Who Needs a Blogpoll: Week Eleven - Another Boring Weekend

Pretty ho-hum Saturday, eh? Some thoughts, briefly, on why I have whom ranked where and the larger playoff landscape:

• The Big Twelve is finally beginning to sort itself out, with Baylor and TCU head and shoulders above the rest of the scrubs in that conference, and, with Baylor having the head to head win vs. the Horned Frogs, I'm pretty sure who I'd annoint as the conference rep in the Playoff

• Speaking of the Playoff, the SEC-West made a lot of committee decisions pretty easy yesterday. First, Mississippi State is your lone undefeated, and current number one. Auburn, dropping a painful, hilarious, and karma-confirming game to Texas A&M, has now fallen into third place with Ole Miss. Alabama with its win over LSU, and with Auburn's loss, now has sole possession of second place. Assuming every other favorite wins out from this point forward, this week's game in Tuscaloosa versus the Bulldogs is for the divisional crown, and, given the mess in the East, a Playoff spot. The only unknown is whether a one-loss divisional runner-up, like say MSU, could get the nod over another conference rep. This is exceptionally unlikely because...

• Ohio State has played the best football of anyone the past six weeks. Period. And last night was no exception. Despite some ST's miscues, the Buckeyes went to East Lansing and enacted a vintage Urban-esque scorched earth ass-whipping. Sorry, Braxton, you're not getting another start with the emergence of JT Barrett. If the Buckeyes win out, it'd be hard to keep them out. Then again, that SOS -and that woeful loss to the hapless Hokies, may be enough to shutout the Buckeyes and the Big Ten entirely. This committee is very focused on strength of schedule, and the Buckeyes' just won't have a great CV next to a one-loss SEC team or one-loss B12 runner-up.

• Oregon, per usual, has put ogether a quiet string of impressive wins over solid teams. Given Alabama's stagnation in the second half vs. Tennessee, and the absolute struggle to be marginally competent in Death Valley, I give the nod to Oregon as your runner-up.

• No one lost like Florida State lost yesterday. There is not a single marquee win on this schedule, and there is not likely to be unless and until the 'Noles make it to the Playoff and beat a big boy. Trotting out wins over soup cans like Louisville, Virginia etc only looks worse when you consider their sole resume-builder was...

• A Notre Dame team that, for all of Golson's tremendous talent, is just a hot mess with ball control, turnovers galore, secondary that is barely iff at times, and getting bullied up front. Arizona State, at a cozy 8-1, is your PAC12 South Winner. Barring some goofiness in the Territorial Cup, we have one helluva a Playoff-playoff game upcoming in the P12 Title tilt: Sun Devils vs. Ducks.

• Final note on snap decisions: No, Kansas State, Michigan State, Utah, and Auburn still don't suck as much as yesterday's quick box scores might indicate.

• That said, enjoy Gus Malzahn's Faustian pact finally expiring and the WNaBP thereafter!