Top 25 Shakedown

Courtesy of gannet.cdn

I will be updating this post after the College Football Playoff Selection but I wanted to allow everyone a look into my top 25 headed into tonight's selection. So, without further ado, the CFP Top 25 presented by Right of Centerfield:

1. Alabama
Many questions rolled in after the Ole Miss loss. Is Blake Sims the quarterback for Saban? Where's the defense that we've come to know and love to hate? Those questions simply piled up after a one point win at Arkansas. Why isn't Jake Cocker starting? Seriously, what is going on with the offense? The Crimson Tide shut down many critics with their destruction of the Aggies. Their defense was on point and their offense was spectacular. That's how you score 59 unanswered points. But that was in Tuscaloosa, so not all the critics were convinced. Then Lane Kiffin made his "homecoming" (not as fun as most homecomings) and Bama looked like the dynastic team of old. Amari Cooper, once again, emerged as the man for the Tide with 200+ yards and two scores. Now the Tide has the week off and time to prepare for Les Miles in Death Valley. That game will decide the fate of Alabama. If they win, they'll roll over the last three games (all at home) over the state of Mississippi with a "bye week" in between. If they lose, the Tide won't be able to come back and beat Prescott the following week.
2. Mississippi State
The defense isn't what we had come to expect from SEC royalty. They've let up 23+ in all four SEC games. However, when you have a quarterback as efficient as Dak Prescott, you can afford to let up a few points. Dak is responsible for 25 touchdowns thus far. Yes, 25. He also has 2,358 all purpose yards and has spread the ball around so much that nine different receivers have at least one score and seven have double digit receptions and triple digit receiving yards. Then there's the 10 touchdowns on the ground paired with 10 more from Josh Robinson. All around, offensively, outside of the Big 12, Oregon, and Michigan State you'd be hard pressed to find such a complete offense. The Bulldogs have a relatively easy schedule considering they play Arkansas, UT Martin (their next two games) and Vanderbilt at home. Of course, they travel to Alabama and Ole Miss for the Egg Bowl, but for now the Bulldogs should be safe.
3. Florida State
Go ahead and hand the ACC to Jimbo and Winston. A comeback against a defense that got completely demoralized at half (no idea why, they had let up 7 points and had two interceptions to Famous Jameis) and a schedule that features four teams with a combined 17-13 record the Noles' toughest test left? A visit from Boston College who will have a week off between Louisville and FSU. Of course, the way the Noles have played this season don't expect them to cruise, but with the team, skill and luck they have I won't be betting against them anymore in the regular season. But then there's Duke in the championship game. The same Duke team that went to and exposed Georgia Tech earlier this year. So, maybe I shouldn't give away the ACC so easy.
4. Oregon
Sure, the Heisman candidate threw a pick. One pick. On 218 attempts. I think it's safe to say Marcus is Heisman worthy. That is if he can finally conquer his Kryptonite this weekend. Stanford has played spoiler the past two seasons for the Ducks, handing them their first loss of the season both times Mariota has played them. They don't get that chance this time with Arizona playing spoiler earlier on this season. However, Marcus and Co. haven't lost a step by putting up 42+ in their last three contests. The next two weeks will be crucial for the Ducks' playoff hopes when they host the Cardinal and travel to Utah to take on a surprisingly good group of Utes. Beating Stanford will simply be the next logical step forward for the Ducks and Mariota who is putting together a spectacular season all around.
5. Auburn
6. Notre Dame
Notre Dame will need to prove they won't allow the FSU "loss" to define their season by taking down Navy this weekend before a trip to Arizona State and their toughest road game the rest of the way against the Sun Devils. Golson still remains one of the top quarterbacks in the fourth quarter and Corey Robinson and Tarean Folston get better each game. The Notre Dame defense will need to forget about Rashad Greene, not look ahead to Arizona State and simply focus on this triple option offense of Navy's that has yet to be slowed as much as it has been countered. The Midshipmen have tripped up the Irish three of the last seven meetings but Golson had no trouble with them in his debut two years ago when the Irish demolished Navy 50-10. The Notre Dame defense has limited Navy's rushing attack to 345 yards total over the past two contests. Navy has been averaging 352 yards per game this year. Something is going to have to give. The Irish need to make sure it's not on their end if they want to stay in the playoff hunt.
7. Michigan State
8. Georgia
9. TCU
If you forget about the last 11:38 of that trip to Baylor, like the Horned Frogs would love the playoff selection committee to do, TCU is perfect on the season. They put up more points than most scorekeepers can handle which comes from having one of the most potent offense in the country. Trevone Boykin is making a Heisman case and their schedule isn't all that difficult after the next two big tests. The first will be a true test of two rising programs on Saturday when TCU travels to West Virginia, both coming off of huge wins. Boykin will need to settle in and control the tempo and clock much like he did against Baylor. Their defense will need to limit Clint Trickett who has accounted for eight touchdowns and two interceptions over the last four games. If TCU can take down the Mountaineers on the road that Baylor meltdown might be forgiven by the playoff committee.
10. Ole Miss
11. Kansas State
12. Ohio State
13. LSU
The Tigers are the best two loss team in the country, no doubt. Especially when the only losses are to Mississippi State and Auburn. Two quality losses right there. However, LSU hasn't been consistent this season with their most complete game (against an FPI top 50 team) being when they ripped apart Kentucky at home 41-3. The previous game they were almost beaten by a much-maligned Florida team that had barely beaten Tennessee. Then their defense showed up and shutdown Bo Wallace in Death Valley and their offense did just enough against the stingy Ole Miss defense in a 10-7 win. Now the Tigers get the week off to prepare for Nick Saban and the Tide. A Death Valley showdown with serious SEC implications will be their last true test of the season. Their final two games are on the road but against the welcome mats of the SEC West; Arkansas and Texas A&M.
14. Arizona State
15. Arizona
16. Nebraska
17. West Virginia
18. Utah
19. Marshall
Rakeem Cato deserves a Heisman for the year he is having. But then again, maybe if Mariota and Prescott weren't playing he'd get one. Cato has accounted for 25 (yeah, the same has Prescott) touchdowns this year, 2,385 all purpose yards and an 8-0 record. Unfortunately, as great as the Herd have played- they've scored 35+ in all their games while allowing only two opponents to top 17- there is only about a 4% chance that they will even be considered for the playoff and that's only if every single Power 5 champion has three losses and the Herd stays perfect. Their highest FPI opponent was Middle Tennessee (76) but no statement games and not a single power 5 opponent dooms the Herd's playoff chances. However, a top 16 ranking would earn them a spot in another New Years Bowl, as long as they can beat out East Carolina.
20. East Carolina
21. Clemson
22. Baylor
23. Duke
24. Louisville
Well there went that prediction. Almost no way the Cardinals can bounce back from that demoralizing second half against FSU. Especially with Boston College, Notre Dame and Kentucky left on their schedule. They will get a late bye between Boston College and Notre Dame coming to town. And to think, Ville was up 21-0 with less than a minute left in the first half over Famous Jameis. The Noles just showed they might just be the best second half team in the country.
25. Wisconsin

#1 Alabama plays #4 Oregon
#2 Mississippi State plays #3 Florida State

These picks are based on Strength of Schedule, W/L record, FPI, difficulty of remaining schedule and gut instinct. These are by no means final predictions, but after seven or eight games, this is my view for how things have shaken out so far. No other polls were used to determine the top 25.


Well, that was a shakeup. Two of my Top 25 didn't even make the selection committee's rankings (Marshall and Wisconsin) while Oklahoma and UCLA both appeared in the selection. Five CFP Top 25 games this weekend will help clear the air a bit starting with a marquee matchup between Florida State and Louisville at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. The scoreboard breaking TCU Horned Frogs will take on the red hot Mountaineers in West Virginia, Arizona will travel to up and down UCLA and a matchup of Top 20 teams will pit the Utes against the Sun Devils for control of the PAC 12 South. However, the biggest matchup that will ultimately go lightyears in confirming the fate of two of the top 4 playoff teams takes place in Oxford when Auburn visits the Rebs who will be looking to bounce back from a trip to Death Valley.

FCTS 4 FCKH8

Recently the supposed "fighters of inequality" at FCKH8 got together a bunch of edgy eight to thirteen year old girls who like to cuss to take on the patriarchy that we live in today. Oh, yeah, spoiler alert for all those reading: a country where more women than men vote and more men than women are incarcerated is, in fact, a patriarchal society. The girls dressed up as princesses and then decided to adopt multiple feminist principles that are more edgy than dropping an F bomb online.

Feminist principle number one
The Wage Gap Myth
If you haven't heard this one, go look it up, it's a doozy. Supposedly, according to feminists, women are paid 23% less than men in today's job market. That would be 77 cents on the dollar. This would mean that the ladies I've worked with are getting paid less than I was for the same work and I, as well as they, should be truly outraged. 

Except, it's not true, at least where it matters and makes sense. And it's been proven many, many times over and even by feminists.

That 23 cent differential is true. Women do make 23% less than men. Total. For all full time workers. From secretaries to engineers and professors of Women's Studies to professors of Biology. There is a gap. But, that gap isn't gender specific if you actually look at the careers. Teachers, on average, are not paid nearly as much as engineers and very few Women's Studies profs are raking in the big bucks on salary alone. These jobs don't just come out of nowhere and are, in fact, chosen by each gender rather disproportionally by the time they graduate college.

So, let's take a look at this phenomenon.

We need to look at the majors that men and women choose and what sort of revenue those majors bring in. Luckily enough, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce has already compiled this list for us.

The top 10 most lucrative majors?

1. Petroleum Engineering: 87% male
2. Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration: 48% male
3. Mathematics and Computer Science: 67% male
4. Aerospace Engineering: 88% male
5. Chemical Engineering: 72% male
6. Electrical Engineering: 89% male
7. Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering: 97% male
8. Mechanical Engineering: 90% male
9. Metallurgical Engineering: 83% male
10. Mining and Mineral Engineering: 90% male

Notice anything? All but one of these majors is predominantly male driven. In fact, only two have less than 83% male membership. Makes you wonder what women are majoring in then... Well, don't fear! Georgetown has this covered as well. 

The 10 least lucrative majors?

1. Counseling Psychology: 74% female
2. Early Childhood Education: 97% female
3. Theology and Religious Vocations: 34% female
4. Human Services and Community Organization: 81% female
5. Social Work: 88% female
6. Drama and Theater Arts: 60% female
7. Studio Arts: 66% female
8. Communication Disorders Sciences and Services: 94% female
9. Visual and Performing Arts: 77% female
10. Health and Medical Preparatory Programs: 55% female

A trend? I think so. But, let's not be hasty, as Treebeard would say, there must be some solid reason these princesses of the F bomb are so pissed off about money- other than indoctrination into a bigoted movement.

Surely, FCKH8's message isn't that teachers, social workers, and those in the theater should be making as much as engineers, right?

Well, I truly hope not, because that won't be happening anytime soon, seeing as early childhood educators and social workers (regardless of gender) are making close to $37,000 a year while petroleum engineers are making upwards of $120,000. And it shouldn't.

So, once again, why are these little cursing divas getting so upset that women are free to choose what fields they go into? Are we supposed to be forcing girls to follow career paths they don't want to be on just to make ourselves look and feel good when the headlines come out reading:

EQUALITY ABOUNDS, WOMEN MAKE UP 50% OF ALL JOBS

Applaud yourself if you wish, but that seems to be more than a little bigoted and "pro-force" than my taste. Now, I'm all for more women in STEM fields and more men teaching- granted I had quite a few going through high school, but to force girls, or boys, into careers they don't want is not going to make the world go round. In fact doing so may make the world stop spinning if competent men and women are pushed into areas they are not prepared/ have desire to be in. As many know, "choose a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life," is truer than most work related quotes.

Then there's a few other things to think about when it comes to the 23% disparity in wages:
Men take more dangerous jobs- loggers, pilots, roofers, construction laborers- than their female counterparts and thus earn more money doing that. Should your life be worth less just to make the gender wage gap disintegrate? I should hope not.
Men work, on average, 6 hours more per week than women. Should their pay be docked simply because they stay at the office longer, on average? I think most men in the work force pray that's not the case (or maybe it is and they can leave their job earlier).
Women business owners (the CEOs and self-employed) make less than their male counterparts. Why's that? Because somehow men just get more money from society and don't have to pay as many expenses? Doubtful. It's actually got more to do with women not being as motivated by money as men are, by almost 50%.

Feminist principle number two
Rape and Violence
"One out of every five women will be raped or sexually assaulted by a man in their lifetime."
Another horrid claim and another atrocity of society. If it's true. However, this claim is founded in one study done in 2007 at two large universities and a possible inflated amount of victims responding to the study rather than non-victims. The stigma of rape and violence happening strictly to women is even more detrimental to society than these misguided numbers though.

More detrimental? How's that? Women are the only ones to ever get raped or attacked at night, right?

Where'd you get that idea? Because "1 in 5" women and only 1 in 71 men are raped at some point in their lives? I'll give that to ya, it seems like a very, very large gap and makes rape appear to be a very gender-based crime rather than a person on person crime, until you realize two things:
1. The FBI's UCR program specifically says that men cannot be raped and thus any reported male rapes are put under the umbrella of assault.
2. And, until recently, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) said that a man could not be raped by another man.
Now, I don't believe that this closes the gap exponentially but it does give some perspective to the gender-gap in rape statistics and makes this not a gender issue but a human issue, as egalitarians everywhere would like the world to understand.

If we look at it the numbers a whole, approximately 20% of the population (men and women) will experience rape at some point in their life-- and that's going off of the old system that says men cannot be raped by other men (or cannot be raped in general). That is a vast number of people- 63.8 million in fact- who are affected, directly, by rape.

And yet we are still fighting to make this a women vs men crime and making men, as a whole, out to be the bad guys. This often ends up leaving male victims out because they cannot or will not come forward due to the stigma that a man cannot be raped because "you must have wanted it, you had an erection!"- a quote I myself have heard when a friend was told about a male acquaintance's rape.

Rape and violence in general is not a gendered problem and the answer is not "teach boys not to rape." We already teach them not to rape; more than we teach women to be self aware- slut shamers that we are. Rape, is not, has not, and will never be an okay thing. Just as most anyone with morals can tell you that murder or theft or arson are criminal and immoral acts, rape is viewed with an even bigger stigma than those crimes and will forever be viewed as more heinous.

FCKH8 has attempted to do something in today's social media driven culture, but beyond making cash off the hot button issues of the world- a beautiful business idea I must say- I don't see what it is. Their videos use children in provocative emotional appeals to take down the patriarchy or white privilege. That's nothing more than blatant indoctrination into a society that hates the mere idea of equality, because when equality comes about, what happens to these people? They have to invent new inequalities to fight "for."

When Bowl Eligibility Comes A-Knocking

Four teams couldn't get to the door and will have to wait until this weekend for their chance at sealing a ticket to eligibility. In fact, 17 teams will be fighting for eligibility this weekend.
Six teams answered the call for bowl eligible through seven weeks of football and two of them play each other this weekend in Tallahassee while two more meet in Oxford to end the season. The showdown in Tallahassee will be the biggest game before the CFP selection committee releases their first ranking of the season near the end of October. But the fun doesn't stop at one loss in the playoff era of college football so it's time to take a look at some of those not quite unblemished teams still in the hunt.

SEC Best

Courtesy zimbio.com

There's a reason this division might as well be their own conference this year. Five of the FPI top 10 teams are in the western division of the powerhouse conference including three of the top five and no SEC West team is outside the top 19 even with Arkansas's 0 wins in conference. The top four teams could all be included in this year's inaugural college football playoff and most college football fans wouldn't bat an eye. Auburn, Ole Miss, Alabama and Mississippi State all have top 7 strength of record and all rank in the top 8 in overall team efficiency- in the country.
Auburn's résumé: two wins against AP top 20 teams, three wins against the FPI top 30, last season's SEC champion, and a lone loss on the road to Mississippi State
Ole Miss's résumé: four wins over FPI top 51 teams, two AP top 15 teams, a road victory in the home of the 12th man and over possible Heisman Kenny Hill, possible Heisman candidate Bo Wallace, an unblemished record
Alabama's résumé: three wins over FPI top 40 teams, Nick Saban dynasty, a lone loss on the road to Ole Miss
Mississippi State's résumé: a win over the top FPI team, two other FPI top 15 victories, three AP top 8 wins, possible Heisman winner Dak Prescott, a nine game winning streak, an unblemished record
The Heisman and SEC might be decided in the Egg Bowl with the Iron Bowl being a consolation prize. Of course, it's more likely than not that either Mississippi State or Ole Miss will drop a game before they meet up but don't be too surprised if you see the Magnolia State come down to that showdown.

SEC lEast (?)

Courtesy theblawghouse.com

Georgia proved they aren't a one man show in convincing fashion on the road over Missouri to improve to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference. Kentucky is a questionable three-overtime loss at Florida away from perfect and avoided the proverbial trap game against Vanderbilt, beat South Carolina in a shootout and, after a rough start, scored 45 unanswered points to blow out ULM to improve to 5-1 and 2-1 in conference. Missouri and Florida battle it out this weekend to see who will be left to fight for the SEC East lead but Mizzou is behind the eight ball badly right now and would need to beat Kentucky at home and go the rest of the way unblemished and hope for a Georgia loss somewhere along the way. Meanwhile, Florida will play one more road game against a division opponent (Vanderbilt) and get Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina in the Swamp before an end of the season trip to Tallahassee.
If the East wants to get back on par with the West they might want to start by winning a game or two against them. They'll get that chance this weekend with Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee all taking on West opponents... on the road. However, both Georgia (against Arkansas) and Kentucky (against LSU) could grab wins for their division to save the East from true embarrassment after an 0-4 start against West foes.

Bears and Sooners, Cowboys, Wildcats; The Stage is Set

Courtesy of fansided.com

The Big 12 has cemented themselves as the second best conference this season with five teams in the top 15 and a second-half series of showdowns that will rival those of the SEC. Two of those teams only have lost against the 2014 BCS Championship teams. Baylor is undefeated- something neither the PAC 12 nor Big 10 have- and features a Heisman-worthy candidate in Bryce Petty.
For Big 12 fans, November 8 was circled on their calendar as the day the conference would be decided when Bob Stoops and Co. would welcome the Bears into Norman for a showdown with playoff implications. Baylor did their part even if Oklahoma didn't do their own the previous week. The Bryce Bears came roaring back to score 24 points in the last 11 minutes to save their undefeated season in a shootout 61-58 victory over visiting TCU. Oklahoma, although they lost to the Horned Frogs just last week, is 2-1 in conference but behind OSU and KSU, not to mention Baylor, for a chance to claim the Big 12 spotlight. The Cowboys of Oklahoma State will get to meet TCU's high powered offense this weekend when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas, maybe a defense will show up this time. Kansas State, meanwhile, will be taking on Oklahoma in Norman and hoping to show the country they mean business after their last high profile game against Auburn didn't go their way.

The Ducks Are Driving the PAC 12 Bus
After a shocking upset at the hands of Arizona two weeks ago, Oregon's PAC 12 dominance was questioned by many- myself included- and they had to face a road game against upstart UCLA, it was a recipe for disaster. But then again, Marcus Mariota and the Ducks don't do disaster. Oregon went up 42-10 early in the fourth quarter and cruised to a 42-30 road win. And after USC took down Arizona, the Ducks returned to the top of the PAC 12 standings and are in full control of their own destiny out west. A showdown against Stanford looms in November before a trip to the inconsistent Utes of Utah as the only true tests the rest of the season for the Ducks. However, neither division is decided yet with USC, Arizona and Arizona State separated by one game in the South and Oregon and Stanford tied for the North lead. It's still anyone's spot in the post season discussion, but Oregon has the Heisman candidate to rally behind and an offensive line that can hold him up.

Courtesy of trbimg.com

Spartans or Bust?
The Big 10 is alive and well with four teams undefeated in conference play and one loss outside of conference. Of course Michigan State has the best loss and the most complete team in the conference but Barrett and Co. have lit up the scoreboards since that humiliating loss to Virginia Tech, Iowa is four points from perfect, and Minnesota has allowed one team- TCU, remember them?- to score more than 24 points this season.

• Michigan State is the best chance the Big 10 has of making the playoff with a loss at Oregon being the only blemish on an otherwise clean year. Connor Cook is throwing for 1309 yards and 13 touchdowns while the backfield duo of Jeremy Langford and Nick Hill have busted in nine rushing TDs and over 800 yards thus far. The biggest question mark is the Spartans' ability to close out games. The defense has allowed 54 points in the fourth quarter while the offense has only scored 28, with zero points in the 4th against ranked opponents. That may not be a very big problem though with only one more ranked opponent (#13 Ohio State) to play and both rivalry games (Michigan and OSU) coming into East Lansing.
• JT Barrett is leading an offense that has scored 168 points over the past three games while throwing for 909 yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception. On the other side of the ball, OSU is just as dominant, allowing 183 total rushing yards and 2.7 yards per attempt over those three games. They've forced seven turnovers and had just four of their own. Now, that was against Kent State, Cincinnati and at Maryland so we'll see how they do with the meat of their schedule coming up with a game against much improved Rutgers this weekend, a trip to roller coaster Penn State and a November 8 date in East Lansing that might decide the Big 10 East- and possibly the Big 10 champion.
• Iowa can score but doesn't need to when their defense is allowing 17.2 points in all but an outlier to Indiana (a game where their offense put up 45). Their only loss was a three point test against in-state Big 12 rival Iowa State but they also haven't played an FPI top 40 team yet but will play their second top 50 team of the year on Saturday in a trip to Maryland.
• Another Big 12 team took down the Big 10 when Minnesota visited TCU and went home after a 30-7 pounding. However, since that game Minnesota has taken down Michigan in the Big House and the upstart Northwestern at home and the Golden Gophers won't face another true test before a November 8 matchup against Iowa before closing out their season with a visit from the Buckeyes and a road trip to Nebraska and Wisconsin. Minnesota struggles to move the ball through the air with a quarterback who has thrown more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (3) but he has five touchdowns on the ground while the team has 13 rushing TDs, 1272 yards on the ground and averages 4.7 yards per carry this season.

Abounding Confusion Conference
Atlantic

The division that's been all too top-heavy over the past few years hasn't changed much thus far. Florida State has been truly dominant in only one of their six wins, a 43-3 demolition of Wake Forest, and is heading into their toughest test of the season on Saturday when Notre Dame comes to town. Clemson has two losses but both were road defeats to top 15 opponents and their hardest game the rest of the way might just be a road trip to Georgia Tech and not their end of the season matchup with Spurrier. Louisville has a top tier defense but has two in conference losses and will face a difficult end to the season with games against Florida State, Notre Dame and Kentucky in the final five weeks.
Biggest games left: Notre Dame at Florida State, Clemson at Georgia Tech, Florida State at Louisville
Coastal
Virginia has beaten Louisville but has lost to UCLA and BYU, both of whom have been drastically exposed but this weekend Virginia we'll find out if the Cavaliers are for real when they visit Duke. After beating Georgia Tech for the first time in 10 tries, Duke is looking to take control of the Coastal division when Virginia comes to town this weekend. If Duke can win, they should be able to coast to a rematch with Florida State. Georgia Tech was undefeated last week but is now facing an uphill battle to capture the division and showdowns against Clemson and Georgia are farther off than ever.
Biggest games left: Virginia at Duke, Clemson at Georgia Tech

Golson is Golden

Okay, he isn't lights out and he does commit turnovers that shouldn't happen but he is the most poised quarterback in the country on the important drives, like that game winner against Stanford or the go ahead drive against North Carolina. He has 16 touchdowns through the air and four on the ground and only has four interceptions. However, he has gone down 10 times and, like much of the team, overlooked North Carolina last weekend in favor of this weekend's showdown in Tallahassee. But, the Irish pulled out all the stops and finished off the Tar Heels to stay perfect. Then there's the ground attack of Tarean Folston, Greg Bryant and Cam McDaniel who have combined for six touchdowns and 645 yards and help balance out the team's offensive capabilities. On the other side of the ball, the Irish were giving up an average of 12 points before North Carolina. Now, they're just eighth best in the country at 17.2 points per game. The defense is also eighth in the nation in interceptions (10) and has held their opponents to 10 touchdowns in 17 red zone attempts and have forced four turnovers. They'll need to slow down the FSU offense and Golson will need to keep mistakes to a minimum if they want to take the Game Day game on Saturday but the offense and defense have each proven themselves over the past two games.

And this week's Heisman goes to...
Bryce Petty for staying calm down 21 at home and surgically tearing apart the TCU defense in the final 11 minutes to set up the game winning field goal.
In the front row:
Marcus Mariota (285 all purpose yards, 4 touchdowns at UCLA), Nick Chubb (174 total yards and one score for Gurley-less Bulldogs), Georgia defense (0 points allowed, 5 turnovers forced and held Mizzou to 147 total yards), Rakeem Cato (337 passing yards, 4 total touchdowns), and Javess Blue (this catch)

Who meets New Years?
Dak Attack vs Golden Golson- Defense vs defense and Prescott vs Golson, this one's a late Christmas gift to football fans everywhere
Bulldogs vs Bears- If Georgia keeps the defense alive, Baylor will be hard pressed to find any scoring opportunites

Where Do We Go From Here?

Courtesy of www.rantsports.com

College football is even crazier than any of us thought and most teams have just started scratching their conference schedule. Please begin praying for the College Football Playoff Selection Committee as they may just have the hardest job in sports come December. And through six weeks there are still 10 reasons why. Yes, 10 teams remain undefeated through the first six weeks of the CFP induction year. How's that for a welcoming party? And seven teams were dropped from this elite group over a crazy weekend of football in almost every single conference.

Ranking the Unbeatens
1. Auburn
These guys have been the most convincing undefeated team throughout the first six weeks putting 40+ on two SEC West defenses and going on the road to beat Kansas State two weeks ago. They're averaging 42 points and allowing just 14. That's a recipe for success wherever you go in the country. However, they have a brutal schedule ahead with two road trips through Mississippi's unbeatens, a visit from Kenny Hill and two huge road trips to close out the season (Samford at home is just a scrimmage) visiting Todd Gurley and Georgia before a rematch against a very hungry Alabama Crimson Tide looking to avenge last season's Iron Bowl Kick Six tragedy. Good luck to the War Eagle.
2. Florida State
No, I don't think they are actually a top team in the nation. However, they've somehow won five straight games without clicking as a team throughout four straight quarters. And the Seminoles only have one more game against a ranked opponent and that's in two weeks against the next team on this list. After that, a game against in state rival Florida will likely be the biggest test left, but don't count any ACC team out just yet, these guys know how to throw an upset- Boston College: 37 USC: 31.

Courtesy of www4.pictures.zimbio.com

3. Notre Dame
They aren't pretty. There's a lot of mistakes that need to be taken care of in order to stay undefeated. But they've now conquered their first real test of the season by beating Stanford under the watchful gaze of Touchdown Jesus. Take away two bad field goal holds and the game would have been very different, but that's what happens when it's raining as hard as it was in South Bend. Defense, defense, defense. No opponent has scored 20 points on Notre Dame. The showdown in Tallahassee will be the biggest game of the season for the Irish. If they scratch out a win there, no other ranked team will be on their schedule until USC- who just lost to Arizona State.
4. Ole Miss
Take down Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide and that only earns you the second spot in the SEC West. That's how deep this division is and yet three unbeatens still remain. Ole Miss rallied from a 14-3 deficit to go on a 20-3 run. Then Blake Sims made his biggest mistake of the season and threw an interception in the end zone with under a minute to play. Ole Miss now stands 5-0 with a tiebreaker over Alabama, how's that for insurance? A trip to stunned Texas A&M is next up lucky for Ole Miss, they only have three road games left and none of them are to undefeated teams. Granted they are all to SEC West teams.

Courtesy www.gannett-cdn.com

5. Mississippi State
Dak Prescott established himself as a dark horse Heisman candidate in the Bulldog's 48-31 demolition of Texas A&M on Saturday. He's now thrown for 1223 yards and 13 touchdowns along with 455 yards and six scores on the ground through five games. But for Mississippi State this was more than just a Dak attack, this was a statement win that they'd been lacking for quite awhile. Now, can they build on that and take out visiting Auburn this weekend? That's a tall order but Prescott and these Bulldogs want to stay on top and back to back top 10 victories would be an unforgettable start.



Tied 6. TCU & Baylor
The Horned Frogs have the bigger win after upending Oklahoma but Baylor has the higher octane offense. However, beyond the Oklahoma game, there's not much to be impressed about for TCU. Shutting out SMU doesn't count as a resume builder. For Baylor, their consistently high scoring has become almost routine but in the win over Texas they didn't break 30 for the first time this season, a cause for concern or a blip on the radar? This one gets settled this weekend in Waco.
8. Arizona
Beat Oregon once and you get a pat on the back from the BCS . Beat Oregon two seasons in a row and you get an undefeated start to your conference schedule, the drivers seat in the PAC 12 South and a spot in the AP top 10. Next up is an extremely confusing USC team who cannot seem to figure out what they will define themselves as this season other than emotional roller coaster enthusiasts.
9. Georgia Tech
A five game win streak gets the Yellow Jackets on the radar... far out there on the radar but still, they're a blip on the CFP radar. Now, if they can get to November 15 without a blemish, we'll be talking about a huge matchup against Clemson and the following week at Georgia. Of course, if they win the Coastal Division even a loss to Clemson or Georgia would be excused. Beat Florida State and the Yellow Jackets either just played their way into the playoff or played spoiler to the Seminoles season. For now, GTech owns their CFP destiny.
10. Marshall
Even though Marshall will most likely win out, Conference USA has almost no real prestige and the Herd won't have any wins over FPI top 50 teams. They'll enjoy a bowl berth and could be trouble for an unsuspecting Power Five team come bowl season.

Dropped the Pass

Courtesy of www.dispatch.com

A few teams dropped out of the playoff race this weekend highlighted by Oklahoma. Yes, it was a competitive game. Yes, TCU is a good team. And yes, a lot of other top teams lost. However, barring Bob Bowlsby insisting on a conference championship at the end of this season, Oklahoma will not be able to get to 12 wins which will keep them on the outside looking in on New Years. Now, I'll put them on the fence if they manage to win out AND all but two teams go undefeated. Oklahoma better be rooting for a cannibalistic fest in the SEC West.
The others kicked off the train this weekend
BYU- You can't lose when you're BYU and attempting to crash the CFP. You especially can't lose at home to Utah State
LSU- Auburn likes to score and doesn't like sharing the scoreboard. That turned LSU inside-out.
Nebraska- A late rally couldn't save the Cornhuskers' unbeaten season. Best of luck in the Big 10 West.
Wisconsin- Northwestern is really at the top of the Big 10 Eastern Division after a thrilling win over the Badgers
South Carolina- Two interceptions late, one returned for a touchdown, sealed the Gamecocks out of the playoffs. That was only Spurrier's second ever loss to Kentucky.
USC- Two losses won't get the Trojans into the playoff, especially when one of them was to Boston College, not even a PAC 12 Championship is within sight now.
UCLA- Utah wouldn't let the Bruins hang on to a late lead and surged to a 30-28 upset of their previously undefeated host.

We'll Need A Hail Mary
Oregon's loss to Arizona to open up the sixth week of football was bad. Okay, it was shocking, but it won't knock the Ducks from the playoff just yet, they have to roll over the competition and hope Arizona does the same to arrange a rematch in the PAC 12 Championship but it's still doable. They can start it off by beating UCLA on the road next weekend. Good news for the Ducks, the PAC 12 champion has all but a golden ticket into the playoff, especially if these Ducks get there with nothing but an Arizona loss on their plate.
We all knew the SEC West wasn't going to be an easy road. We knew there would be losses by the top teams. We saw the first of that this weekend when Texas A&M got stomped on the road in Mississippi. Then Ole Miss grabbed one from Bama to send the Tide to the middle of the pack again. The top division in college football is down to three unbeatens but still stands out as the crown jewel of FBS glory. Anyway, we knew that at most we'd only be left with one unbeaten in the West and that would take some Auburn magic again.
Michigan State was praying hard for a Top 10 team to lose. Those prayers were answered and then some. It was almost all for naught when the Spartans almost blew a 24 point lead by allowing Nebraska to score 19 unanswered fourth quarter points. But the playoffs are still in reach for Mark Dantonio and Co. as long as they can figure out how to close out games. Only one ranked team remains on their schedule in a home showdown against Ohio State in three weeks.

The Contenders
1. Florida State
2. Auburn
3. Alabama
4. Notre Dame
5. Ole Miss
6. Oregon
7. Michigan State
9. Mississippi State
10. Georgia

And This Week's Heisman Goes To...

Courtesy www.seattletimes.com

Washington State Quarterback Connor Halliday for throwing for an FBS record 734 yards and six touchdowns this weekend against Cal. The Cougars lost the game 60-59.
Also-rans
Arizona RB Terris Jones-Grigsby with 210 all purpose yards and the game winning touchdown, Ole Miss Defense for holding the Crimson Tide to less than 20 points for the first time since November 5, 2011 when Alabama lost to LSU 9-6, Mississippi State's QB Dak Prescott with 336 all purpose yards and five scores, and Auburn's QB Nick Marshall with 326 all purpose yards and four touchdowns
Honorable Mention
Kentucky's RB Jojo Kemp who ran in for the game tying score even after asking to be taken out two plays before and being denied and subsequently rushing for 43 yards on the wildcat

Good Pitching Will Beat Good Hitting Any Time... And Vice Versa.

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The 2014 MLB Post Season is set as far as teams go. But it wasn't an uneventful Sunday with five teams' post season fates hanging in the balance. The Cincinnati Reds chopped the legs out from under the Pittsburgh Pirates over the final two games including a walk off grand slam that sent the St. Louis Cardinals the NL Central Championship. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers won, sending the Tigers into the Divisional round and leaving the Royals with the Wild Card on Tuesday. And a 4-0 win in Arlington saved the Oakland A's from a possible 163rd day of baseball against the Seattle Mariners who went home after their win over the Los Angeles Angels. So, the table is set with the Royals, A's, Giants and Pirates taking the four wild cards while the Angels, Tigers, and Orioles claimed the AL West, Central and East divisions respectively and the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Nationals taking the NL West, Central and East divisions. But for now, we can all take a breath and collect ourselves before the post season starts tonight.

However, as we all know, here at Right of Centerfield I like to jump the gun when it comes to sports and love making bold, if not crazy, predictions for upcoming events whether it's College Football, NFL Playoffs, March Madness or even this very MLB season. So, here's a look ahead to some of the possible match ups we'll see come October and then an unveiling of the 2014 World Series Contenders as well as the Champion.

Tuesday, September 30* AL Wild Card
Oakland A's at Kansas City Royals

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The longest active post season drought is over. The Royals, after 29 years of post season let down, are led by Alex Gordon (.266/.351/.432) and James Shields (14-8, 3.21 ERA) but they simply do not score runs like a playoff team should, finishing the season 14th in runs scored with 651. Although KC has made a habit of not striking out, they are the only team in the league with less than 1,000 Ks on the season, they're also last in the league in home runs (95) and walks (380). However, when the Royals get on base they are the best at stealing bases (153). The Royals bullpen pitching and defense are the two stars for this team that will limit the A's dynamic offense- or what's left of it. Kansas City has the second best save percentage in the league (82%) behind only San Diego and the seventh, eighth and ninth inning combo of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland is better than any in the game averaging a 95.9 mph fastball and incredible movement on all of their pitches. Then there's the defense which has been commended by Terry Francona as saying, "[when Gordon, Jarrod Dyson, and Lorenzo Cain play] nothing drops [in the outfield]. Nothing."
Now, the A's have heard all of this before. However, they've also scored runs before and that hasn't panned out over the last month of the season when they have a post season contender worst 91 runs in September. (The Royals are only just above them at 96 though) Although, that may not matter in this round when the ever potent-in-October Jon Lester takes the mound. Lester has a 2.11 ERA in the post season and posted a 4-1 record with a 1.56 ERA last year en route to a World Series with the Red Sox. However, since the A's traded Cespedes for Lester there has been little pop in the lineup that they will desperately need against the superb pitching of James Shields and the KC bullpen.
A's: 2-1

Wednesday, October 1 NL Wild Card
San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates

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The 2014 National League MVPP- most valuable position player- will play host to the 2012 NL MVP as Buster Posey and the Giants come to Pittsburgh. However, rotation questions plague both of these clubs. Madison Bumgarner leads the Giants in wins (18), ERA (2.98), K's (219) and WHIP (1.09) and has won five of his last seven starts but Bumgarner has posted an 11.25 ERA while allowing five runs over four innings of his lone start against the Pirates this year. Meanwhile, the Pirates' pitching staff doesn't have a single starter with an ERA under 3.00 nor more than 13 wins. However, the Pirates and Giants are in the top 12 of the league in runs scored, 4.22 and 4.08 respectively, and total runs, 675 and 653 respectively. The Pirates lead the season series 4-2.
Pirates: 5-4

Thursday through Wednesday 2-2-1 (Best of 5) AL Divisional
Oakland A's at Los Angeles Angels
Angels in 3

Thursday through Wednesday 2-2-1 (Best of 5) AL Divisional
Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles

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The Tigers are the best all around group of hitters going into the playoffs finishing in the top two spots in runs (757), batting average (.277), OBP (.331) and slugging percentage (.426). The Orioles have some of the top pop in their bats leading the league with 211 homers- 25 better than the second team who hails from no-gravity Colorado. Chris Tillman gets the nod to start for Baltimore most likely against Max Scherzer. However, don't count out the Tigers pitching to be the dominant factor in this series. Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello pack a decent 1-2-3 punch out of the gate while Al Alburquerque and Joe Nathan will strike out anyone who comes to the plate in the later innings. On the other side, Bud Norris and Wei-Yin Chen will follow Tillman to test the Tigers in the early innings and, much like the Tigers, Darren O'Day and Zach Britton will control the eighth and ninth. Runs will be at a premium but the bats in this one know how to drive in clutch runs even against stellar pitching.
Tigers in 5

Friday through Thursday 2-2-1 (Best of 5) NL Divisional
Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals
Nationals in 3

Friday through Thursday 2-2-1 (Best of 5) NL Divisional
St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
Can we have this as a World Series instead? No? Well it will certainly feel like a World Series matchup without the interleague lineup changes. Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke, and Hyun-Jin Ryu to start against the likes of Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, and Shelby Miller? Who needs to hit the ball when the pitcher and catcher can just play catch all night? Of course, that might be the case if we also weren't going to be seeing Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Dee Gordon, Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp. And that's just the Dodgers. The season series is held by the Dodgers (4-3) but with Yadier Molina, back from a midseason injury to his catching thumb, the Cardinals can matchup with the contenders out west.
Dodgers in 4

Friday through Saturday 2-3-2 (Best of 7) AL Championship
Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels
Angels in 6

Saturday through Sunday 2-3-2 (Best of 7) NL Championship
Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington Nationals
This one will be even better than that St. Louis-LA matchup with the Nationals, not Kershaw, getting the nod for best pitching performance this season. Stephen Strasburg- yes, the same guy who was so highly touted as the most dominating pitcher in the country mere years ago- is not the backbone of the dominant starting pitching for the National League East Champion Washington Nationals. Tanner Roark (15-10, 2.85 ERA), an ace for most any team in the league, is relegated to the bullpen. Those are just hints as to how loaded the Nats' are on the mound. The reality is even more stunning. Jordan Zimmerman hasn't lost in the second half posting an 8-0 record along with a 2.18 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. Strasburg has a 3-1 record in September along with 32 K's and a total of three walks, that's 10.66 Ks/BB. Then Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez have two of the best pitches in the game with Fister's sinker being nearly unhittable and Gonzalez's curve resulting in a .156 average.
Kershaw and the Dodgers make a quality 1-2-3 starting rotation but questions abound after that and unless the offense picks them up the Dodgers will exit after five games. The Dodgers are 2-4 against the Nationals this season and who owns both of the wins? You guessed it, Clayton Kershaw. They've been outscored by a slim margin (25-23) even though they were shut out in the first game of the season. With Dee Gordon, NL steals leader, on the base paths no base is safe and with Yasiel Puig backing him up with a lighting rod of a bat, the early runs in innings are always at risk. This will be a tough battle that takes the two teams 2,308 miles across the country and through four timezones after each set of games. Luckily they get a nice full day between the games.
Nationals in 7

Tuesday through Wednesday 2-3-2 (Best of 7) World Series
Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Angels
Why the Nationals win: Starting pitching is the key to this matchup with the Nationals simply dominating from start of the rotation to the back end and a pretty nice bullpen to back them up. Then there's Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche, and Anthony Rendon to score those runs that are somewhat important to winning a World Series. Plus a World Series trophy might inspire a change in Washington right before the November elections and maybe Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will retire and buy the Nationals. Our nation's capitol hasn't had a World Series trophy in over 90 years. Let's change that this year, boys.
Why the Angels win: Mike Trout's insane ability and Albert Puljos' playoff experience will combine as a force of nature to conquer the National starting pitching to force early bullpen action. Oh and Howie Kendrick, the second best bat on this team, will be the 2011 David Freese and 2013 Big Papi of 2014 for this team of All Stars in the October Classic. The pitching will be the biggest question mark in a rotation that doesn't feature a single pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 and only Matt Shoemaker and Hector Santiago with improved ERAs post All Star Break. But when you score more runs than anyone else and own a higher away runs per game than home runs per game average, you are able to win games.
My Pick: The Nationals in seven games will pull off what some may call an upset and others will call destiny and others will simply say "Finally."

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A note for all my Reds fans out there: Each of the past two times Cincinnati has finished under .500, the following season has resulted in a National League Central title (2010, 2012) so don't be too upset with this finish.

*All dates are courtesy of mlb.com

Commander inCompetent

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It was laughable for a few months, that laughter that parents share as they watch a toddler walk around at first. Then it got frustrating, the frustration that comes from one too many spankings but you know you have to do it one more time and think this time the lesson will stick. Then it went into infuriating, like a teenager who had turned his back on all of his parents' teachings. Now it's just annoying, like a President who won't even change which hand his latte is in as he exits Marine One so he can salute the men that he, supposedly, commands.



And yet, even with this childish lack of respect, the Commander in Chief of the greatest military the world has ever seen has the audacity to both claim a Nobel Peace Prize and then bomb seven different countries in the span of six years- and those are just the air strikes we know about.

To date, the Obama administration, led by the President himself, has sent airstrikes to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq and, as of Tuesday, Syria. 

In Pakistan alone we can see how much destruction this man has caused in the name of "strengthening international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" in the field of "arms control and disarmament and world organizing."

As you can see in the video, close to 85% of the airstrikes that have hit Pakistan have come during the Obama administration. Each month of strikes that killed more than 93 people has happened on Obama's watch. There have been six such months with the highest estimated death toll topping 150 in September 2010. All of the airstrikes in Pakistan since Obama took office in 2009 have resulted in over 2,700 casualties.

Another Nobel Peace Prize worthy number: 580. The number of Pakistanis killed in the time between Obama taking office and his receiving of the award later that year- not even 12 months later. That is 63 more than all the airstrikes on Pakistan under President Bush.

Now, does this speak more to the members of the Nobel committee and how ignorant they are or to the arrogance of our Commander in Chief to accept this award knowing how much destruction he has caused in such a short span of time? I'll let you decide that piece.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/23/politics/countries-obama-bombed/index.html

In Afghanistan, hundreds of airstrikes were aimed at suspected Taliban and al Qaeda forces with many of them also hitting civilians in the process. Now, after almost 13 years in Afghanistan, we are still leaving troops behind in a "support" role to help train Afghan forces and maintain security.

Libya has seen one of the darkest days in US history when the embassy in Benghazi was attacked and four Americans were killed by rebels on September 11, 2012. That came after airstrikes against the nation in conjunction with a U.N. Security Council resolution. Those airstrikes ended in the death of Moammar Gadhfi.

Hundreds of militants in Yemen have been killed due to continued US airstrikes in the region, however several hundred civilians have also been the victims of such strikes. Somalia, known for the pirates off the coast, has also seen our airstrikes come down when the US attacked and killed the militants associated with al Shabaab and their leader earlier this year.

And now, the latest attacks come with the threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. While some have been humanitarian in origin, most have been acts of continued warfare against terrorist groups like al Qaeda and ISIS. Bombing ISIS directly and the oilfields they control, Obama and his Joint Chiefs have begun yet another war in the Middle East and this one is not likely to end before Obama leaves office.

One thing is abundantly clear, and has been since the first day in office, this Commander in Chief and Nobel Prize recipient currently in the Oval Office has no respect for the men and women in the armed forces that he commands and even less respect- yes, less than no respect- for human life in general. Whether that comes across in his blatant disregard for those in the womb, his concern, or lack thereof, when he attacks another country, or his neglect for those he so openly welcomed into the country and has now turned over to the Republicans in Congress as a political problem rather than people, it makes little difference. Obama, the man who spoke so eloquently and won over the hearts and minds of millions of Americans, is nothing more than a political killing machine with no regard for who suffers.

The Beacons of Playoff Contedership Are Lit; The Big 10 Calls For Aid

The Power 5 conferences are refusing to answer the Big 10's pleas while demolishing their top-tier brother 10-1 thus far. Kenny Trill is dismantling Johnny Football's legacy (read: Kevin Sumlin is a tremendous quarterback coach) and he doesn't need cash grabbing signs to do it. The University of Cincinnati (1-0) has a better record than their in-state rival THE Ohio State University (2-1). Kentucky isn't just a basketball school anymore. No one is talking about Nick Saban's Tide and yet they are still 3-0. And that's how you know college football is in full swing at this point. After three weeks of non-conference gridiron battles and some light em up in-conference games only one thing is certain: no one could have predicted Penn State would be the main beacon of hope for the Big 10's playoff hopes.

10 Observations and Predictions from the First Three Weeks of College Football

After this past Saturday, Notre Dame has now played Purdue annually 68 times. That's a rivalry for all you Michigan fans whining that ND is leaving your "rivalry." The Irish have also won the past seven annual meetings by a combined score of 204-119. This independent squad still plays Stanford, Florida State, Arizona State and USC before the end of the season. With wins against these powerhouses, Notre Dame's lack of championship game will garner more support for their playoff case than any Big 12 team.

Penn State is now up there with Nebraska as the only teams in the Big 10 to be undefeated through three weeks of play. However, Penn State is the only team to have won a game in conference and thus leads the Big 10's playoff hopes. The rest of the Nittany Lion's schedule includes home games against both Ohio State and Michigan State and no consecutive road trips. Look for these guys to be at the top of the conference come December.

Kansas State faces the toughest test of their entire season on Thursday when Auburn comes to town. If they can survive a visit from the SEC powerhouse, the Wildcats could win out even with road trips to Oklahoma and Baylor. The Wildcats have had two weeks to prep for this game and will need every second they can get if they want to beat the Tigers.

Ole Miss and Texas A&M are dark horses for the playoff and yet are two front runners to win the SEC West. Oh and by the way, the SEC West has lost one game and that was when Arkansas lost to divisional-foe Auburn. #KennyTrill4Heisman

Arizona State might be the team to beat out West if anyone from the PAC 12 wants to be bowling in the playoffs. Although Oregon is the top team, the title game will be a tough fought battle between the Sun Devils and Ducks challenging the Ducks to outscore this explosive Arizona State offense.

Cincinnati has the team to win out- if they circled that game against the Buckeyes for the past several months that is- but they'll be overlooked because of their conference schedule. There is no doubt that the Bearcats' toughest test will be out of conference against Ohio State on September 27. However, if the defense gets their jitters out with another in-state rivalry game this coming Saturday against Miami (OH), the Cats can run with the Big 10 big boys in the Horseshoe.

Eight SEC teams are in the Top 25. Seven of them are in the top 15. Five of them are from the SEC West. All five of the SEC West canidates are in the top 10. If you don't think the SEC will get two teams to the CFP you are kidding yourself.

Oregon is the top team in the nation at this point. Although the SEC is the top conference, Oregon has played better to this point and should easily win the PAC 12 and a spot in the playoff. Oh and the SEC and PAC 12 will start playing home and home regular season games to settle the "Top Conference" debate by 2022.

Florida State won't win out- thus losing any shot at making the playoff- but will still win the ACC. The Seminoles simply have too many let down games and a tough title game against North Carolina or Duke to make it to December unscathed. The toughest let down game will be in two weeks when they visit North Carolina State after a home game against Clemson who are looking to wreck havoc on the Seminoles streak.

Oregon, Alabama, Georgia and Notre Dame will end up in the CFP. If all of these teams are wiped off the map by alien invasion: UCLA, BYU, Auburn and Penn State make the final four.

Top 25, Associated Press be Damned
1. Oregon
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. Auburn
6. Texas A&M
7. Ole Miss
8. LSU
9. Notre Dame
10. MSU
11. Georgia
12. UCLA
13. Arizona State
14. South Carolina
15. Stanford
16. Missouri
17. BYU
18. Wisconsin
19. KSU
20. Clemson
21. Nebraska
22. Ohio State
23. Penn State
24. Mississippi State
25. USC

More Than The NFL

Over the past 72 hours, many people have taken to social media and the airwaves calling for the removal of Roger Goodell and about half of the NFL's legal department and the GM, Owner and Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and it hasn't even been a week since Ray Rice was terminated from the Ravens and subsequently suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

In today's knee-jerk society, this is no surprise.

From the 2012 presidential debates to the VMAs and America's Next Top Model to ISIS and Ferguson, social media has taken off as the main way for everyone to have a voice on just about anything. However, hashtags, trending topics, and Facebook campaigns are simply gasoline poured on a small fire to make a sudden explosion. They don't last and people forget whatever isn't easily accessible on their homepage.

Which is why the focus of this atrocity has turned from Rice to the NFL's "higher-ups" in less time than Rice was a free agent. We want people to blame and now that Rice has been punished we can't harp on him anymore. Time to move on to Goodell and the other head-honchos who told Rice to knock out his fiancee in the elevator.

Except, they didn't and, to my knowledge, have never done anything to condone off-field misconduct.
Unless you count allowing Michael Vick back into the league condoning of his actions because he has talent? Or maybe it's the 203 DUI cases since 2000 that have yet to lead to an actual comprehensive crackdown on substance abuse for players that marks the NFL's real stance on punishing players- read: talent?

Enough with the sarcasm. This case brings to light numerous problems in the modern NFL and the way NFL officials and players have banded together to sweep hundreds of crimes under the rug with little to no official action taken.

Take the Rice case. 
Ray Rice was arrested for "simple assault charges" on February 15. On February 19, TMZ becomes the leading investigative journalism TV station with the release of the first video outside the elevator. Rice's charges are changed- over a month later- to aggravated assault. Ray then applies for-and of course is accepted into- a pretrial intervention program on May 1. This is the end of any legal discipline for the star running back.
Commissioner Goodell, in all of his wisdom, then waited until July 24 to suspend Rice for an extremely long time: two games. He, and the NFL he represents, was rightly chewed out for the lack of any backbone when it comes to star players becoming violent criminals. Another month passes and it just so happens that the NFL makes a major overhaul of their domestic violence policy. TMZ, keeping their status as top-tier investigative journalists, released the second video on Monday, which shows Rice knock out his fiancee with one punch. The Ravens subsequently fire Rice and the NFL places him on suspension.

If this doesn't smell like bullshit to you yet, maybe this tweet by the Associated Press will add a tinge of that all too familiar odor to the situation:

BREAKING: AP Source: Law enforcement official sent copy of Ray Rice tape to NFL executive in April
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 10, 2014

This entire situation is a sticky one for the NFL to handle. I get it. You don't want to supersede the justice department and you want to wait for the legal side of things to resolve. Except... the NFL is a private company. The public didn't vote for Roger Goodell last November. The greater number of fans didn't decide on the coaching staff or the players to be drafted. Not many fans are making the ticket prices or setting the unreasonably high price for jerseys.

So, why is it so impossible for you to punish your personnel reasonably? Why are you making policies if you break them less than a week later because of some "new" video surfacing for the public? What is the actual role of your legal department and all of these policies about violence and what people smoke?
To a large percentage of Americans and fans across the globe, it seems to be a front to let people express grievances and then quickly dismiss their worries with money or a lenient punishment. In fact, an ESPN poll expresses this rather well when it asks if Roger Goodell should resign or be fired in the wake of the Ray Rice "situation."

But hold up there. Is this "situation" simply that- a mundane occurrence for the league? Is this an exception or is it the rule? Has Goodell and Co. simply mishandled this one occurrence or is the general public just now getting a good look at the inner workings of Goodell's take on crime? The upcoming investigation by former FBI director Robert Mueller might answer these questions.

Chris Rock hits the nail on the head here:

Just to be clear. Ray Rice was not fired for beating his wife. He was fired because a video of him beating his wife was released.
— Chris Rock (@ozchrisrock) September 8, 2014

For now though, there's another side of this problem to examine.

Two years ago when Ray Lewis retired after a Hall of Fame career, one of the only topics covered outside of the Super Bowl itself was the murder charges that Lewis had faced earlier in his career. He was cleared of all murder charges- a deal that called for him to plead guilty to obstruction of justice and testify against his co-defendants- and had many a heartfelt statement to make on the subject. Yet, it still remains a dark spot on his football career. Now, as an analyst for ESPN, Lewis has said he takes this matter with Rice personally.

So, maybe the real question we should be asking isn't who in the NFL ranks can we blame for the criminal actions of the gridiron talent. That part is easy.
Maybe the onus lies at the feet of those who continue to pump money into the players who break the law time and time again.
Maybe being an armchair quarterback has more responsibility than we thought this time last week?

But that would require those fans who see football as more than just a sport to speak up. That would require people to actually give a damn when stars break the rules and do more than take to social media to #disappointed the player and his coaches.

That's too much work though. We do our part and change our profile picture for three hours and "#" the crap out of the situation. For as long as it shows up in our newsfeed. Then we go about our daily lives without a second thought as to why we #fireGoodell two days ago.

We've become so desensitized to violent crime that it doesn't take us aback to say that Ray Rice was involved in a domestic assault case. He took a right hook to a woman that is maybe half his size. He knocked his fiancee out and then dragged her out of the elevator. That is not normal behavior. And, if it is, we are way past #'s and trending topics to #enddomesticviolence.

To solve the cancer that is domestic violence we have to be willing to say that there is in fact a problem going on. We all know the saying "the first step to beating your problem is to admit there is a problem." Well Houston, we have a problem.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, intimate partner violence (domestic violence) makes up 15% of all violent crime. Over one million women are victims of domestic violence each year. Victims have lost almost 8 million days of paid work because of domestic violence. There are more animal shelters than there are shelters for battered men and women.

This is a problem that clearly effects more than just the NFL. This is a day to day atrocity that effects the lives of millions. From the men and women who are abused to their abusers and to any children or family members involved, we have a responsibility to end domestic violence and the stigma surrounding these victims, both male and female, young and old.

I don't have all the answers here and I can't solve this problem with a snap of my fingers, none of us can. However, a more direct approach to help those involved identify and stop the violence happening to them is needed today more than ever. That begins by knowing what domestic violence is and how to identify it from both an insider and outsider's perspective.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse CALL 1−800−799−7233 or online at http://www.thehotline.org/