The Seminole/Irish match up yesterday was a good one and no mistake. Notre Dame lost on the back of a semi controversial call against them in the last seconds or they would have had the FSU cold. Notre Dame is for real and will move up in the rankings despite the loss. Question is; could the Noles and/or the Fighting Irish play with and have a better than even chance against the best of the best of the SEC? Probably so. It is entirely possible that one or both of them will meet an SEC opponent in the upcoming college football "playoff." Of course there are a couple of Big Ten teams to consider along with perhaps one out of the PAC 12 and one or two out of the Big Twelve. A lot of football left to be played before we get to that.....
However this newfangled "playoff" works out we can be sure of one thing. It will leave some deserving teams out in the cold. Probably won't be much (if any) better than the much maligned and now defunct BCS.
On to the BartenderCabbie System Top 25....
1. Ole Miss: A trouncing of a lower middle of the pack SEC opponent keeps them in the number one spot.
2. FSU: Close call with the Irish. Not much left on their schedule.
3. Mississippi State: Idle.
4. Alabama: Redemption of sorts with them absolutely destroying the Aggies. Kiffin lives to fight another day? One can bet Nick won't put up with any losing ways..........
5. Auburn: Idle.
6. Notre Dame: This team is for real. Perhaps (just perhaps) ranked a bit low.
7. Oregon: The only PAC 12 team that matters as far as the national picture goes. Well probably. The PAC 12 has a lot of parity it seems.
8. Michigan State: A good ball team. Better than Ohio State at this point? Time will tell.
9. Ohio State: Moving up. Getting past the stigma of the early season defeat at the hands of a mediocre Hokie squad.
10. TCU: Better than anyone expected. Let one get away a couple of weeks back.
11. Kansas State: Snyder has a tough schedule remaining. If they run the table?.........
12. Georgia: Best of the second tier SEC teams.
13. Baylor: A lot of people not totally surprised that WVU topped the Bears. The BartenderCabbie system picked them for the win but it was noted that they did have trouble getting their offense started a while back against the Longhorns. Of course there was the huge comeback on the Frogs.......The Bears are a good team that can play with anyone on a good day but might falter to just above average teams on a bad one.
14. Oklahoma: Still in the Big Twelve race but likely knocked out of contention for the national "playoffs."
15. Arizona: Benefit of the doubt.
16. Arizona State: Ditto
17. West Virginia: Dana may keep his job if this continues.
18. East Carolina: A dangerous squad for anyone outside the Top 10. Perhaps a problem for a few in that are in that elite bunch.
19. Nebraska: Perhaps ranked a bit high here. Time will tell.
20. Minnesota: The Gophers are having a dream season as far as such things go. Can they sustain?
21. Marshall: See East Carolina. Same thing here. Only team left on the schedule who could give them problems would be Rice. The Owls would have to have an exceptionally good day and catch the Herd on a bad one.
22. Utah: Been a while but in the PAC 12 anything seems possible
23. USC: Better than when Kiffin was there. To be sure.
24. Clemson: Had their troubles last Saturday. Wishy washy group.
25. LSU: Had a good game against a better than average Kentucky squad. Will they be able to continue forward?
Teams right on the edge.
1. Duke: Quietly building a good season. Well coached bunch.
2. UCLA: Perhaps. Can be dangerous to anyone on a good day.
3. Colorado State: Is this the best of the Mountain West? Hard to say. Toss up likely between the Rams and the Broncos.
4. Louisville: OK. Perhaps. Petrino does know how to win.
5. BYU: I'm not counting them out to fight their way back into the Top 25. Tough one with Boise coming up.
Teams with a shot of entry - in no particular order
1. Houston: Improving it seems. QB change seemed to do wonders. Handled a better than usual Temple squad with relative ease.
2. Oklahoma State: Can be pretty good. Can be very bad.
4. Stanford: May yet make it in.
5. Boise State: Not a major player in the national picture for a couple of seasons but a very good Mountain West team. Dangerous.
6. Memphis: Look for the Tigers to make further moves in the AAC.
7. Arkansas: If they would quit shooting themselves in the foot this would be a good team. Needs a kicking game to be sure. Dismal.
8. Mizzou: Hard to gauge. Can look good. Can look bad.
9. Kentucky: Has a tough row to hoe the remainder of the season. If they bounce back they could conceivably make it in. Might surprise some folk before all is said and done.
10. South Carolina: I would not count out Spurrier's bunch just yet.
11. Texas Agriculture: They looked terrible against the Tide. Horrific. They are not that bad. Are they?
13. North Dakota State: Would have a shot if they played in the upper division. They don't.
14. Maryland: I don't know. They got some votes. The Turtles in the Big Ten just doesn't seem right to me.
15. Miami: Could make some noise before all is said and done.
16. Arkansas State: Perhaps if they run the table in the Sun Belt and some (quite a few) folks falter. Long shot. Probably the best of the SBC. Has a tough one with the Cajuns upcoming.
17. Wisconsin: A pretty good Big Ten team.
18. Georgia Tech: Probably not.
19. UCF: Good team in the AAC. Has a shot at the top spot in that conference and reaching a pretty decent bowl game.
20. PSU: Perhaps. Franklin is a good coach. Maybe next year?
21. Temple: Unlikely.
22. Rutgers: Ditto.
23. Georgia Southern: Unlikely to be sure but they are 4-0 in conference play. Will be a good SBC team before all is said and done.
Have a good week and enjoy the games.
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