year, we gave the Ducks two points for hiring Kelly but we bumped that up to seven this year because obviously the man can coach. Thanks to Kelly’s high-powered offense, it looks like many more Pac-10 titles are in Oregon’s future (and maybe that elusive national championship).

7. Virginia Tech (34)

Previous Rank: #9 (+2)
The Hokies got back on track this year by scooping up their fourth conference championship in the past six years. They also made their fourth BCS bowl appearance in the last six years, but were routed by Stanford in the Orange Bowl. Frank Beamer’s team should continue to compete for ACC titles, but the Hokies still seem like a long shot to make a national title appearance.

8. Auburn (28)

Previous Rank: unranked
Auburn didn’t even have a spot in these rankings last year before Cam Newton came around and set the college football world ablaze with his Heisman Trophy-winning talent. An undefeated season, a SEC championship and a win over Oregon in the national title game later and now the Tigers have a seat in our top 10. But will they stay here? Newton is jetting off to the NFL, as is defensive tackle Nick Fairley. The Tigers could crash and burn next season playing in a tough conference.

9. USC (26)

Previous Rank: #5 (-4)
We wrote last year that USC could fall in these rankings after Pete Carroll decided to leave the program, but little did we know the NCAA would hand the Trojans a two-year bowl ban for violating rules. Now USC can’t compete in a BCS bowl for the next two years, which certainly hurts the Trojans in these rankings. So did their 8-5 season last year, which included embarrassing losses to Washington, Oregon State and – gasp! – Notre Dame. Seeing as how they can’t compete in a bowl again next year, this won’t be the last time the Trojans drop in our rankings.

10. Texas (24)

Previous Rank: #3 (-7)
Can you say crash and burn? A year after making a national title appearance, the Longhorns suffered their first losing season under head coach Mack Brown. They went 5-7 overall, 2-6 in the Big 12 and shockingly finished last in the conference. It was the first time a Brown-led Longhorn team failed to qualify for a bowl and after losing Will Muschamp to the Gators in the offseason, there’s no doubt change is coming. Chances are UT will recover, but how high will they climb the Big 12 standings in one year?

11. Boise State (23)

Previous Rank: #8 (-3)
2010 didn’t go as planned for the Broncos. Things started off well enough, as Boise won its first 10 games, which included a 33-30 upset over No. 10 Virginia Tech in the opening week. But Nevada shocked the Broncos in the second to last week of the regular season and their slim national championship hopes went out the window. They settled for the Las Vegas Bowl, where they beat Utah 26-3. The Broncos will get their chance at redemption when they join the MWC next season, even though their biggest opponent, TCU, will be heading for the Big East in two years.

T-12. West Virginia (18)

Previous Rank: #9 (-3)
The Mountaineers took a step back in our rankings after struggling in a bad Big East. They still had a winning season but they watched UConn win the conference and settled for the Champs Sports Bowl, where they were thumped by NC State. Losing the explosive Noel Devine to the NFL won’t help their offense in 2011.

T-12. TCU (18)

Previous Rank: #20 (+8)
TCU makes a huge leap in the rankings after qualifying for their second consecutive BCS bowl and beating Wisconsin in Pasadena. The win over the Badgers was huge for Gary Patterson’s squad, which mowed through its soft schedule last year only to be embarrassed by a better Boise State team in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. The Frogs proved this time around that they weren’t going to settle for just a conference championship. The next two years will tell a lot about Patterson’s team. Boise State joins the MWC next year and then in 2012, it’s off to the Big East for TCU. It’s time to find out how good this program can really be.

14. Nebraska (15)

Previous Rank: #16 (+2)
The Cornhuskers moved up in our rankings after finishing as the Big 12’s runner up, but there’s no doubt 2010 didn’t go the way the Nebraska faithful thought it would. They lost at home to a bad Texas team in mid October and then an injury to quarterback Taylor Martinez cost them a win against Texas A&M in November. They fought hard in the Big 12 Championship Game before losing to Oklahoma, but then didn’t bother to show up for the Holiday Bowl against Washington. But let’s not overlook how this team beat No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Missouri in back-to-back games in October and still finished a very respectable 10-4. They’ll have their work cut out for them next year in the Big Ten, but the Huskers are built for the conference and not having to face explosive offenses like Oklahoma State and Oklahoma should help their cause.

T-15. Georgia Tech (14)

Previous Rank: #13 (-2)
Georgia Tech only moved back two spots but if the Jackets have another year like they just did, then they’ll be moving back further next season. A year after making a BCS appearance, the Jackets played .500 ball in the regular season and then were held to only a touchdown by Air Force in the Independence Bowl. Losing Josh Nesbitt to injury certainly hurt Paul Johnson’s triple-option attack. But the Jackets had already lost three games prior to Nesbitt’s injury, which included an embarrassing 28-25 defeat to Kansas in mid September. Hopefully Johnson can resurrect things in 2011.

T-15. Penn State (14)

Previous Rank: #11 (-4)
Considering they replaced all three starting linebackers and their quarterback from a year ago, it’s not hard to see why Penn State took a step back in our rankings this year. But they held their own, especially considering they had to play Alabama, Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan State this season. Their loss at home to Illinois was unexpected but again, this was a young team that still found a way to win seven games with four ranked opponents on their schedule. They probably won’t win a Big Ten title next year, but the Lions will be competitive. They usually are under Joe Pa.

T-15. Wisconsin (14)

Previous Rank: unranked
Wisconsin cracks our rankings after putting together a great season, which included back-to-back wins over Ohio State and Iowa in October. If it weren’t for that Oct. 2 loss to Michigan State, the Badgers would have been in the national title discussion. The loss to TCU in the Rose Bowl hurt, but Wisconsin made a statement to the rest of the Big Ten that it isn’t going anywhere. It’s going to be fun to watch the Badgers compete against Ohio State and Nebraska next season.

T-18. Iowa (12)

Previous Rank: #17 (-1)
Iowa only drops one spot in our rankings but the Hawkeyes had one disastrous season. The loss to Arizona in the third week of the season hurt, as did the three-straight losses to Northwestern, Ohio State and 3-9 Minnesota. Then star receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos gets charged with operating a drug house (charges were later dropped) and starting running back Adam Robinson is suspended for violating team rules. Beating Missouri in the Insight Bowl was the one saving grace of the season, but that’s a far cry from topping Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl one year earlier.

T-18. Arkansas (12)

Previous Rank: unranked
If they can successfully replace NFL prospect Ryan Mallett, we get the feeling that Arkansas will be a part of these rankings for years to come. The Razorbacks overcame losses to Alabama and Auburn earlier in the season to win six games down the stretch, including back-to-back victories over Mississippi State and LSU in November. A win over Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl was not to be, but clearly Bobby Petrino has this program heading in the right direction.

20. Michigan (11)

Previous Rank: unranked
Rich Rodriguez may have produced his first winning season in Ann Arbor, but embarrassing losses to Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State and then Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl was all UM could bare. In three years, Rich Rod’s collective record against Ohio State and Michigan State was 0-6. That’s something new head coach Brady Hoke better change if he’s going to last long as Rich Rod’s replacement. He certainly has his work cut out for him, especially considering he needs to build a defense after the previous staff pretty much ignored that side of the ball for three seasons.

Fell out of the Top 20: Georgia, Cincinnati, Florida State, Notre Dame

Dayne Crist tore his ACL on Halloween a year ago, playing mop-up duty against Washington State. Now, 364 days later, the Notre Dame quarterback has suffered another devastating knee injury.

Crist ruptured his pattellar tendon in today’s game against Tulsa, according to NBC. If that’s accurate, it likely means Crist’s season is over, and the Irish will have to finish out the season with true freshman Tommy Rees taking the snaps. Rees took over after Crist was hurt today, and looked very solid early on in leading three touchdown drives and throwing two TD passes (the other came on a hook and ladder play). But he also threw an interception at the end of the half which was returned for a touchdown which brought Tulsa to within two points.

Crist was 174-of-292 for 2,033 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He had also thrown seven interceptions, and his 59.6% completion percentage has been pointed to by many as a big reason the Irish haven’t yet gotten Brian Kelly’s high-octane spread offense into full gear.

It’s a huge setback for Crist and the Irish, who are in danger of not being bowl eligible this season with games remaining against Utah and USC.

FOX Sports columnist Jason Whitlock has weighed in on the death of Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan and writes that head coach Brian Kelly should be fired for his negligence in the situation.

Kelly should not coach the Irish on Saturday when they take on Tulsa.

We don’t need a thorough and exhaustive investigation to recognize Kelly’s negligence. A coach’s most important job, particularly at the amateur level, is to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the safety of the young people under his control.

Kelly failed in the worst way possible.

Mitigating circumstances do not matter. Notre Dame’s video coordinator should not be held responsible. Declan Sullivan, who tweeted before and during practice the weather conditions were terrifying and life threatening, certainly isn’t to blame.

The head football coach has final say over everything that transpires on the practice field. Everything. That’s why Ohio State’s Jim Tressel moved the Buckeyes’ practice inside on Tuesday when wind gusts made conditions unsafe.

Whitlock goes on to write that he understands why Kelly had his team practicing outside and also takes time to rip AD Jack Swarbrick for essentially making sure that the media knew he wasn’t at the practice long enough to tell Sullivan to come down.

I don’t know. My emotions say yes, fire Kelly and Swarbrick for their irresponsibility and extreme negligence. Sullivan should have never been on the lift in the first place and if Kelly thought it was dangerous enough to keep his team inside the day before because of a tornado warning, then he should have known not to have students filming practice from that high up during swirling winds. It was absolutely moronic for anyone to ok Sullivan being up on that lift.

That said, do we have the full details here? Do we know who was actually responsible for sending the young man up there? Was it Kelly, someone on his coaching staff, Sullivan’s boss, who? Did someone force him to go up there? If someone forced him to go up there, then done deal – someone has to lose their job. But if this was just a case of people not using their heads (as in, Sullivan went up there as he normally would and nobody thought to tell him to come down), then it’s up to the University to decide what the right course of action should be. Don’t follow up one irresponsible decision with another by firing people without compiling all the details.

Either way, a young man lost his life and for the time being, everyone should be morning his passing and not trying to assess blame. I imagine there will be plenty of time for that later.

In tragic news, a Notre Dame student who had been videotaping a football practice was killed after the tower he was standing on collapsed due to a strong gust of wind.

From FOX Sports.com:

Declan Sullivan, a 20-year-old junior from Long Grove, Ill., died Wednesday at a South Bend hospital after the hydraulic scissor lift he was on fell over at the LaBar practice complex. Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick promised there would be a full investigation, but did not say who was responsible for allowing the student to use the lift.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the accident, Swarbrick described a normal practice that quickly became chaotic on Wednesday. He said he was walking along the football field when suddenly, the wind picked up and equipment began flying.

Swarbrick said training staff, medical trainers, coaches, players responded to Sullivan, but after emergency workers arrived, the team went back to the field so the rescuers could help the student. Sullivan was taken to a South Bend hospital, but Swarbrick said he received a call from the ambulance before it arrived that Sullivan was no longer breathing.

The National Weather Service said winds in the area were gusting to 51 mph at the time when the hydraulic scissor lift, which can be lowered or raised depending on needs, fell over. The football team had practiced indoors the day before because of the blustery conditions caused by a fierce storm.

It was not clear specifically who authorized Sullivan to go up in the scissor lift to videotape Wednesday’s practice, but Swarbrick said it was the decision to practice outside was left up to individual programs at the university. As a student worker, Sullivan reported to a video coordinator associated with the team.

According to the article, many media outlets reported that Sullivan sent out a tweet shortly before practice that said, “Gusts of wind up to 60 mph. Well today will be fun at work. I guess I’ve lived long enough.”

Why was he up on the tower in the first place? If everyone knew the winds were that bad, then why didn’t someone think not to allow him to go up there? It just doesn’t make any sense and it’s sad that such a tragic accident could have been avoided had someone used their head. Obviously they were worried enough about the winds the day before that they had the football team practice inside, yet they didn’t think to keep the students off these towers with wind gusts of 60mph? Talk about irresponsibility.

My thoughts go out to Sullivan’s family and friends.

Brian Kelly is still in the first year of his contract, so he won’t be fired. That might be the only way he finds a way to get to sleep tonight.

His Notre Dame team is getting absolutely dominated by Navy. Not just having an off day and getting beat, but getting absolutely dominated. By Navy.

One of the reasons Charlie Weis didn’t last in South Bend, and there were many, was that he was unable to beat the teams that Notre Dame should be beating on a consistent basis. Losses like Navy (twice), Syracuse and UConn at home were the black marks on the Weis era that stung the ND faithful worse than any blowout loss at the hands of USC or Michigan.

One thing Weis never did, however, was get blown out by Navy, and that’s what’s happening to Kelly’s first Notre Dame team. On national television, no less.

The Midshipmen did whatever they wanted on the ground in this one, whether it was Alexander Teich on the fullback dive or Ricky Dobbs on a keeper. Navy averaged at least 113 yards a play in gashing the Irish, and if it wasn’t for a few select plays from stud linebacker Manti T’eo, it would have been 120 per play.

But getting gashed by Navy’s offense is something that happens, even if you spend extra time preparing for it. The option — run at its best — is tough to duplicate. It’s the fact that Notre Dame’s offense has struggled as much as it has that is probably the most disturbing thing for Notre Dame fans. Dayne Crist threw two horrible interceptions at completely inopportune times, and the offensive line struggled to get a push despite averaging about 100 extra pounds per man. Or protect Crist, for that matter.

What Notre Dame is displaying right now is a lack of heart and intensity. It’s something that plagued Weis’ teams often, and apparently Kelly hasn’t been able to get rid of that. He’ll get a pass this year, and maybe even next. But ND fans don’t put up with losing, no matter how much of it they’ve had to deal with in the past few years. And they definitely don’t put up with losing to Navy in a blowout fashion.

Perhaps the only thing worse for Jake Locker than his atrocious performance against Nebraska last week, is the fact that he has an off week to think about said performance and so does everyone else.

Locker was many expert’s favorite to be the top pick, or at least the top quarterback, in the 2011 NFL Draft because of his arm strength and mobility. The 4-for-20 stinker against Nebraska changed a lot of those minds, however, including Locker’s stalker biggest fan, ESPN’s Todd McShay.

So who steps up in his place? We may find out today. The other top QB prospects this year — Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett and Stanford’s Andrew Luck — each have a big chance to showcase their talents this afternoon on a big stage.

Mallett gets a chance to prove he can do what Locker couldn’t a week ago: Have a big game against an elite defense. The Razorbacks play host to top-ranked Alabama, and while it’s a relatively inexperienced secondary that he’ll be facing, carving up a Nick Saban-coached defense can do wonders for one’s draft stock. A win could vault Mallett to the top of draft boards, but he could also get there in a loss. Arkansas’ defense has never been looked at as a strength, so if Mallett has a strong game in a shootout, he should still get a lot of credit.

Luck isn’t facing a defense near as good as the one Mallett will see today, but he is playing on a big stage. Stanford heads to Notre Dame, which — like it or not — is going to get him a lot of attention. The Irish secondary is nowhere near elite, but if Luck puts up huge numbers, he wouldn’t be the first quarterback to be elevated for it (see: Russell, Jamarcus).

Stanford and Luck should have more success today, but it’s probably Mallett who has more to gain. Either way, all Locker can do is sit and watch.