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If ever there was an example of how little polls mean prior to the end of November, check out this week’s College Football Playoff poll.
Mississippi State remains the only team ever to be No. 1 according the CFP committee, as the Bulldogs (9-0, 5-0) retained the top spot for the third consecutive week.
But MSU still must travel to Tuscaloosa to play No. 5 Alabama (Saturday) and Oxford to play No.10 Ole Miss (Nov. 29).
Finish the year 12-0, and it’s a virtual guarantee that Mississippi State will make the four-team playoff, regardless of what happens in the SEC championship against Georgia, Missouri or Florida.
Lose to Alabama and Ole Miss and it won’t matter one bit that Mississippi State ranked No. 1 after 11 weeks of the regular season.
Of course, Mississippi State’s gotten plenty of national exposure so far, which is always nice. And it’s worth celebrating the Bulldogs’ 9-0 start.
If the Bulldogs get by Alabama this week, even by one point, then the team probably is one win away from clinching a spot. The team’s a major part of the conversation, but for now, there’s a lot of work left to do.
Oregon (No. 2), Florida State (No. 3) and TCU (No. 4) closed out the current projected bracket released by the committee. It’s unlikely that Mississippi State will fall out of the No. 1 spot, but FSU, still undefeated, slipped below a one-loss team, proving that unbeatens aren’t automatic No. 1s.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.