Eastern Washington Ranked No. 25 By Ray Ratto Of San Francisco Chronicle

If you bet a writer from San Francisco cast a vote for FCS champion Eastern Washington in the AP Poll, congratulations! Ray Ratto, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, was the only voter in the poll to rank the Eagles, placing them at No. 25 on his ballot. It was that vote that put the Eagles into the “others receiving votes” category, giving them a bit of notoriety after a great season.

Other than Eastern, his ballot isn’t incredibly extreme. He sticks with the party line, ranking Auburn No. 1, TCU No. 2 and Oregon No. 3. The other “extreme” votes in his ballot: Michigan State at No. 10, Nebraska at No. 14 and Alabama at No. 16. His ranking of the Huskers and Spartans were the highest of any pollster and his ranking of Alabama was the lowest. At the bottom of his poll, he had Hawaii ranked 24th, the highest of anyone that voted.

I’m sure Eastern Washington is thankful for Ratto’s acknowledgement of their accomplishments. Hey, maybe he just likes the Eagles and the red turf at Roos Field!

College Football Rankings: Eastern Washington, Washington Receive Votes In Final Polls

The final AP and USA Today Coaches' Polls are out and, among the expected teams in the rankings, two local schools garnered some attention. In both polls, Auburn is, predictably, ranked No. 1, followed by TCU and Oregon. Look closely at the others receiving votes category, though. In the Coaches' Poll, the Washington Huskies received a vote after their upset win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In the AP Poll, the Eastern Washington Eagles -- from lower division FCS -- received a vote. Hilarity!

Eastern finished the season ranked No. 1 in the FCS polls after a thrilling, comeback win over Delaware in the FCS Championship. The Eagles finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the poll before surviving the playoffs and bringing a title home to Spokane. Their body of work impressed on AP voter, apparently, earning them a single No. 25 ranking on a ballot.

Washington, on the other hand, never sniffed the polls during the back-half of the season. At 7-6, the Huskies record is far from impressive, yet they still ended up with a single No. 25 ranking in the Coaches Poll. Guess a win over Nebraska in a bowl game goes a long way.

Two Washington schools, both receiving a vote in one of the final polls for different reasons. Whatever the reason, it's a cool little tidbit for college football fans in the state.