Vanderbilt No. 1 in the SEC and No. 6 in the nation... in the U.S. News and World Report poll, that is

Ah, it's my favorite time of the year, when U.S. News & World Report ranks the top universities in America. And we tell you where all the SEC schools wound up.

Oh look, Vanderbilt's No. 1. Here's the rest of the rankings:

1. Vanderbilt (No. 19)
2. Florida (No. 49)
3. Georgia (No. 58)
4. Alabama (No. 83)
5. Auburn (No. 96)
6. South Carolina (T-No. 108)
6. Tennessee (T-No. 108)
8. Kentucky (No. 116)
9. Arkansas (No. 125)
10. LSU (No. 130)
12. Miss State (T-Tier 3)
12. Ole Miss (T-Tier 3)

Among universities with BCS football programs, Vanderbilt finishes No. 6:

1. Stanford (No. 4)
2. Duke (No. 8)
3. Northwestern (No. 12)
4. Rice (No. 17)
5. Notre Dame (No. 18)
6. Vanderbilt (No. 19)
7. Cal (No. 21)
8. Virginia (No. 23)
9. UCLA (No. 25)
10. Michigan (No. 26)

Rounding out the Top 25 would be: USC, Wake Forest, UNC, BC, Ga Tech, Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington, Penn State, Texas, Florida, Tulane, Miami, Syracuse and Maryland.

Notice all the ACC and Big 10 and Pac 10 schools. And the lack of SEC schools. Is it a coincidence that the SEC has weak academic rankings and is the best football conference? And is it a coincidence that more and more talented recruits who want a good education and want to play in the SEC are choosing Vanderbilt? Maybe these rankings will help send a few more top recruits our way.