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The Associated Press says there won’t be a revote for the 2004 national championship.

That’s a shame, too.

I thought at the time that Auburn at least deserved a shot at the championship, and in many ways, was the best team in the country.

After all, go back and check how many times over the past two decades that an SEC team has run the table with an unblemished record.

The answer: Four.

Alabama did it in 1992 and again last season. Both were national championship clubs. Tennessee did it in 1998 and also won the national championship.

The fourth was Auburn in 2004.

It stung then that the Tigers didn’t get piece of college football’s top prize, and it stings even more now that the NCAA says Reggie Bush was ineligible and should have never been allowed to play on that 2004 USC team.

BCS chairman Bill Hancock says if the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee rules that the Trojans should vacate their 2004 national championship, there would be no BCS champion for that particular season.

That’s about as hollow as it gets if you’re walking in Auburn’s shoes, especially when you consider how talented, how balanced and how deserving that 2004 team truly was.

ESPN.com recently took a look back at the past decade in college football, and I ranked that 2004 Auburn team No. 3 in the SEC behind Alabama’s national championship team last season and Florida’s national championship team in 2008.

You want talent?

The Tigers produced four first-round selections in the 2005 NFL draft, including three of the top nine picks. Eight of the 11 starters on defense went on to play in the NFL.

Only two teams in 2004 came within single digits of the Tigers, who beat five top-15 teams nationally on their way to a 13-0 finish. As a comparison, Alabama and Florida each beat just four top-15 teams the past two years en route to their national titles.

One of the things that will always stick out to me about that Auburn team was the incredible speed the Tigers stockpiled on defense. There weren’t marquee names all over the place, but everybody could run.

Maybe that’s why Auburn finished No. 1 nationally that season in scoring defense, allowing just 147 points in 13 games. That’s an average of 11.3 points per game. The second-place team that season (Virginia Tech) was pushing 13 points per game (12.8).

Moreover, Auburn surrendered just four rushing touchdowns all season and didn’t give up any touchdowns on the ground in the first eight games.

The other thing about the 2004 Tigers was how balanced they were. As good as they were on defense –- coordinated by current Auburn coach Gene Chizik -- they were equally potent on offense.

Auburn finished 18^th nationally in scoring offense, and Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown combined for 2,078 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. Quarterback Jason Campbell passed for 2,700 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Tigers scored 30 points or more in nine of their 13 games.

The only knock against that team was its soft nonconference schedule. The Tigers beat up on Louisiana-Monroe, The Citadel and Louisiana Tech.

Nonetheless, it’s a team to remember and a team that deserved better than it received.

It did then and does so even more now.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Mark Ingram readily admits that his life has been crazy the past four months.

As the first Heisman Trophy winner in Alabama history, he’s been mobbed everywhere he goes. He’s even had professors asking for autographs before class.

One thing that won’t be crazy next fall, though, is how Alabama splits up the carries between Ingram and sophomore Trent Richardson. Ingram received the lion’s share a year ago, but it will probably be closer to a 50-50 split in 2010.

And that’s not a problem with Ingram.

“We’re always going to be fresh,” said Ingram, who rushed for 1,658 yards last season and carried the ball 271 times. “Whenever I’m tired, he’s coming in fresh. Whenever he’s tired, I’m coming back in fresh. That defense is going to have a fresh pair of legs coming at them all game, and all that’s going to do is make both of us better.”

Richardson rushed for 751 yards on 145 carries as a freshman and may be Alabama’s most explosive back. But he can also pound, which is what makes the Ingram-Richardson tandem so hard on defenses.

“They wear down, especially when it gets in the fourth quarter,” said Ingram, who had 1,075 yards after contact in 2009. “You can tell by their body language, and they don’t want to tackle you anymore. That’s how we play as a team. We want to wear teams down. The wide receivers play that way. The offensive line plays that way, and we play that way.”

From a defensive player’s perspective, linebacker Dont’a Hightower said it’s a nightmare going up against a running back duo as well-rounded as Ingram and Richardson. Remember that Ingram also caught 32 passes last season.

“I don’t know how you can game plan for two guys like Mark and Trent,” Hightower said. “Most teams will have a big, power back and then another guy they bring in who’s a speed back, so you can get your defensive personnel on the field depending on who’s out there. But with Mark and Trent, you’ve got strength, power and speed with both of them.

“You can’t adjust on defense. I don’t see how you can stop them.”

Ingram is a little more succinct.

“We shouldn’t be anything but a headache for teams,” he said.

The SEC has seen its share of talented running back combos in recent years. Arkansas’ Darren McFadden and Felix Jones each surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in both the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and both were first-round draft choices.

Auburn’s Ronnie Brown was drafted second overall in the 2005 NFL draft, and his backfield mate, Carnell Williams, went fifth overall in that same draft. Williams rushed for 1,165 yards during the 2004 season and Brown 913 yards in leading the Tigers to a 13-0 record.

Now it’s Ingram and Richardson’s turn to see what kind of numbers they can put up. They enter the 2010 season as the two best backs in the SEC, and they also have talented skill players around them at receiver.

So, it’s not like defenses can load up just to stop them.

“Those two guys are the backbone,” Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said. “When we need a couple of yards, they’re going to get it. If we have third-and-5, we’re not going to be afraid to run it with those guys. I can’t tell you how much better that makes you as an offense.”

Considering that five of the national championships last decade were won by SEC teams, picking the top teams of the decade within the conference shouldn’t be too hard, right?

The hard part is holding it to 10, and even harder is ranking the 10.

Here’s what we came up with based on the overall strength of the team, the overall talent on the team, what the team accomplished that particular season (quality wins, overall record, road wins) and how impressive the team was during the season:

1. Alabama 2009: The Crimson Tide were the last BCS national champion of the decade, not to mention one of the most impressive. They beat four top-10 teams on their way to becoming the first 14-0 national champion in SEC history. They also produced six first-team All-Americans, including the Heisman Trophy winner and Butkus Award winner. They finished second nationally in total defense and scoring defense. Bottom line: It's hard to find many flaws with the 2009 Crimson Tide.

2. Florida 2008: The Gators (13-1) weren’t unblemished in their sprint to the 2008 national championship. But after losing to Ole Miss by a point in September, they were pretty close to perfect the rest of the way. They won their last 10 games by an average margin of 33.8 points, and the closest anybody came to them was 10 points. The combo of Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin on offense was virtually unstoppable, and Charlie Strong’s defense shut down Oklahoma’s record-setting offense in the BCS National Championship Game.

3. Auburn 2004: Some might be surprised to see the Tigers ranked ahead of three of the SEC national champions from last decade. But that Auburn team was one of the most talented of the last two decades, producing four first-round NFL draft picks. The Carnell Williams-Ronnie Brown backfield tandem was as good as it gets, and the Tigers (13-0) wound up beating five top-15 teams. They were squeezed out of the BCS National Championship Game and had to settle for the Sugar Bowl instead, where they beat Virginia Tech to finish No. 2 in both polls.

4. LSU 2003: It was Nick Saban’s first national championship, and not surprisingly, it was an LSU team built on defense. Marcus Spears and Chad Lavalais were the anchors of a dominant defensive front. The Tigers (13-1) lost at home to Florida in October, but battled back to get themselves in position. The key win was beating No. 15 Ole Miss on the road, and they then took care of No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Oklahoma in the SEC and BCS national championship games to earn the BCS national title. Southern California was voted the national champion in the Associated Press poll. Seven players from that LSU team were taken in the 2004 NFL draft.

5. Florida 2006: In only his second season at Florida, Urban Meyer led the Gators (13-1) to their first of two national championships last decade. They were the picture of resiliency. Time and time again, they escaped with clutch plays or narrow victories and then played their best football when it counted -- blowing out Arkansas in the SEC championship game and then Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game. Jarvis Moss’ blocked field goal saved the Gators against South Carolina, and they also escaped at Tennessee by a point. Their only loss that season was on the road at Auburn.

6. LSU 2007: There’s no question that the 2007 LSU team had some good fortune fall its way and the right teams lost at the end of the season, enabling the Tigers (12-2) to get into the BCS National Championship Game. Nonetheless, they were an immensely talented team and fielded one of the fiercest defenses the league saw last decade, led by Outland Trophy winner and Lombardi Award winner Glenn Dorsey. LSU pummeled Ohio State 38-24 in the BCS National Championship game. Both of the Tigers’ losses came in triple overtime, including a 50-48 loss to unranked Arkansas at home on the final weekend of the regular season.

7. Georgia 2002: The Bulldogs (13-1) broke a 20-year drought with their first SEC championship since the Vince Dooley days. A 20-13 loss to Florida kept them out of the national championship race, but they rebounded to win their next five games, capped by a 26-13 victory over No. 16 Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Two linemen on that team -- Johnathan Sullivan and George Foster -- were first-round draft picks in the 2003 draft. The Bulldogs finished third in the polls.

8. Tennessee 2001: It was easily Tennessee’s most talented team of the decade, and the Vols appeared to be on their way to playing for a second national championship in four years in the Rose Bowl. But they were upset by LSU in the SEC championship game. That’s after taking down No. 2 Florida at the Swamp a week earlier to clinch the Eastern Division title. The Vols (11-2) went on to crush Michigan in the Florida Citrus Bowl after falling to LSU. The following April, three players from that team were taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Tennessee finished fourth in the polls.

9. Florida 2001: Steve Spurrier has called it the best team he coached at Florida that didn’t win an SEC championship. The Gators (10-2) lost two heart-breakers to Auburn and Tennessee. Florida was ranked No. 2 when it lost at home to the Vols and was in great shape to play in the BCS National Championship game. That Tennessee game was pushed back to the end of the season because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Eight players from that Florida team were drafted in April. The Gators’ 56-23 blowout of No. 6 Maryland in the Orange Bowl was Spurrier’s last game at Florida. He left for the NFL to coach the Washington Redskins.

10. LSU 2006: You want talent? Go back and check out that 2006 LSU team. The Tigers (11-2) had four players selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, including two of the top six picks. Their only losses that season were on the road at No. 3 Auburn and No. 5 Florida, but they rebounded to win their last seven games and took apart No. 11 Notre Dame 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl. The Tigers finished third in the polls and would end up winning the national title the next season.

Now that we’ve unveiled our players of the decade and moments of the decade in the SEC, it’s worth looking at those players that didn’t make the list that probably should have.

After all, when you start listing great players over an entire decade in the SEC, the names start pouring through your mind. There just are so many of them.

The guy who was the hardest for me to leave off the Top 10 was Auburn running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. He rushed for 45 career touchdowns and teamed with Ronnie Brown on that unbeaten 2004 Auburn club to form one of the best running back combos in SEC history.

Right behind Williams was Georgia quarterback David Greene, who was the winningest quarterback in major college football history until Colt McCoy passed him this season. Greene remains the SEC career leader with 11,528 passing yards from 2001-04.

I also thought long and hard about Arkansas offensive tackle Shawn Andrews, Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith and Auburn offensive tackle Marcus McNeil. They would have been my top three offensive linemen.

Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson won the Outland Trophy in 2000 and was a finalist in 2001. Leaving him off was difficult. Alabama linebacker DeMeco Ryans was another outstanding defender that just missed the cut.

Another quarterback who deserves mention is Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler, especially when you look at the numbers he put up during the 2005 season and the way he helped elevate the program.

Georgia's Matthew Stafford was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft, and Kentucky's Andre Woodson threw 79 career touchdown passes, ranking him fifth all-time in the SEC.

Two of the best receivers of the decade were Vanderbilt’s Earl Bennett and LSU’s Josh Reed.

There are many more, too. But I just wanted to provide a glimpse of some of the other great players in this conference who were considered.