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Here is this week's ballot:
Hammer & Rails Ballot - Week 9
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Kansas St. Wildcats |
 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
2 |
| 4 | Oregon Ducks |
 -1 |
| 5 | Louisville Cardinals |
4 |
| 6 | LSU Tigers |
5 |
| 7 | Georgia Bulldogs |
6 |
| 8 | Florida St. Seminoles |
6 |
| 9 | Mississippi St. Bulldogs |
-2 |
| 10 | Florida Gators |
-8 |
| 11 | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs |
8 |
| 12 | Boise St. Broncos |
6 |
| 13 | Oklahoma Sooners |
-1 |
| 14 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 15 | Texas A&M Aggies | -- |
| 16 | Kent St. Golden Flashes |
8 |
| 17 | Oregon St. Beavers |
-11 |
| 18 | Northern Illinois Huskies |
4 |
| 19 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 20 | Clemson Tigers |
3 |
| 21 | Toledo Rockets |
-4 |
| 22 | Tulsa Golden Hurricane |
3 |
| 23 | Ohio Bobcats |
-13 |
| 24 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 25 | Northwestern Wildcats | -- |
| Dropouts: Rutgers Scarlet Knights, USC Trojans, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Cincinnati Bearcats, Michigan Wolverines | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
And your analysis:
- Only five teams have a legitimate shot at the National Title now until at least four of them lose. Even if LSU beats Alabama this week they cannot (and should not) pass Oregon, Notre Dame, Kansas State, or Louisville until one of them loses.
- Conversely, all five remaining eligible undefeated teams no longer have an unbeaten team left on their schedule.
- The award for "dumbass of the year" goes to the Ohio State athletic director, who, instead of self-sanctioning and staying home from a bowl last year at 6-6, has now cost the Buckeyes a chance at a National championship. It seems highly possible OSU will finish 12-0 now, but because they decided to not stay home and tempt fate with the NCAA, they lose out this year.
- Yes, I am confused as hell and incredibly frustrated that of the six undefeated teams in the country, two of them had their toughest game so far against Purdue. At Home. Feel free to break something tasteful when you think about that.
- Four ranked teams from the MAC is not a misprint. With Kent State taking down Rutgers yesterday the conference is having a fantastic year. Unfortunately, their BCS shot in Ohio fell for the first time. It's too bad, too. They were going to get a boost from the rest of their league. Also, it looked highly likely that the top team would have needed to finish only 16th since the Big Ten winner won't be a top 16 team in the BCS standings.
- The beneficiary of the Big Ten's largesse appears to be Boise State, who keeps rolling along and now assumes the role of top non-AQ team.
- We now live in a world where Indiana controls its own destiny to go to the Rose Bowl and we are behind the Hoosiers in the Big Ten standings. If that is not enough reason to fire the current coaching staff I don't know what is.