And also, yes, Florida beat them by a larger margin, but you have to admit that LSU’s defense definitely performed better against Alabama than Florida. It was two different defenses between the two games.

But still, it gets settled in the championship game and this is just a blog poll anyway, so it doesn’t matter anyway.

But it’s not everything, as Kansas showed us last year. It’s possble to be undefeated and not be the best of two teams. Alabama is undefeated, but only by the skin of its teeth. And, for the record, after a little bit of convincing last week, I’ve had Alabama at No. 1 or 2 since they beat Georgia until now — and I haven’t picked against the Tide since they beat the Dawgs. I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt.

Also, the other thing about resume ranking: We admit it’s a snapshot, and subject to change. If Alabama wins out and beats Florida in the SEC CG, that’s enough new information to put them ahead of the Gators (obviously). This is NOT a ballot saying Florida’s the better team. It is a ballot saying I think they’ve accomplished more.

Having seen most of both games, I’m not sure I would agree that the Alabama “beating was worse,” though I think that’s an inherently subjective decision. For one half, yes, Alabama blew Georgia out of Athens. I’m not sure if that’s “better” or “worse” than what Florida did.

Outgained is important, but not everything. There are legitimate reasons to get outgained — like building up a 20-0 lead by halftime and benefiting from three turnovers. And the margin wasn’t that wide — 258-243.

And Clemson is 4-5, with wins over The Citadel, N.C. State, S.C. State and Boston College. That’s right, only two wins over FBS teams. Miami is 6-3, with wins over Charleston Southern, at Texas A&M, UCF, at Duke, Wake Forest and at Virginia.

Clemson’s five losses? Alabama by 24, Maryland by 3, Wake Forest by 5, Georgia Tech by 4 and Florida State by 14. Miami’s three losses? Florida by 23, UNC by 4 and Florida State by 2.

Sorry, Miami’s better. I might need to re-evaluate having them ranked, but they’re a much better team than Clemson. Being perceived as an underdog and being an underdog are different things. We thought Clemson was going to be good this year; they never were.

Part of this depends on what you put weight on. A lot of people will put so much weight on Florida’s lone loss that it will outweigh almost anything else — that’s a perfectly defensible position. I happen to think that what you do (i.e., wins) is a lot more important than what you don’t do (i.e., losses). Both, though have to be weighed.

In the end, we’re talking about the thinnest of margins. If I could have Alabama and Florida tied for second, I would — but that option isn’t open to us on the BlogPoll. In the end, I’m not too worried about it for this reason: Alabama and Florida will settle this on the field. And whoever wins that game could move to No. 1. I like both these teams, and I’m having a really tough time telling them apart. I hope that my zeal in defending my ballot doesn’t conceal that.

I think I underestimated Cal before this week — to be honest, I’m having trouble making heads or tails of them. On the other hand, losing 17-3 to USC is hardly something of which to be ashamed. Also, consider this: Four teams ahead of them dropped or fell from the ranks entirely. So, this is really a de facto fall of three spots. I’ll think about it, though…