re: Bama did not earn their ranking, the other teams did.

I honestly don't agree with the rating at all, but from a marketing standpoint it's genius.

1. This ensures that the entire country will be talking about this for the next four days and nights. Money in the bank.

2. This ensures the entire country will be watching the game Saturday. Mo' money.

3. The ranking as released tonight is absolutely irrelevant. In four days, at least with respect to #2 and #4, everything will snap into place, no matter the result.

4. If LSU wins, the story will be about breaking the streak, led by a tremendous Heisman trophy candidate. Destiny.

5. If Bama wins, it will prove that the pundits were correct in placing them in the top four and the loss won't hurt the perception of LSU or LF7.

6. With either loss, Baylor will move up provided it can find a QB and win. All else fixes itself.

It's a win-win for the playoff cash machine, as awful as it is. However, I think it could also be a springboard to a better, more robust playoff system. One can only hope.