Mumme Poll Ballot: Week 13

If you haven't cast your penultimate Mumme Poll ballot of the year, get to it now .

When you're done, here's how my ballot shapes up...

The Top Five

Alabama -- Some people may look at the Auburn game as an indication that Alabama is beatable. I look at it as an indication that the Tide are capable of doing the one thing I wasn't sure they could do -- come from behind on the arm of Greg McElroy.

Texas -- That defense looked ugly against Texas A&M, but I'm inclined to believe almost anything can happen in a rivalry game, so I'm not going to call it a total indictment of the Horns. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if they lost to Nebraska this week.

Florida -- Well, Timmy got the sendoff ESPN wanted for him. Now let's see if the Alabama defense proves as enjoyable. Something tells me he'll be crying for much different reasons this time.

TCU -- Playoff or no playoff, I think it's a shame we're unlikely to see how TCU stacks up against the best of the best because I really think they'd have a shot to win.

Cincinnati -- Currently .014 points behind TCU in the BCS standings. A win over Pitt could move the Nati up a notch, which would be huge since it would likely make the Bearcats the team to slide into the national title game should Nebraska pull the upset.

The Next Seven

Oregon -- The top five is virtually unanimous at this point, but if you asked me which team I'd least like to play, Oregon might well top my list. I'm looking forward to this weekend's showdown with the Beavers more than anything that's happened in Oregon since rumors of "Goonies 2."

Boise State -- With Oklahoma State's loss, Boise State is nearly a lock for the BCS now. My fear, however, is that we'll see a Boise State-TCU matchup that will amount to little more than a Bracket Buster game that will prove nothing. Both teams deserve a shot to knock off the big boys.

LSU -- Not the prettiest of games last week, but Les Miles managed to win that one late. The Tigers aren't a great team, but they're pretty good, and two their three losses are to the No. 1 and 2 teams in the BCS standings. The third came strictly because their head coach had to pee and didn't want to wait around for overtime.

Ohio State -- I'm 100 percent certain that the Big Ten is more of a fraud than the ACC, but we're going to have to wait until bowl season to prove it.

Oregon State -- Still have a shot at the Rose Bowl, which is pretty impressive for a team that opened the season with some lackluster performances. Don't think for a second that Cincinnati won't be pulling for the Beavers this weekend in a game that could boost both teams' profiles.

Virginia Tech -- I made the mistake of putting Clemson here last week and a reader called me out on it. One trip by the Figthin' Dabos to Columbia later and I stand corrected.

Georgia Tech -- This really illustrates the absurdity of trying to do these rankings. I'd take Georgia Tech head to head over any of the Big Ten teams and they've already beaten Virginia Tech handily. But I wouldn't put money on the Jackets against any of the top eight or nine teams in the SEC or Pac-10 (for completely different reasons).

Waiting In The Wings

BYU -- That Florida State loss looks increasingly bad, but Oklahoma's win over Okie State helps the profile a bit. They're definitely not a BCS team, but they'll be an interesting bowl matchup for someone.

Stanford -- That loss to Cal was so obviously predictable that I almost can't hold it against Stanford. Toby Gerhart officially has my Heisman vote. (You know, if I had a vote.)

Iowa -- I think Iowa's defense actually might be good enough to play with the big boys in the SEC in a bowl game, but I don't see them scoring more than 10 points against anyone.