There’s a Top Tier of “A” and “B” Contenders This week’s results polling over 2,000 college football fans from across the nation suggest three contenders – LSU, Ohio State, and Alabama – rise to the top as the “A” contenders in the minds of fans. There’s a consensus among college football fans around these three as the top dogs, although it is less likely that fans will currently agree on how to order them. Right under the top three are the “B” Contenders of Penn State and Clemson. In the minds of fans, these two teams are likely to sit below the “A” Contenders, but they are likely to be perceived as closer in quality to the top three than the team ranked under them – Oklahoma – who sits in limbo this week right outside the Tier of Contenders. Speaking of Oklahoma. . .

Oklahoma gets a slight pass from fans after losing to Kansas State Oklahoma’s surprise loss to Kansas State this past week was the biggest shakeup to the college football landscape in Week 9. The loss jeopardizes the Sooners’ Playoff chances, and resulted in Oklahoma falling from #5 down to #10 in the AP. However, the loss wasn’t as damaging to fan perceptions of the Sooners, as Oklahoma clocked in at #6 in the MaxDiff Poll, which makes Oklahoma one of this week’s most underrated teams in the minds of fans. The fact that fans did not drop the Sooners that far, placing them as the sole member of a tier above one-loss powers Georgia, Florida and Oregon suggests that most fans think the Sooners will rebound from the loss to K-State, perhaps running the table to still make a run at the Playoff.

The winner of Georgia vs. Florida this weekend may move up a tier The tier below Oklahoma is comprised of three teams that each still have a shot at making The Playoff: Georgia, Florida, and Oregon (the guest at the cocktail party) In the MaxDiff Poll, when teams are placed in the same tier, it reflects consensus among fans that these teams are perceived as comparable in terms of strength, and matchups between these teams are always intriguing. That’s exactly what we are going to get on Saturday in one of Week 10’s marquee matchups featuring Georgia vs. Florida in a clash for supremacy in the SEC East. Fans in this research perceived these two as very similar as evidenced by their predicted score to this Saturday’s contest. The winner of this matchup can run the table, win the SEC East, and defeat the SEC West Champion to win the nation’s toughest conference and most likely punch a Playoff ticket. While I believe the winner of this game will move up a tier in next week’s MaxDiff Poll, both of these teams are currently perceived as being on a tier below the contenders as evidenced by the fact that fans in this research were almost four times as likely to pick Penn State over Georgia in a hypothetical matchup on a neutral field.

Fans are not sure what to do with Auburn With losses to Florida and LSU, Auburn is almost certainly out of the Playoff race unless unprecedented chaos were to ensue in the SEC. Nevertheless, fans still perceive Auburn as one of the strongest teams in the nation. In fact, fans placed the Tigers from the Plains in a tier above Utah, Minnesota, and Baylor, three teams that only have one loss between the three of them. This is a reflection of the fact that this poll asks voters to consider which teams are best and worst – not who is most deserving. This week’s results suggest most fans would favor Auburn in a neutral site game over the undefeated Minnesota Golden Gophers and Baylor Bears. Whether those perceptions are warranted is another question.

Outsiders with a chance: Utah, Minnesota, and Baylor Calling the next tier the “Outsiders with a Chance” tier is a bit of a misnomer considering only three of these four actually have a realistic shot of punching a Playoff ticket. Two-loss Wisconsin is out of it, but Utah could still get in as a one-loss Pac 12 Champion, and the undefeated Baylor and Minnesota squads could certainly still get the invite by running the table to win their respective conferences. Nevertheless, these teams are currently perceived by fans as being “outside contenders” in that most do not believe these squads would be likely to defeat higher quality squads such as LSU, Clemson, or even Georgia. However, that could change with a victory over a contender, an opportunity Minnesota is going to get in two weeks when they square off with Penn State.