Super 16 Poll Week 11: Complete Rankings Released for 2014 Season

Every week in college football, dreams are broken. When only four teams can reach the College Football Playoff, well, a single play can end a season. 

But what if that wasn't the case? What if 16 teams had the chance to get in?

Those are the questions the voters for the Super 16 Poll ask each week, as they base their rankings on a theoretical 16-team playoff system. It's a bit of fun and, more importantly, it offers a new slant on every college football fan's favorite pastime: debate. 

Let's take a look at how their poll shaped up this week along with Bleacher Report's official Top 25.

Rankings

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

Analysis

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

In a 16-team playoff system, teams like Ole Miss, Georgia and Arizona would have a great chance of either keeping themselves in the postseason or fighting their way back into the top 16. In the current four-team postseason, however, each team is likely done and dusted. 

In a sense, that's both the greatest strength and weakness of the current format. With so few teams having a shot at a national championship, every week is essentially a playoff game. That was the prevailing strength of the BCS system, and it has carried over to the four-team playoff system. In fact, it might be even more pronounced. 

The weakness, of course, is that Ole Miss can see its hopes for the season dashed in two weeks, an away loss to a tough LSU team and a home loss to Auburn on a brutal play where the Rebels thought they had scored a touchdown but instead saw it ruled a fumble and a touchback for Auburn.

Add in a season-ending broken leg to receiver Laquon Treadwell on the day, per The Associated Press, via NCAA.com, and you have one of the most devastating moments in the history of Ole Miss football. Maybe the most devastating moment.

And the end of their postseason hopes it would seem, too.

After the incident, Treadwell posted the following picture on Instagram:

The caption reads:

"

Not everything in life is set out to be easy, & not every plan we have for ourselves work out in our favor. Even the greatest & most powerful people we praise or look up to have huge downfalls, but it takes a strong person & an even stronger mindset to prepare for that major come back. It didn't kill me, so watch as I become stronger. Thanks for the prayers everyone, God bless.

"

One imagines Ole Miss will try to embrace that perspective as well.

Of course, the other flaw of the four-team system is that, well, we only get to see four teams go at it in the postseason, leaving us with trivial—and admittedly compelling and addictive—debates over whether Alabama or Oregon should be No. 4. Or TCU. Or Michigan State. Or Notre Dame. Or...

Sure, it's fun to point out that Alabama lacks a signature win, or to question Oregon's defense, or to wonder whether Notre Dame can finish with a strong enough strength of schedule to crack the top four if it wins out (the Irish will be hanging their hats on wins over Stanford, Arizona State, Louisville and USC if they win out, a resume that appears as though it won't stack up to any SEC West school, for example).

But what if they just all played one another? Wouldn't that be even more fun?

Well, we can dream, right? Until then, we debate. That's the beauty of college football—either way, we're all having a blast.