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You people got a rebellious streak in you of late, zigging while the establishment zags. Uh, the establishment, such as it is, being the larger SBN-wide pool of voters. Alabama was No. 1 in the FanPulse top 25, while LSU topped BTP’s poll. This week, it’s the other way around.
Bama, LSU, Ohio State, and Clemson seem to be the consensus playoff field right now, but I am beginning to wonder if Clemson’s is going to get dinged significantly for the ACC’s terribleness. Might not matter in the end, but I’ll be curious how the first College Football Playoff rankings look.
BTP Top 25
| Rank | Team (W-L) |
|---|---|
| Rank | Team (W-L) |
| 1 | Alabama (8-0) |
| 2 | LSU (8-0) |
| 3 | Ohio State (8-0) |
| 4 | Clemson (8-0) |
| 5 | Penn State (8-0) |
| 6 | Florida (7-1) |
| 6 | Georgia (6-1) |
| 8 | Utah (7-1) |
| 9 | Baylor (7-0) |
| 10 | Oklahoma (7-1) |
| 11 | Oregon (7-1) |
| 12 | Auburn (6-2) |
| 12 | SMU (8-0) |
| 14 | Minnesota (8-0) |
| 15 | Notre Dame (5-2) |
| 16 | Cincinnati (6-1) |
| 17 | App State (7-0) |
| 18 | Wisconsin (6-2) |
| 19 | Wake Forest (6-1) |
| 20 | Michigan (6-2) |
| 21 | San Diego State (7-1) |
| 22 | Boise State (6-1) |
| 23 | Memphis (7-1) |
| 24 | Louisiana Tech (7-1) |
| 25 | Virginia Tech (5-2) |
Clemson is fortunate that Penn State and Ohio State are in the same division, so they can’t both show up in the Big Ten title game undefeated. That one B1G division being full of the heavyweights* makes it near-impossible for the league to successfully argue two teams in the playoffs. Might end up a pretty substantial break for the Tigers.
But they’ll still have to worry about being caught by Oklahoma or the Pac-12 champ—or at least not feel too great about their position, given the shoddy schedule strength.
(* On a side note, every time I get depressed thinking about how we’re stuck in Clemson’s division, I just think about Maryland. They’re stuck in a division with Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan. Heh. Suckers.)