A fair number of you wonder why I don't have Texas ranked #1 ahead of Alabama. Two quick points in response:

First, though you can make an argument for Texas' resume, I think a slightly stronger one can be made for Alabama's; it just depends on how you weigh the different variables. Personally, I think Bama's true road win over Georgia holds the slightest of edges over Texas' neutral field victory over Oklahoma. Second, our resume rather tanks in value after that, considering the mediocrity that is Colorado, Arkansas, Rice, UTEP, and FAU. Bama's isn't exactly thunderous beyond their top win, either, but it beats Texas' by a nose.

Second, as a Blog Poll voter for the past three years, I have seen the power of the Coulter/Krugman Award "winner." What is the CK Award? Brian explains:

The CK Award goes to the voter who overrates his own team the most. The winner here is always sort of annoying to yours truly, since unabashed homerdom is the charge that will be leveled at this thing whenever anyone cares enough to rip on it, so it's fortunate that for the past few years the winner of the award has usually been crying in his beer Saturday night.

Winning this thing is bad, and while it doesn't always guarantee defeat it takes its best shot. In the season to date:

Michigan State loses to Cal.

Boston College loses to Georgia Tech.

Auburn beats Mississippi State 3-2!!!

Utah beats Air Force 30-23 but found themselves tied with a minute left despite outgaining the Zoomies by 249 yards.

OSU clubs Minnesota.

Michigan State squeezes by a bad Iowa team.

Depending on your opinion re: the relative abilities of Michigan State and Iowa, that's 5/6 weeks something from uncomfortable to dire has happened to the winner here.

This Michigan State guy won't be dissuaded even after his homerism caused the Cal loss and the uncomfortable Iowa game; now the Spartans get undefeated Northwestern on the road. The dire twins will be looking down upon you, yea.

You see where I'm going with this? While voting Texas #1 is hardly likely to land me a CK Award, the principle behind the policy dictates a cautious approach here.

Not a believer in football karma? Suit yourself. But I saw what happened to a Missouri fan who called out the gods on Saturday afternoon... and I want no piece of it.

It's sort of like stumbling upon a button with a sign hanging above it which reads "Pushing this button will curse your mother." Yeah, my first thought would be, "How ridiculous." But if you urged me to push that button, I'd emphatically tell you: "Hell no."