Super 16 Poll Week 10: Complete Rankings Released for 2014 Season

Ultimately, four teams will battle it out at the end of the college football season for a national championship. But what if there was 16?

That's the theoretical question the Super 16 poll voters ask each week as they rank the top 16 teams in the nation. And with a number of one-loss teams out in the wild, a 16-team playoff this season would be a brilliant spectacle. 

We can dream, right? Let's take a look at the Super 16 poll, along with the B/R Top 25.

Rankings

Rank	Team	Record	B/R Poll
1	Mississippi State	7-0	Mississippi State
2	Florida State	7-0	Florida State
3	Alabama	7-1	Alabama
4	Auburn	6-1	Notre Dame
5	Oregon	7-1	Auburn
6	Notre Dame	6-1	Oregon
7	Ole Miss	7-1	Michigan State
8	Michigan State	7-1	Ole Miss
9	TCU	6-1	Georgia
10	Georgia	6-1	TCU
11	Kansas State	6-1	Kansas State
12	Baylor	6-1	Baylor
13	Arizona	6-1	Ohio State
14	Ohio State	6-1	Arizona State
15	Arizona State	6-1	Arizona
16	Nebraska	7-1	Nebraska
17	N/A		LSU
18	N/A		Utah
19	N/A		Oklahoma
20	N/A		East Carolina
21	N/A		West Virginia
22	N/A		Clemson
23	N/A		Marshall
24	N/A		Duke
25	N/A		USC

Analysis

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The group of voters picking this week's Super 16 had an easier job than the selection committee, that much is for certain. While Mississippi State and Florida State seem like no-brainer selections for the first two spots in the playoff at this point in the season, how do you decide which two teams deserve the next two? 

Teams like Auburn, Ole Miss, Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan State and TCU, among others, can all make a pretty compelling case for the third and fourth spots. The scene is certainly set for an epic November in that regard. 

Of course, it would be even more fun if all of these teams could actually face off in a larger playoff, hence the theoretical nature of the Super 16 rankings. Arizona and Arizona State seem unlikely to sniff the playoffs in the current format, for instance, but in a 16-team playoff, both would at least have the chance to show their ilk on the field. 

Or instead of arguing if three SEC West teams deserve to be in the top four, we could actually just let them duke it out on the field. Ah well. 

Stocks are rising and stocks are falling all over the place in college football. One team whose stock is rising again is Alabama, as Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com wrote:

"

Alabama has outscored its past two opponents 93-20 and has averaged 535.5 yards per contest. The defense has yet to give up 400 yards of offense in a game this season, and after having some real issues in its secondary, Alabama has given up an average of 171.5 passing yards per game in the past two outings. 

We have immersed ourselves in the Magnolia State the past few weeks, but it's time to start to looking at what's happening in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is creeping back into the playoff race at the perfect time. 

"

Quarterback Blake Sims also commented on the team's success, per Aschoff.

"This team is getting better and better," said Sims. "We’re becoming even closer and we just want to play hard for each other. The way our coaches fight for us, we want to play even harder for them."

Of course, the Auburn fans don't want to hear any of that. Auburn's only loss came to Mississippi State on the road, and it has a great non-conference win over Kansas State to add to its resume. Of course, the real fun is just beginning, as Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports tweeted:

It seems as though the College Football Playoff will go through the SEC West this year. But wouldn't it be fascinating to see the SEC West have to go through the rest of college football?

How fun would a game between Oregon and Auburn be? Or Alabama and Notre Dame? How about Ole Miss and Michigan State locking horns? Or Mississippi State battling TCU? 

We'll likely get one of those teams versus Florida State at some point, and that's going to be a blast. But with so many teams worthy of the playoff to this point in the season, the four-team playoff is only in its first year and it already feels inadequate.