It appeared it may be the end of the line for Michigan State University but a last minute surge in voting gave the Spartans their third consecutive #1 ranking in the Tom Bowl Fan Poll.

Since the inception of the Tom Bowl Fan Poll three years ago MSU has topped the voting every year. For the third consecutive year Florida State finished in the top three.

The Tom Bowl Fan Poll received votes from 24 people allowing this year's results to expand from a top 20 to a top 25.

MSU made its surge based largely the strength of second and third place votes. Oklahoma got the most first place votes with nine but was left off a number of other ballots completely while MSU was able to gain enough secondary votes to take the top spot. In a similar fashion, Florida State, which received no first place votes, managed to slide into the second slot with Oklahoma placing third. MSU received three first place votes. Duke and the University of Michigan received two while the rest were distributed among eight other teams including Burst Bubble Bowl participant Toledo and the Mulliken Kainers.

With five points given to a #1 ranking and down from there MSU finished with 40 points. Florida State finished with 37, Oklahoma had 36 followed by Michigan with 24 and bowl invitee Miami with 22.

The Tom Bowl does not anticipate the need for a recount at this time. We believe the ballot was not confusing and that a manual recount of the votes would likely just cause more confusion.