Mumme Poll, Week 14

Okay, it's been a couple of days and now I've had time to relax and reflect after Saturday. I've gone on to more constructive things like my weekly Mumme Poll! Results should be up at the Senator's site tomorrow. Top 5 are noted by asterisk, with explanations to follow:

Alabama*
Florida*
Texas*
Oklahoma*
USC*
Utah
Texas Tech
Penn State
Ohio State
Boise State
TCU
Ball State


-My top five hasn’t changed from the past week

-Alabama and Florida set to meet in one of the more anticipated SEC title games with a bid to the BCS National Championship Game on the line.

-Texas and Oklahoma finish tied in the Big 12 South with Oklahoma representing the South in the title game due to BCS rankings. I don’t know if one can say that Oklahoma was not deserving, but that’s sure got to sting for the people in Austin. I guess looking at the season as a whole, beating Cincinnati and TCU is more impressive than anything Texas did out of conference. I’m sure that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.

-USC put the proverbial final nail in Charlie Weis’ coffin on Saturday. How did this team lose to Oregon State?? Their defense took the 1st half of that game off and has been lights out the rest of the season. I’d love to see a USC/Florida bowl game.

-Utah is idle, likely has its bid to New Orleans locked up.

-Texas Tech squeaks by Baylor. I guess in the end, a Cotton Bowl bid isn’t a bad consolation, but it’s certainly strange that they were completely out of the running for the Big 12 South. The loss to Oklahoma certainly was crippling, but this team went from national title front runner to 3rd best team in the Big 12 in a week. Using the BCS was definitely the wrong way to go about it.

-Penn State locked up its Rose Bowl bid and was idle. Joe Paterno also had successful hip replacement surgery so hopefully he'll be on the sidelines for the game. Say what you will, but Joe Paterno should stick around as long as he wants. He's one of the reasons why I love college football so much more than the NFL. He's an institution.

-Ohio State, also idle, is looking at a BCS at-large bid. Who would have thought that after the demolition in LA back in September. Kudos to Jim Tressel for keeping the troops focused and to the rest of the Big 10 (outside of Penn State) for being a glorified pillow fight. The Big Ten is kinda like the SEC this year with a huge gap between the top and the middle.

-Boise State was idle this past week, but they likely won't get a BCS bid. Per Mark Schlabach's chat on ESPN.com today and here (H/T, Senator), the gears are turning to get a bowl matchup with Ball State. That could be exciting. Like the Senator, I remember that great Liberty Bowl in 2004 when Boise State played Louisville. Maybe the most exciting game I've ever watched.

-TCU is the next best team IMO so they get in.

-Ball State gets in b/c they’re undefeated. I wanted to put GA Tech here, but I can’t get over the thrashing by UNC, the near miss to Gardner Webb, and Virginia Tech game. Tech was no doubt impressive in its last two games, but they got beat by some pretty inferior competition this year. Then again, that's the story of the year in the ACC this year. Their slogan should be "Thursday night in the ACC!!: Where ranked teams go to die". Ball State gets in by default as I refuse to consider a Big East team or any other ACC team.

-This took me 15 minutes.

-The first 10 teams were pretty easy to pick, but the final two were a toss-up for me. I don’t think Boise or Ball State are great teams, but honestly who else are you going to put there? Missouri lost, Oklahoma State got thrashed to home, and Georgia played the most depressing game since the loss to Tech in 1999. Of the three loss teams, I believe Tech may be the best, but who knows.

I know everyone hates this word, but I think it rings truer today than ever in college football. Parity exists, folks. The top flight programs are still going to stay at the top, but with the spread of talent due to scholarship limitations, any team is vulnerable on any given Saturday.