SALT LAKE CITY — As far as rivalry weekend went, it lived up to the hype.
Auburn receivers couldn't catch a pass to save their life but still took Alabama down to the wire. Ohio State exorcised some demons and overwhelmed Michigan to end the streak. Texas decided to throw chaos into the playoff mix with a win over Texas A&M. And Ole Miss decided to up the stakes in an always crazy Egg Bowl.
Meanwhile, a certain conference relevant to the state of Utah punted the weekend away ... to the detriment of its best teams and the conference as a whole. But hey, who's talking about that — oh wait, that's the point; nobody is talking about the Big 12.
The following is the ballot I submitted to the Associated Press that will be counted in the consensus rankings that will be released Sunday afternoon.
1. Ohio State
For all the talk about Ohio State blowing through its weak schedule, all of that was put to rest Saturday against rival Michigan. Julian Sayin remains a heavy favorite to make it to New York, and the Buckeyes showed they're well-rounded and maybe even more of a complete team than last year's championship run — a scary thought for other teams.
2. Indiana
Do we care that Indiana blew out Purdue? This feels almost as meaningless as the Big 12's asinine decision to not have rivalry games fall on the last week of the season — like everyone else. Imagine a top-10 matchup between BYU and Utah on Black Friday, with a conference title appearance on the line (and a spot in the playoff).
3. Georgia
Georgia is shaping into postseason form after some up-and-down games earlier this season. What scarier is nobody is really even talking about the Bulldogs and Kirby Smart can hide under the radar.
4. Oregon
It wasn't a gaudy statistical game, but Oregon was seemingly in control all day against heated rival Washington. More importantly, the Ducks defense held quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to just 129 yards on a 50% completion percentage and forced him into two interceptions. Not bad at all.
5. Texas Tech
Speaking of boring end-of-season games ... Texas Tech traveled to Morgantown and embarrassed West Virginia. By the end of the first quarter, Texas Tech controlled a 21-0 lead and never looked back. What, like it's hard?!
6. Ole Miss
The Egg Bowl was chaotic and messy, but the biggest drama took place off the field. Lane Kiffin held the Ole Miss program hostage as he weighed his future coaching decision. And despite all that, Ole Miss still managed a stellar 11-1 season ... but the drama is far from over.
7. Texas A&M
Texas A&M was damaged by losing to heated rival Texas — the state still runs through the Longhorns? — but not too seriously — at least for a playoff bid. Marcel Reed threw two picks and struggled against one of the best defenses in the country. The Aggies remain one of the best teams in the country ... or are they a paper tiger?
8. Notre Dame
The regular-season finale wasn't going to teach us anything more about Notre Dame ... even if people don't fully believe in the Fighting Irish. I tend to think Notre Dame is the real deal, especially with Jeremiyah Love running all over the place. He may even by the favorite to win the Heisman this season.
9. BYU
It didn't always look pretty Saturday afternoon, but once BYU got some momentum, there was no stopping that train. That's kind of been the Cougars' M.O. this year: Allow them to build some momentum and they'll pounce (pun intended).
10. Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a consistently inconsistent team that just so happens to be pretty good ... most of the time. John Mateer tried to give the game away with three interceptions, but LSU couldn't really get much out of it against a stellar defense.
In consideration (alphabetical): Iowa, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Tennessee, UConn, UNLV
If you can't see my full ballot below, click here.
