To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, there are only two things in life that are certain – death and taxes. Well now you can add a third and fourth to that list. Unless Alabama or Florida State stumble in their remaining schedules they will play for the National Championship in the Rose Bowl on January 6, 2014. And if Ohio State and Baylor remain undefeated, their players, coaches, alumni and fans will be screaming bloody murder. The new rankings were released last night and there weren’t any major surprises, except perhaps that a one loss Stanford team (to a 4-5 Utah squad) is still sitting ahead of unbeaten Baylor.
Alabama 9-0 (.996) – Just another day in the office Saturday night for the Crimson Tide as they systematically took apart the previously 10th ranked LSU Tigers 38-17.
Florida State 9-0 (.962) – After whipping up on Wake Forest last weekend 59-3, they now control their own destiny and don’t need anyone else’s help after Oregon’s loss Thursday night. They just need to win out including the AAC Championship game.
Ohio State 9-0 (.893) –
The Buckeyes have no chance of moving up unless either ‘Bama or FSU lose. The Buckeye’s could very likely go undefeated in back-back-to-back seasons and not get a crack at the Championship.
Stanford 8-1 (.869) – The Cardinal dashed any hope Oregon had of playing for the crystal football this January by beating the Ducks 26-20 last Thursday, but are a long shot at best to play in the big game with the one loss on their record. Still hard to figure how they lost to the Utes.
Baylor 8-0 (.862) – The Bears made their statement last Thursday night with a 41-12 beat-down of the Sooners, but their lack of schedule strength will ultimately doom them. The one advantage they may have is playing in a conference without a championship game. A championship game is one more chance to lose for the teams ranked above them.
