Power Polling: Lotsa status quo
This week's ballot for the Athlon Sports mock playoff poll.
1. Florida State
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. TCU
5. Mississippi State
6. Baylor
7. Ohio State
8. UCLA
Notes:
*Only difference from last week's ballot is the removal of Ole Miss for a heinous loss to Arkansas and addition of UCLA into the top eight.
*UCLA's loss to Utah could end up hurting the Bruins badly if it prevents them from getting a second chance at beating Oregon.
*You'd think legendary filmmaker Jack Horner planting the spear before the game would have fired up FSU, but the Seminoles' performance was more Johnny Doe than Dirk Diggler.
*The Egg Bowl looks somewhere around pick 'em game as of now. Mississippi St. wouldn't blow that, right?
*We've reached the point where I predict how I would set the field should the rest of the season play out the way I'm projecting that it will:
- Rose Bowl: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Oregon
- Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Florida St. vs. No. 4 TCU
No change from last week. Boooor-ing.
I'm thisclose to picking Texas to crush the Horned Frogs' playoff dreams on Turkey Day. I haven't quite persuaded myself, though. As of now, I'm betting Texas Christian pulls out a tight one. If so, I'd make it my favorite for the last spot.
In terms of what the selection committee will do, prepare yourself for the Buckeyes sneaking past the Big 12 aspirants when they blast Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. It will help the committee avoid rewarding the Charmin-soft scheduling of Baylor and sidestep TCU's thorny head-to-head loss to the Bears.