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This is We're Talking 'Bout . . . Playoffs! in which we look at the latest College Football Playoff poll, which this week somehow still includes the Georgia Bulldogs. Crazy, right? First, the results:
| Rank | Team | Last week | Week 10 result | Toughest opponent left (per F/+) | If the season ended today ... |
| 1 | Mississippi State (8-0) | 1 | Won 17-10 vs. Arkansas | Ole Miss | Sugar Bowl vs. Oregon |
| 2 | Florida State (8-0) | 2 | Won 42-31 at No. 25 Louisville | Miami | Rose Bowl vs. Auburn |
| 3 | Auburn (7-1) | 3 | Won 35-31 at No. 4 Ole Miss | Alabama | Rose Bowl vs. Florida State |
| 4 | Oregon (8-1) | 5 | Won 45-16 vs. Stanford | Utah | Sugar Bowl vs. Mississippi State |
| 5 | Alabama (7-1) | 6 | Idle | Auburn | Orange Bowl |
| 6 | TCU (7-1) | 7 | Won 31-30 at No. 20 WVU | Kansas State | New Year's bowl |
| 7 | Kansas State (7-1) | 9 | Won 48-14 vs. Oklahoma St. | TCU | New Year's bowl |
| 8 | Michigan State (7-1) | 8 | Idle | Ohio State | New Year's bowl |
| 9 | Arizona State (7-1) | 14 | Won 19-16 vs. No. 17 Utah | Notre Dame | New Year's bowl |
| 10 | Notre Dame (7-1) | 10 | Won 49-39 at Navy | Louisville | New Year's bowl |
| 11 | Ole Miss (7-2) | 4 | Lost 35-31 vs. No. 3 Auburn | Mississippi State | New Year's bowl |
| 12 | Baylor (7-1) | 13 | Won 60-14 vs. Kansas | Oklahoma | |
| 13 | Nebraska (8-1) | 15 | Won 35-14 vs. Purdue | Wisconsin | |
| 14 | Ohio State (7-1) | 16 | Won 55-14 vs. Illinois | Michigan State | |
| 15 | Oklahoma (6-2) | 18 | Won 59-14 at Iowa St. | Baylor | |
| 16 | LSU (7-2) | 19 | Idle | Alabama | |
| 17 | Utah (6-2) | 17 | Lost 19-16 at No. 14 Arizona St. | Oregon | |
| 18 | UCLA (7-2) | 22 | Won 17-7 vs. No. 12 Arizona | USC | |
| 19 | Arizona (6-2) | 12 | Lost 17-7 at No. 22 UCLA | Arizona State | |
| 20 | Georgia (6-2) | 11 | Lost 38-20 vs. Florida | Auburn | |
| 21 | Clemson (6-2) | 21 | Idle | Georgia Tech | Orange Bowl |
| 22 | Duke (7-1) | 24 | Won 51-48 at Pittsburgh | Virginia Tech | |
| 23 | West Virginia (6-3) | 20 | Lost 31-30 vs. No. 7 TCU | Kansas State | |
| 24 | Georgia Tech (7-2) | NR | Won 35-10 vs. Virginia | Clemson | |
| 25 | Wisconsin (6-2) | NR | Won 37-0 at Rutgers | Nebraska |
Mississippi State remains at the top of the heap with fellow undefeated Florida State close behind at #2. Auburn remains #3 and Oregon breaks the monopoly of teams from the Gulf Coast region for the first time, replacing Ole Miss at #4 after the Rebels suffered a truly, horrendous last second loss to Auburn and dropped to #11. I cannot imagine that anyone on the committee actually watched that game, or they wouldn't have dropped the Rebels nearly as far as they did.
Georgia on the other hand is right where it belongs in my opinion at #20. After two really bad losses to teams at the bottom of the weaker of the two SEC divisions, that's about the best that can be hoped for. If (and this is a big if) the Bulldogs handle Kentucky and upset Auburn to win out in the SEC they stand a reasonable chance of getting back into the top 10-12 by the end of the season.
In other news, Kansas State jumped Michigan State after a solid 48-14 victory over Oklahoma State (in a battle royale of State schools). Arizona State rode a solid victory over #17 Utah into the top 10. And Georgia Tech crowd surfs a wave of ACC mediocrity into the rankings at #24.
To the extent that I can still muster the ability to care, I find myself agreeing with the top of the rankings (with the exception of that bizarre Ole Miss ranking). I think I could make an argument that Alabama should be in front of Oregon, but frankly that kind of smacks of a political appointment to me. Gotta put somebody from outside of SEC country in it, right? Though in fairness, after watching the Ducks dispatch Stanford last night on replay I was impressed. Marcus Mariota may be a gridiron robot whose AI is fourth generation. The guy just doesn't make a lot of bad decisions with the football.
But certainly there's something wrong with these rankings. I trust you, the Dawg Sports commentariat to find it in the comments below. Until later . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!