If you’ve wondered where ol’ SwampSwami has been the past week, our family has been attending to the funeral arrangements for my brother-in-law, Ron, who suddenly passed away last week at the age of 59. Prior to retiring from the US Army a few years ago, Ron served 27 years piloting the Apache attack helicopter in combat missions in Kuwait, Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. He was a great patriot, but an even better person. I will truly miss his keen sense of humor and his unwavering support.
As for college football, we are now down to a literal handful of undefeated teams as only five are left at the top of the heap. Alabama remains at #1 this week and awaits their annual battle with LSU. Bama’s head coach, Nick Saban, once led LSU to prominence with a National Title in 2003 and, after arriving at Alabama, has added 4 more national championships in Tuscaloosa. 6-2 LSU has earned its way back into my Top 25 this week at #20. As usual in this contest, first one to 20 points should win!
The dogfight for the four BCS playoff berths should be a fascinating race this year as 12 one-loss teams remain in the mix coming down the November stretch run. Whoa Nellie! On with the countdown!
| # | Team | W | L | 2016 Final Rank | Best win this season |
| 1 | Alabama | 8 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 8 | 0 | 9 | |
| 3 | Miami (Fla) | 7 | 0 | 20 | |
| 4 | Georgia | 8 | 0 | Beat 7-1 Notre Dame 20-19 @ ND | |
| 5 | UCF | 7 | 0 | Beat 7-1 Memphis 40-13 at home | |
| 6 | Clemson | 7 | 1 | Beat 7-1 Virginia Tech 31-17 @ VT | |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 7 | 1 | Beat 7-1 Ohio State 31-16 @ Ohio St | |
| 8 | TCU | 7 | 1 | Beat 7-1 Okie State 44-31 @ OSU | |
| 9 | Ohio State | 7 | 1 | Beat 7-1 Penn State 39-38 @ home | |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 7 | 1 | Beat 6-2 Michigan St. 38-18 @ MSU | |
| 11 | Penn State | 7 | 1 | Beat 6-2 Michigan 42-13 at home | |
| 12 | Memphis | 7 | 1 | Beat 5-2 Navy 30-27 at home | |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 7 | 1 | Beat 5-3 W. Virginia 50-39 @ W.Va. | |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 7 | 1 | Beat 5-3 W. Virginia 31-24 at home | |
| 15 | Toledo | 7 | 1 | Beat 5-3 C. Michigan 30-10 @ C.Mich. | |
| 16 | Washington | 7 | 1 | Beat 4-4 UCLA 44-23 at home | |
| 17 | South Florida | 7 | 1 | Beat 3-5 Tulane 34-28 @ Tulane | |
| 18 | Iowa State | 6 | 2 | Beat 7-1 Oklahoma 38-31 @ OU | |
| 19 | Mississippi State | 6 | 2 | Beat 6-2 LSU 37-7 at home | |
| 20 | LSU | 6 | 2 | Beat 6-2 Auburn 27-23 at home | |
| 21 | Auburn | 6 | 2 | Beat 6-2 Miss. State 49-10 at home | |
| 22 | Washington State | 7 | 2 | Beat 7-2 USC 30-27 at home | |
| 23 | Boise State | 6 | 2 | Beat 7-2 San Diego St. 31-14 @ SD St. | |
| 24 | San Diego State | 7 | 2 | Beat 6-2 Stanford 20-17 at home | |
| 25 | Michigan State | 6 | 2 | Beat 6-2 Michigan 14-10 @ Mich. |