Alabama rises to No. 1 in latest CFP rankings

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1. Three things to think about off of the new College Football Playoff rankings: 1) Of the top four teams, Florida State has the lightest remaining schedule. How will the Seminoles rise any higher? 2) By rising to No. 1, Alabama gets the "benefit" of playing Mississippi State on a neutral field after beating the Bulldogs by only five points in Tuscaloosa. Gee, thanks. 3) Given the respective locations of these teams, No. 2 Oregon will play in the Rose Bowl semifinal whether it's ranked first, second, or third. The only difference would be the color of the Ducks' unis (home if first or second, road if third).

2. Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen on Monday, discussing how junior tailback Melvin Gordon, he of the 408 yards vs. Nebraska, has improved over 2013: a) "His ability to get up to the next level and make the cuts initially to get onto one defender without another defender having an angle coming from the other side;" and b) "He's breaking many more [arm tackles] at the line of scrimmage and quite frankly the headup tackles he's dealing with in those situations, you see a lot of guys bouncing off him in the holes, some are squared up on him, and I didn't see as much of that a year ago."

3. As well as Ohio State freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett has played this season, and I finally have him in my ESPN.com Heisman top five, one area in which he has let his freshman show is turnovers. The Buckeyes rank eighth in the Big Ten with 17 giveaways. But Ohio State has good company. Mississippi State has committed 21 turnovers, 13th in the SEC. Undefeated Florida State, with 22 giveaways, is dead last in the ACC. The Seminoles keep finding ways to beat teams not of their caliber. However, they should realize that when Mississippi State played a team of equals (Alabama) and Dak Prescott threw three picks, the Bulldogs lost.

No surprises in the top four, but some puzzling decisions elsewhere. Shocked Marshall didn't get in.

— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) November 19, 2014

>LUBBOCK, Texas -- The poster outside Kliff Kingsbury's office says "fearless," a reference to a university marketing initiative to drive financial support to the athletic department.

But who's devoid of fear, really? Even movie-star-looking people like Kingsbury, Texas Tech's 35-year-old second-year football coach, are not. Even millionaires wrestle with the uncertainty of the future.

And that sensation is being exacerbated because, at 3-7, Texas Tech is threatening to have its worst season since 1990, when it won four games. Kingsbury is 11-12 since taking over at his alma mater.

Don't feel sorry for the good-looking millionaire coach. The Marine's son wouldn't want that, anyway.

But Kingsbury offers something worth considering: When you climb to the top of your profession, especially when it has happened somewhat rapidly, there's immense pressure to remain there.

"Does the thought of going backward ever just scare the s--- out of you, giving up what you've got?" he said in September, when the Red Raiders were 2-0. "That scares the s--- out of me."

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