Coaches Poll Right with Alabama over Florida State, but Tide Shouldn't Be No. 1

Ah, college football. It's a wondrous sport where we all claim not to care about subjective rankings even though we all care immensely about subjective rankings.

Take this week, for example. 

After Florida State narrowly escaped Carter-Finley Stadium—its personal Bermuda Triangle—with a 56-41 win over N.C. State, Alabama jumped the Seminoles to take over the No. 1 spot in the Amway coaches poll, earning 15 first-place votes and 1,477 total points.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Associated Press voters didn't share the same sentiment, as they kept Florida State in the top spot in their latest poll, with Alabama holding firm in the No. 3 spot behind Oregon.

They're both wrong, because Oklahoma has proven throughout the season that it is a complete football team in every facet of the game and deserves to be ranked No. 1.

The coaches (or SIDs, if you prefer) did get it right this week by voting Alabama above Florida State.

Rank	Coaches	AP
1	Alabama	Florida State
2	Florida State	Oregon
3	Oklahoma	Alabama
4	Oregon	Oklahoma
5	Auburn	Auburn
6	Baylor	Texas A&M
7	Texas A&M	Baylor
8	Notre Dame	UCLA
9	UCLA	Notre Dame
10	Michigan State	Michigan State

What has Florida State done this year to earn that No. 1 designation over Alabama, Oklahoma or Oregon?

Nothing.

The claim to fame for the Seminoles this season is that they're the defending national champs and are sporting a 4-0 record. The latter is important, because losses matter. The former, however, is meaningless.

Florida State has looked sluggish in every single game it's played this year. The offensive line—which was thought to be a strength—has looked average at best and mediocre at worst for the majority of the season. The 'Noles rank next to last in the ACC in rushing offense at 123.75 yards per game.

The defensive line has struggled to force teams behind the chains. They're tied for last in the ACC with 22 tackles for loss and have managed just six sacks this season—the second-worst mark in the conference.

Meanwhile, Alabama has gradually looked more and more like a contender.

The cornerback issues that reappeared in the season opener against West Virginia have disappeared thanks to the emergence of Eddie Jackson and Tony Brown. Quarterback Blake Sims progressed from a game manager to a difference-maker, lighting up Florida with 445 passing yards and four touchdowns in his most recent game—a 42-21 win.

It was clear that Alabama's coaches were unsure of what their team really was in the season opener, so they played conservative, brought the squad along slowly, and it came together in the fourth game of the season. Florida State hasn't done that.

In fact, many of the questions that exist in Tallahassee now are surprises, particularly the protection issues along an offensive line that has five seniors and 112 combined starts, according to Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press/Associated Press

Sure, Florida State has a nice win over a ranked Oklahoma State team on its resume, and wins over Clemson and N.C. State are nice, but quality wins are only one—lesser—component that should be used in ranking teams. 

On the field, Alabama has proven that it is a more complete football team right now and deserves to be ranked ahead of the Seminoles.

Oregon does, too, because while the Ducks do have offensive line issues of their own and struggled to put away Washington State two weeks ago, they do have the best win of any team in the Top Five—a 46-27 victory over current No. 10 Michigan State.

They all should be chasing Oklahoma, though.

The Sooners have outscored their opposition 179-66. They boast a stifling front seven, a tremendous running game with first Keith Ford and now Samaje Perine, and a dynamic playmaker at quarterback in Trevor Knight.

Sure, the Sooners' strength of schedule isn't great, but they did beat West Virginia by double digits in Morgantown, which gives them a common-opponent card to play over Alabama in addition to their consistency throughout the year.

It's nice to see the coaches poll remaining fluid, though. Rankings are supposed to reflect work performed during the current season. This year, Alabama has proven that it deserves to be ranked higher than Florida State during the first month of the campaign.

Oklahoma and Oregon have, too, for that matter.

Barrett Sallee is the Lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.