Somehow, we’re already here.

The penultimate Playoff poll is upon us, which means that we should have a pretty good idea as to what to expect from the selection committee. The contenders have been laid out (a few too many in my book) and potential land mines have been forecasted.

So what does that mean for the Playoff poll, you ask? Well, it means we shouldn’t see stunning changes tonight. The selection committee would much rather put emphasis on rivalry week and the conference championships than figuring out how valuable a win against Kentucky was.

This definitely won’t be the most exciting Playoff poll to date, but it’ll be one closer to the one that matters — the final one Dec. 3 — which is significant in itself.

Here are the 4 things that I expect to see in tonight’s show:

1. The same exact top 10

Why wouldn’t it be? After all, each top-10 team won. Ironically enough, Wisconsin was the only top-10 team that beat a ranked opponent. Still, that 14-point home victory wasn’t enough to move the Badgers ahead of Oklahoma, which rolled past dumpster fire Kansas. As I just mentioned, the selection committee isn’t going to split hairs with Cupcake Week victories. It isn’t going to decipher Auburn’s margin of victory vs. Mercer compared to Alabama’s.

Besides, if the selection committee does make changes, it looks like it’s second-guessing itself. Even the spots for Clemson and Oklahoma, which were hotly debated last week, shouldn’t change even though the selection committee had an incredibly weak answer for justifying Oklahoma’s snub (the Syracuse loss is worse than the Iowa State loss).

But why go back on that logic now? The selection committee would bring on even more criticisms of inconsistency if it tried to correct its mistake.

So yeah, I’m not banking on movement in the top 10.

2. 6 SEC teams in the Top 25

Cupcake Week was, in fact, a snooze fest. But there was some significance. N.C. State lost to Wake Forest and Michigan lost at Wisconsin. The former will have a bigger impact for the SEC. Why? Well, I have an odd feeling that South Carolina, which has the same record and beat N.C. State, will earn the No. 25 spot.

Why is that significant?

Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Well, who does South Carolina play this weekend? Clemson. The Tigers will have a chance to pick up another quality victory before the ACC Championship, which is key if the selection committee leaves them at No. 2 this week. Clemson has an impact on the SEC’s 2-team bid (looking at you, Auburn).

South Carolina would also give the SEC 6 teams in the Top 25. That would at least be tied for the most of any conference, if not in the lead. It’s a little easier to justify 2 SEC teams in the Playoff if that’s the case as opposed to potentially just 3 or 4 SEC teams in the Top 25.

3. Very little — if any — UCF discussion

Instead of debating if 2-loss teams like Auburn, Ohio State and USC can make the field, the selection committee should have to defend why it took the easy way out with UCF. Let’s call it what it is. By not even putting UCF into the top 15 until last week, it avoided having to answer the difficult question.

That is, if chaos ensues, should UCF get a shot?

In my opinion, 2-loss Ohio State or 2-loss USC shouldn’t be the benefactor of chaos. It should be UCF, and that has nothing to do with my never-ending support of all things Scott Frost. This is about a team that’s been absolutely dominant — on both sides of the ball — for the entire season.

And while the Knights didn’t get an additional Power 5 matchup with Georgia Tech because of Hurricane Irma, let’s not overlook the fact that they beat Top-25 Memphis, they dominated Maryland on the road and they have an opportunity to cruise past a USF squad that spent most of the season ranked.

If the Knights do indeed truck USF in the War on I-4, the selection committee should at least have to answer why a dominant, undefeated team never even came close to sniffing the Playoff discussion. For now, though, expect this conversation to be widely overlooked, no matter how angry it makes UCF fans on a weekly basis.

4. A lot of  “who controls their own destiny” discussion

Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. There’s the list. That’s it.

In my opinion, those are the teams that if they win out, they’ll be in the field. Period. How can six teams control their own fate? Well, Alabama and Georgia would play in an SEC Championship, and Clemson and Miami would play in an ACC Championship.

Nothing is certain about 1-loss Alabama or 1-loss Miami, though both could still be in the mix. And you know somebody will say it, but there’s no way we can say that Auburn and Ohio State undoubtedly control their fate.

Does Auburn have a legitimate chance to become the first 2-loss team to make the field? Perhaps, but until that barrier is broken, we cannot assume the selection committee is suddenly about to start rewarding 2-loss teams without a marquee non-conference win.

And if I hear one more person say that Ohio State controls its fate to a Playoff spot … I might just lose it. “Controlling your fate” means that you can win your games and reach your desired next level, regardless of what happens elsewhere. Even if I thought there was a chance that Ohio State could win out and impress the selection committee (there isn’t), it would still need absolute chaos to earn a bid.

That’s not controlling your fate.

Enough of that useless racket. Hopefully this was enough useless racket to tide you over until 7 p.m. tonight.