With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, we — the Elvii of college football — have joined together to present our weekly playoff nominations to keep the selection committee honest. We call it the T.C.B. Poll.

Playoff Rankings: Week 9

Each week, the T.C.B. Poll is an aggregate of all our inputs. Scroll down to see individual selections and opinions — this is how we’d like to see the College Football Playoff if we had to narrow the field *right now* to determine a national champion. Images courtesy The Helmet Project.

Rank	Team		Record	Weekly Change
1		LSU	7-0	—
2		Texas Christian	8-0	—
3		Clemson	8-0	+ 1
4		Ohio State	8-0	-1

Also receiving votes: Michigan State, Iowa, Stanford.

TCB Committee Member Comments

@TheLSUElvis

1. Ohio State – You stay #1 until you lose
2. LSU – Playing at Alabama for the Game of the Century Part III
3. TCU – Gonna be a showdown on November 27 when they play Baylor
4. Clemson – The other Death Valley Tigers seem to be in the ACC driver’s seat

@AuburnElvis

Looking back over my picks, I’ve realized I’m pretty much the old-school type of pollster that votes by looking ahead and guessing, instead of just looking at the games to-date. And I’m totally OK being that guy. Every poll needs one contrarian. So with that…

1. SEC Champion (LSU) – I feel really good about this pick. The Tigers are good, and they’ve beaten a very good Florida team that’s probably better than Alabama.
2. Michigan State – I’ve said before, I expect Ohio State to lose. And while there’s always Iowa, I really think the Spartans will prevail in the B1G.
3. TCU – The wacky Big 12. Who can tell what’s going to happen. But I know for sure that if they put out even a halfway decent champion this year, they’ll get into the Playoff due to last year’s snub.
4. ABC “Anyone But Clemson” I really want to put Notre Dame here just to mess with Clemson fans, but instead, I’ll slot Stanford here instead.

@HawkeyeElvis

1. Ohio State – Did you know that when the first “official” playoff poll came out last year they were ranked 16th? Keep JT Barrett away from the booze the Buckeyes should be okay.
2. LSU – We’ll find out after Saturday if they are still in this poll next week.
3. TCU – It would be somewhat of a shock if they didn’t end up winning the Big 12.
4. Clemson – This week will be interesting for the Tigers won’t it?

On deck – Michigan State, Baylor, Iowa (I can’t believe I just typed that….)

@IrishElvis

Ohhhhh goody, the first official playoff rankings come out this evening, but you know we have you covered so you can be the most prepared fan around the workplace water cooler. Until further notice, here are the remaining undefeated teams ranked by schedule strength to date:

1. Clemson (28) – The Other Tigers are looking strong. Can anyone keep pace?
2. LSU (37) – The Bayou Bengals either eliminate Alabama from SEC (and national playoff) contention, or Saban throws the kitchen sink at Leonard Fournette. Maybe both happen.
3. Iowa (47) – I am trying to find a way to talk to my child about an undefeated Iowa. For the same reason that I (foolishly) picked an SEC East champ to make the playoff because of their easier schedule, I must slot the Hawkeyes here because their toughest test between now and the playoff will be the B1G Title game in Indianapolis.
4. TCU (53) – Their schedule gets cranked up shortly (finally) and we can see more Trevone Boykin stunts, which are always pleasing to the eye.

On deck: Michigan State (59) plays Ohio State (68) soon; Oklahoma State (70) plays the aforementioned TCU this week; Memphis (84) plays Houston (124) in a couple weeks; Toledo (116) has asked to replace Arkansas in the SEC, and Baylor (104) has no business making an EIGHT-team playoff at this point, given their resume.