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I know, I know. We're total hypocrites; we complained in our AP Top 25 post that the Buckeyes were ranked below the likes of Georgia and then go about and put Alabama ahead of them. Our reasoning is multi-tiered, but here's the CliffsNotes version:
- Alabama's played a stronger schedule, both in and our out conference, than Ohio State and while the Buckeyes have no losses, Alabama's lone loss is permissible in context of the degree of difficulty.
- Alabama would beat Ohio State head to head. Jon Wilner is getting crucified for having Ohio State 11th in his AP Top 25 ballot. If voting in these ballots was strictly an exercising in ranking teams based on W/L, he'd deserve it. If he genuinely believes those 10 other teams would all beat Ohio State head-to-head (which there's a case, not a good one, but a case), then that's his prerogative.
- Alabama's got more good wins (LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State) than Ohio State does (Nebraska).
- The eye test: Alabama is the best team we've seen all season and given three plus weeks to prepare, we have a hard time seeing anyone beating them. Their lone loss came on an interception deep in the opposition's territory. This is a really damn good team.
To each their own. We won't patronize anyone who thinks that one loss (admittedly a damn good one to a top 10 caliber team) is a bigger net deficit than only having one quality win. Do we still think that Ohio State could play with any team in the country? Sure. Do we think they'd necessary beat the elite of the elites? Not necessarily.
Also: we do omit Michigan in favor of two MAC teams and Utah State because, well, you know. Go Buckeyes.
Land-Grant Holy Land Ballot - Week 12
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
 2 |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
2 |
| 3 | Ohio St. Buckeyes |
2 |
| 4 | Georgia Bulldogs |
2 |
| 5 | Oregon Ducks |
 -3 |
| 6 | Kansas St. Wildcats |
-5 |
| 7 | Florida St. Seminoles | -- |
| 8 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 9 | Clemson Tigers | -- |
| 10 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 11 | Texas A&M Aggies | -- |
| 12 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 13 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
| 14 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 15 | Louisville Cardinals | -- |
| 16 | Oregon St. Beavers | -- |
| 17 | UCLA Bruins | -- |
| 18 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 19 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 20 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 21 | Kent St. Golden Flashes |
3 |
| 22 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
3 |
| 23 | Mississippi St. Bulldogs | -- |
| 24 | Northern Illinois Huskies | -- |
| 25 | Utah State Aggies | -- |
| Dropouts: USC Trojans, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Texas Tech Red Raiders | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "