There are a few things about the rankings this week that seem obvious, at least to me. Undefeated Alabama needs to be #1. At this point, I don't think there's any getting around that. After that, there are a few more "tiers" of teams, where you can switch around the teams in that group, but there are lines that certain teams just shouldn't be above, and some teams should be below that line.

Tier 1: Alabama. Period. They are the only undefeated team remaining out of all BCS conference teams. They haven't all been pretty wins, but they have all been wins.

Tier 2: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, in no particular order. Each have one loss, but also several high quality wins.

Tier 3: USC, Texas Tech, Penn State, Utah, Boise State. USC and Penn State make this list by virtue of their one loss, but relative lack of quality wins, due to a weak conference schedule. Texas Tech has some great wins over very good teams, but their blowout loss to Oklahoma drops them from Tier 1 last week all the way down to here. Utah and Boise State are undefeated, but they're the forgotten mid-majors, and also beneficiaries of weaker schedules.

While you can justify mixing and matching within those "tiers," it's hard to logically say that Penn State or Texas Tech deserve to be ranked ahead of Oklahoma, or that ANYONE should be ranked ahead of Alabama.

Somehow, though, we still have AP voters insisting on turning in completely inexplicable ballots. Here are a few of the worst offenders.

The 2 guys who voted Florida over Alabama: Scott Wolf and Jon Wilner. One of two things must have happened here. Either these gentlemen were both in a coma during Florida's loss to Ole Miss and they refuse to acknowledge the 1 under the L column next to Florida's name, or perhaps they are just that stupid. I understand that some people are predicting Florida to beat Alabama in the SEC Championship, and perhaps voting Florida over Alabama right now is their way of saying that. But after going 11-0, doesn't 'Bama deserve the respect of their #1 vote? Wilner also had Georgia at #7, ahead of Texas Tech (among others who are also more deserving). Apparently one loss against the team that Wilner now has at #4 is enough to drop Tech all the way down to #9, despite wins against Wilner's #2 (Texas), #8 (Oklahoma State). That just doesn't seem right at all... does it?

I understand Jim Lamar's attempt to stop punishing USC for their early loss to Oregon State, who has actually proven themselves to be a pretty good football team. I think a lot of people tend to unfairly hold the Trojans down a bit too much, and completely ignore the fact that Florida (for example) lost to a pretty average Ole Miss. But this week, Lamar has them at #3. Above Texas and Oklahoma, who each have at least one win over a team ranked higher than USC's best win (Ohio State), and they each lost to a top 10 team, which is something that USC can't say. There's no way USC can be ranked ahead of Oklahoma or Texas right now.

The 2 who felt that Texas Tech's loss to Oklahoma immediately made them a lousy team: Ok, so maybe not lousy, but Myron Patton and John Hunt immediately removed them from the top 10 altogether. Patton always has an interesting (aka idiotic) ballot, and this time, he offers up this gem at spots #10-12:
#10: Missouri
#11: Texas Tech
#12: Oklahoma State
I'm no rocket scientist, but I seem to remember some games between these teams. Missouri belongs behind Texas Tech and Oklahoma State by ANY system you might want to use, and there's no way Texas Tech belongs behind either of them, especially not Missouri. Patton also has Ohio State ahead of all 3 of them, which is another inexplicable move, since OSU has lost whenever they play a quality opponent.

Hunt's ballot not only had Texas Tech at #11 (directly behind Ok. State and Missouri), he also had Texas all the way down at #7, behind Big 10 frauds Penn State and Ohio State, neither of whom could compete in the Big 12 South this year. But seriously... Texas Tech at 11? That must be a joke.

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), the only thing that really matters at this point anyway are the BCS Rankings. Those are out as well, and here's what they look like at the top:

1. Alabama 11-0
2. Texas 10-1
3. Oklahoma 10-1
4. Florida 10-1
5. USC 9-1
6. Utah 12-0
7. Texas Tech 10-1
8. Penn State 11-1
9. Boise State 11-0
10. Ohio State 10-2

As far as the National Championship is concerned, the picture is really quite clear. Florida and Alabama will play in the SEC Championship on December 6. Assuming Alabama takes care of business against Auburn and Florida wins at Florida State, the SEC Champion is all but assured a spot in the title game.

If Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State, Texas beats Texas A&M and Texas Tech beats Baylor, the Big 12 South will have a 3-way tie at the top. Oklahoma would likely get the nod by way of a higher BCS ranking, since they are barely trailing Texas, and a win over #12 Oklahoma State would give them the boost they need. If one of those teams were to lose, then the 2-way tie would be broken by the head to head matchup. In that case, Oklahoma would have the edge over Texas Tech, who would have the tie-breaker over Texas, who has the tie-breaker over Oklahoma in a crazy triangle of beatpaths. Unless the winner of the Big 12 North (Missouri) win the Big 12 championship game, the Big 12 South winner will advance to the National Championship game. If Missouri wins, then the next one-loss team in the Big 12 South would go to the NC game (likely Texas).

If all 3 teams Big 12 teams somehow manage to pick up a loss somewhere, and/or the SEC Champ ends up with 2 losses, then USC would probably get a shot, despite the fact that Oregon State could finish as Pac 10 champs.

It's another crazy year with the BCS, but these last few weeks really have been like a playoff.

If you have any issues with the voting, discuss them here... and enjoy the rest of the season!