Mumme Poll Ballot: Week 11

If you haven't taken the time to vote in the Mumme Poll yet, what are you waiting for? Go do it now.

If you have, let me know how your ballot compares with mine...

The Top Five

1.) Alabama. The offense got back on track a bit, but I still can't say I'd trust 'Bama to win a game in which Greg McElroy had to make a big throw when it counted.

2.) TCU. They've played a more impressive schedule than Texas or Florida and have looked better doing it. The Horned Frogs are really the best argument against the BCS we've seen so far. I really think this might be one of the top two teams in the country, but the voters won't let it play out that way. But if you made me put a bet down today, I'd take TCU over anyone except Alabama, which means they end up here on my list.

3.) Texas. Longhorns haven't impressed, haven't been challenged, but they have been pretty consistent.

4.) Florida. The defense is good, there's no doubt about that. But this is just not a dangerous team offensively and nowhere near the caliber of last season's team. I'm just not buying in. And I'm also perplexed as to why Tim Tebow is still in the Heisman discussion.

5.) Cincinnati. I'll give Brian Kelly a ton of credit for handling a sticky QB situation really well, but the Bearcats have pretty firmly been shuffled to the back of the pack among the top five.

The Next Seven

6.) Georgia Tech. A week off, at home against Georgia and a likely ACC title matchup with Clemson. If Tech hadn't caught Miami at the worst possible time, there's a real chance we're talking about them as national championship contenders.

7.) Boise State. Another week, another big win. This one at least came against a team with a winning record, but the Broncos are now at a point where they're simply crossing their fingers for a BCS bid. TCU has one locked up. The SEC will get a second team, and the Big Ten is likely to as well. That leaves one last BCS slot, and ironically, it'll probably come down to Boise State or a Pac-10 team, where that win over Oregon will carry a lot of weight.

8.) Oregon. That loss to Stanford was ugly and the loss to Boise State hurts, but both are every bit as excusable as LSU's two losses. And I like Oregon's upside more than LSU.

9.) LSU. The Tigers are perhaps the most lackluster BCS-caliber team I've ever seen. You hear nothing about them unless they're losing to a top-two program. It'll be interesting to see what happens against Ole Miss this week. I'm just not sold on LSU at this point.

10.) Ohio State. I hate Ohio State. I'll have fun watching them get waxed in the Rose Bowl.

11.) Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has not played a ranked team all season and that won't change this week. The streak will finally end Dec. 5 against Cincy, but I expect Pitt's winning streak to end then, too. Dave Wannstedt's mustache is not allowed to go to a BCS game.

12.) Stanford. I had no idea who to put here, but I like what Stanford has done lately, so I give them the benefit of the doubt over some teams I'm already sure aren't very good like Penn State and Iowa.

Last Teams Out

13.) Clemson. I'm probably overrating them, but this might be the team I had the hardest time overlooking. Two of their three losses are to top-six programs and the third will go down as by far the most inexplicable loss of the season. Add to that the fact that Clemson probably has the best overall player in college football, and I really want to put them in my top 12.

14.) Oklahoma State. I guess the win over Texas Tech is a good one, but the loss to Houston now looks even worse.

15.) Iowa. It was actually a pretty valiant effort against Ohio State with its backup QB, but injuries have really taken their toll on what might have been a pretty solid team if healthy.

16.) Wisconsin. Seven home games so far proves nothing to me. The Badgers are awful on the road with a loss to Ohio State and 3-point wins over awful Minnesota and equally awful Indiana. Most overrated team in college football, methinks.