In the interest of full disclosure, I have a family member who used to work for the University of Texas in some capacity. Having said that, Oklahoma is playing as well as, if not better than, anyone in the nation right now, and they have a better out of conference schedule than Texas or Florida. But if a poller believes that a playoff system, fundamentally based on head-to-head matchups, is viable, then that poller must respect Texas’ victory over Oklahoma and hold it against the Sooners when ranking them. That is not to say that the Sooners are not worthy; they are. But 45-35 is still the reason why I placed Texas ahead of Oklahoma in my ballot.
In the ACC, the three teams with nine wins are in the top 25, including both of the ACC Championship participants. Barely.
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas |  1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 3 | Florida | 1 |
| 4 | Alabama |  3 |
| 5 | Texas Tech | — |
| 6 | Southern Cal | 2 |
| 7 | Penn State | — |
| 8 | Utah | 2 |
| 9 | Boise State | — |
| 10 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 1 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 2 |
| 13 | Georgia Tech | — |
| 14 | TCU | 2 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 9 |
| 16 | Michigan State | 2 |
| 17 | Brigham Young | 3 |
| 18 | Oregon | 3 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | 7 |
| 20 | Mississippi | 2 |
| 21 | Northwestern | — |
| 22 | Iowa | 1 |
| 23 | Oregon State | 3 |
| 24 | Boston College | 5 |
| 25 | Buffalo | 1 |
Dropped Out: Missouri (#14), Ball State (#17), Rice (#25).
Tar Heel Mania 