Seven teams can win the national championship this season, everybody else is decoration.
That is where we landed on Tuesday's show with Mike Ryan, and don't worry we are one of those teams.
Texas is No. 1, Georgia and Notre Dame sit ahead of us, the AP has us fourth and Ohio State is right behind at five. Add Alabama and Indiana and you have the seven.
It is the same group everybody had before the season with one change. Oregon fell out. Alabama climbed in.
"They're a tier above everybody else in my view," DMoney said. "It's seven teams we've got to worry about for the championship, and the rest are just kind of there for decoration."
Texas is up and down and Arch Manning has not taken the step forward DMoney expected, even if there is still room for him to be really good.
Georgia is as consistent as ever, but there is no pass rush, and Gunner Stockton showed his ceiling in the playoff last year. He will run around and make some throws. He is not going to stand in the pocket and beat you over the middle.
Notre Dame has nothing explosive. Last year the Irish had Malachi Fields winning contested catches and the most explosive running game in the country.
Ohio State is a one-man team on offense. That man is Jeremiah Smith, and Mike put him "right up there with Malachi Toney as the best player in the nation overall." The problem is the other side of the ball.
"Who are the first-rounders on Ohio State's defense?" DMoney asked.
Indiana is the unknown.
The narrative is that Indiana lost Fernando Mendoza, got a scare from Northwestern and is not the same. Mike is not hearing it.
"Miss me with looking over Indiana just because they don't have Mendoza," he said.
His case starts up front, where the defensive line is still very good even if the secondary has slipped. Charlie Becker is a bigger part of the offense, Nick Marsh is on the other side, and Mike called them two first-round receivers. Lee Beebe Jr. has taken over in the backfield.
Even the Northwestern game looks better now, after what Northwestern and Aidan Chiles did to Penn State.
Then there is what we already know.
"Miami knew exactly when that back shoulder was going to Becker every time," Mike said. "We all did. We were all in that stadium. We didn't have an answer for it."
With the injuries we have had in the secondary, he does not know what shape we would be in for a rematch.
"I hated Alabama the last two years," he said. "I thought they were soft, just like West Coast, not running the ball. I hate their brand of football that they played the last two years."
Two things changed: A running game that was among the worst in the country last season is now top-30 and Keelon Russell took over at quarterback.
"Their quarterback can run, he can throw, he's smart," DMoney said. "I think he's the best quarterback they've had there since I can remember."
Around Russell, the offensive line is better, the receivers are good, both edge rushers can play and the secondary has NFL players in it.
"I can see them beating us in a shootout," DMoney said. "We could beat them, of course, but that's a shootout game."
Mike was not ready to sign off.
"Alabama hasn't played a good defense. Georgia's highly touted defense has not played a good offense. So I don't really know much about these teams," he said. "I think the SEC discourse should really be more people being comfortable saying in front of microphones, we don't know yet."
Mississippi State got blown out at home by Alabama and dropped one spot. Ole Miss is still in the top ten after getting blown out by Florida without Kewan Lacy, and its win over Louisville looks worse every week.
BYU has no chance, Oregon has looked terrible all year, LSU might be able to climb in, but he does not believe in Sam Leavitt, who he says is not accurate enough and is hurt too often.
Closer to home, the ACC did what it does.
Pitt came in at 25 after beating Virginia Tech, a game that turned when Mason Heintschel went down with an injury Mike thought looked bad. We play both teams, and the best outcome for us was a Virginia Tech team climbing toward the top 15 before we see it. Instead the team with the backup quarterback won.
"In perfect ACC fashion, the worst possible result for the conference ends up happening," Mike said.
The full conversation with Mike is up on the CanesInsight YouTube channel. Watch it, subscribe, and tell us which of the seven you least want to see in the playoff.
That is where we landed on Tuesday's show with Mike Ryan, and don't worry we are one of those teams.
Texas is No. 1, Georgia and Notre Dame sit ahead of us, the AP has us fourth and Ohio State is right behind at five. Add Alabama and Indiana and you have the seven.
It is the same group everybody had before the season with one change. Oregon fell out. Alabama climbed in.
"They're a tier above everybody else in my view," DMoney said. "It's seven teams we've got to worry about for the championship, and the rest are just kind of there for decoration."
Every contender has a hole
Nobody came out clean.Texas is up and down and Arch Manning has not taken the step forward DMoney expected, even if there is still room for him to be really good.
Georgia is as consistent as ever, but there is no pass rush, and Gunner Stockton showed his ceiling in the playoff last year. He will run around and make some throws. He is not going to stand in the pocket and beat you over the middle.
Notre Dame has nothing explosive. Last year the Irish had Malachi Fields winning contested catches and the most explosive running game in the country.
Ohio State is a one-man team on offense. That man is Jeremiah Smith, and Mike put him "right up there with Malachi Toney as the best player in the nation overall." The problem is the other side of the ball.
"Who are the first-rounders on Ohio State's defense?" DMoney asked.
Indiana is the unknown.
The narrative is that Indiana lost Fernando Mendoza, got a scare from Northwestern and is not the same. Mike is not hearing it.
"Miss me with looking over Indiana just because they don't have Mendoza," he said.
His case starts up front, where the defensive line is still very good even if the secondary has slipped. Charlie Becker is a bigger part of the offense, Nick Marsh is on the other side, and Mike called them two first-round receivers. Lee Beebe Jr. has taken over in the backfield.
Even the Northwestern game looks better now, after what Northwestern and Aidan Chiles did to Penn State.
Then there is what we already know.
"Miami knew exactly when that back shoulder was going to Becker every time," Mike said. "We all did. We were all in that stadium. We didn't have an answer for it."
With the injuries we have had in the secondary, he does not know what shape we would be in for a rematch.
Alabama is the wild card
The team DMoney least wants to see is the one he could not stand a year ago."I hated Alabama the last two years," he said. "I thought they were soft, just like West Coast, not running the ball. I hate their brand of football that they played the last two years."
Two things changed: A running game that was among the worst in the country last season is now top-30 and Keelon Russell took over at quarterback.
"Their quarterback can run, he can throw, he's smart," DMoney said. "I think he's the best quarterback they've had there since I can remember."
Around Russell, the offensive line is better, the receivers are good, both edge rushers can play and the secondary has NFL players in it.
"I can see them beating us in a shootout," DMoney said. "We could beat them, of course, but that's a shootout game."
Mike was not ready to sign off.
"Alabama hasn't played a good defense. Georgia's highly touted defense has not played a good offense. So I don't really know much about these teams," he said. "I think the SEC discourse should really be more people being comfortable saying in front of microphones, we don't know yet."
Mississippi State got blown out at home by Alabama and dropped one spot. Ole Miss is still in the top ten after getting blown out by Florida without Kewan Lacy, and its win over Louisville looks worse every week.
Who's eighth?
Nobody, if you ask DMoney.BYU has no chance, Oregon has looked terrible all year, LSU might be able to climb in, but he does not believe in Sam Leavitt, who he says is not accurate enough and is hurt too often.
Closer to home, the ACC did what it does.
Pitt came in at 25 after beating Virginia Tech, a game that turned when Mason Heintschel went down with an injury Mike thought looked bad. We play both teams, and the best outcome for us was a Virginia Tech team climbing toward the top 15 before we see it. Instead the team with the backup quarterback won.
"In perfect ACC fashion, the worst possible result for the conference ends up happening," Mike said.
The full conversation with Mike is up on the CanesInsight YouTube channel. Watch it, subscribe, and tell us which of the seven you least want to see in the playoff.
