The Playoff Poll

With every week that the college football playoff final rankings draw closer we get weekly debates on who belongs where. This week is no different for college football fans. Oregon stays at number two in the final four, while Alabama takes the number one spot on the basis of their victory over Mississippi State. I have no problem with the final four teams that came out today.

The only thing I would switch would be the order of the teams. Here is the order I would have: 1. Oregon  2. Alabama  3. Mississippi State  4. Florida State. I simply think that Oregon is the best team in the country with the best player in the country. Marcus Mariotta is the difference maker for the Ducks and should win the Heisman at the end of the season. He has put the Ducks on his shoulders and led them to victories that will get them to the Pac-12 Championship game.

Alabama just beat Mississippi State, but has a game with Auburn left in Tuscaloosa. They are hot and gained a lot of confidence from beating a top four team. The Tide is getting solid play out of their quarterback Blake Sims who has got better every week since the first week. Dare I say that Lane Kiffin is having an impact on the Alabama program? Who would have thought? However, the key for Bama is their defense. Their defense can carry this team to a championship, it’s not the offense. The offense is coming along much better now than it was earlier in the year. However, that would be expected under Coach Saban.

Mississippi State has played above its head all year. Nobody saw them coming at all. If someone besides an MSU student or alumni tells you that they saw this coming they are flat out lying to you. By losing on the road to Alabama by a close margin they assured themselves of a spot in the top four positions in the poll. They have a tough road to the final four playoff because if they win out, that means Alabama gets into the SEC Championship game due to their win over the Bulldogs. It’s going to be an interesting finish for Mississippi State no doubt. They need to win and hope the Crimson Tide lose at some point.

Last, and certainly, not least there is the enigma known as Florida State. They are a curious team to me because they are undefeated, but are not playing like a top four team. They get everybody’s best shot and are the ones with the win at the end of the game. However, I would not have a problem with them being left out of the top four at some point. If it wasn’t for an offensive pass interference call with Notre Dame, they would have a loss. They came close again this past weekend with a tight game with the Miami Hurricanes. Miami really should have won that game, but didn’t make plays when they should have. Florida State did and walked out of South Florida with a win. It just seems with every win they get that is a struggle for them. Now, they lost a lot of some pretty good offensive power to the NFL and that is apparent, but if you are a great team you should work through the tough times to find the rhythm that is needed to be dominant. I don’t think they have found that complete flow yet, and if they lose in the next few weeks, then they are out. Nole fans are a bit nervous, but if they keep winning the playoff committee will have them in the top four.

All in all, the top four is solid. I would just switch the order of the teams is all I would do. If the National Championship was tonight I would like to see an Oregon/Alabama final game. In the end, all of this works itself out. As I have stated before, I absolutely love the chaos that is happening before all this dust settles.