ade the first Top 25, the most of any conference. The Pac-12 has five teams, while the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 each have four. The | Forum

The time to make September statements is over, but there is one more month to impress the College Football Playoff selection committee before it releases its first ranking on Nov. Marcus Maye Jersey . 1.At this point, the playoff picture is somewhat premature, as teams are just now entering the heart of conference play, and the committee holds league titles in high regard. Technically, any team with a chance to win its league should still be in the conversation. (Oklahoma: So youre saying theres a chance?)The perception of wins and losses will also change as the season evolves. Will Houstons win over Oklahoma carry as much weight in November as it did in Week 1? Not if the Sooners slip into oblivion. Alabama beat USC ... well, so did almost everyone else. The same can be said for Texas thrilling double-overtime win against Notre Dame in the season opener, as the Irish are now 1-3 after losing at home to Duke.A win over a Power 5 nonconference opponent will continue to resonate with the committee and help separate those teams from other comparable programs with weaker schedules, but as the teams evolve, so does the playoff picture.Heres a look at what we know after four weeks and what questions still linger heading into October:September answers:Alabama is still the team to beat. The defending national champs entered the season with questions about their quarterbacks and running backs, but after a 4-0 start they have reasserted themselves as the premier team in the country. The gritty win over Ole Miss, which had beaten the Crimson Tide the previous two seasons, made the biggest statement and cemented Bamas perch atop the SEC West. The biggest concern right now is staying healthy, as the top two running backs, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, were injured against Kent State.Notre Dame and USC arent top-four -- or top-25.?Both fell far fast and are off to 1-3 starts, major disappointments for programs that entered the season with playoff aspirations. The Irish suffered their worst upset in two decades on Saturday when they lost at home to Duke, which was a three-touchdown underdog, and USC lost a heartbreaker to Utah on Friday night. The Trojans simply havent looked good enough to contend for the Pac-12 title, let alone a spot in the top four.Louisville has legitimate national title hopes. After embarrassing then-No. 2 Florida State 63-20, Louisville flipped a switch from playoff dark horse to contender. It has looked like the best team in the ACCs Atlantic Division and will have played both FSU and Clemson before the first CFP ranking comes out. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, but Louisvilles defense has made the Cardinals the total package entering October.The Group of 5 has hope. Houstons win over Oklahoma wasnt a fluke. Clearly the Cougars were the better team, but they still need a perfect season plus a bit of help to get into the top four. Its not impossible, but the Thursday night game against Louisville on Nov. 17 has grown in importance. In addition to needing to finish undefeated, Houston needs OU to be relevant in the Big 12 race and for the committee to acknowledge a few of its American Athletic Conference opponents in its top 25.The Big 12 is in a precarious position. Oklahoma is 1-2 but hasnt even started conference play. The excitement around Texas fizzled with its loss at Cal. TCU lost in double overtime to Arkansas, and Oklahoma States controversial loss to Central Michigan (which just lost to Virginia) was a microcosm of the hand-wringing that Big 12 fans have gone through this season. So the league turns to Baylor, a program mired in controversy, as its highest-ranked team. Whoever emerges as the league champ will likely be afforded only?one loss by the committee.Tennessee controls the SEC East. What streak? Butch Jones can exhale after overcoming an 18-point deficit in the second half to beat Florida and snap an 11-game losing streak in the series. Equally as important is that the win propelled the Vols to the top of the East standings as the front-runner to win the division, especially after Georgias dreadful performance in a 45-14 loss to Ole Miss.Lingering questions:Can anyone beat Alabama? Not even Ole Miss could do it this year. LSU certainly doesnt look capable after a loss to Auburn. With its win over Arkansas, Texas A&M became the lead contender to challenge the Tide in the SEC West, but Alabama will have home-field advantage in that game on Oct. 22. Tennessee also has new life in the East and could have two shots at Bama, and in case you didnt notice, rival Auburn still has a pulse. Anything can happen in the Iron Bowl.How will the committee view Baylor? The Bears are now the Big 12s highest-ranked team after their win over Oklahoma State, and West Virginia is the only other undefeated team in the league. For the third straight year, Baylors nonconference schedule is laughable compared to others, but is the Big 12s most polarizing program also its best? Can the Bears remain relevant in the conference race? If so, will the committee members be able to separate what has happened on the field with the transgressions off it?Can Wisconsin keep it up? The Badgers have one of the most impressive September résumés, knocking off two top-10 teams in LSU and Michigan State. Remember, though, that Wisconsin made it to the Big Ten championship game in 2014 and was dismantled by Ohio State and its third-string quarterback. Theres no doubt the Badgers found their quarterback in Alex Hornibrook, but they also face back-to-back top-five opponents in Michigan and Ohio State.Is Utah for real? The Utes are off to a 4-0 start, but they also did that last year and were 3-0 to start 2014. They havent been able to sustain their recent strong starts through conference play. Utah next travels to Cal, and should also be leery of a surging Colorado team in the ever-unpredictable South Division, which has had four different champs in each of the past four seasons.Will the ACC need its third-party tiebreaker? Its a long shot, as several things need to happen: Clemson has to beat Louisville, AND Florida State has to beat Clemson, AND none of them can lose again this season, finishing with 11-1 records. If that happens, the ACC will turn to SportSource Analytics for its No. 7 tiebreaker, using the highest-ranked team, according to their team rating score metric, to determine the Atlantic Division winner.Ohio State or Michigan? It was clear in the home loss to Wisconsin that Michigan State has issues, and Sparty didnt look ready to return to the Big Ten title game. So which one is it? Ohio State or Michigan? The Buckeyes have the better résumé right now thanks to a road win over Oklahoma, and they also have to travel to Wisconsin on Oct. 15, in addition to facing Nebraska, Michigan State and Michigan. The Wolverines host Wisconsin on Saturday. Derrick Jones Jersey . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Elijah McGuire Jersey . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. http:///...wesley-walker-jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. In a way, the 2016 season will pick up where 2015 left off: Alabama is No. 1, and Clemson is No. 2.The defending national champion Crimson Tide are the No. 1 team in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 for the fifth time in history and third time under coach Nick Saban.The Tide received 33 of 61 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,469 points in the poll released Sunday. Clemson, which lost a thrilling College Football Playoff championship game to Alabama in January, received 16 first-place votes and 1,443 points.This is the first time since 1992 that the teams that ended the previous season at Nos. 1 and 2 in the AP poll began the next season in the same spots. Miami and Washington did it that season.Also receiving top votes were No. 3 Oklahoma (four), No. 4 Florida State (five), No. 5 LSU (one), No. 6 Ohio State (one) and No. 7 Michigan (one). A year after the Buckeyes became the first unanimous preseason No. 1 in the history of the AP poll, seven teams received first-place votes, the most in the preseason since 1998.Stanford, Tennessee and Notre Dame rounded out the top 10.Alabama has won an unprecedented four national championships in the past seven seasons, but none has come when the Tide started No. 1 (2010 and 2013). Thats one of a couple of trends the Tide will be trying to buck this season. The last preseason No. 1 to win the national championship was USC in 2004. Alabama is the fourth straight defending champ to start the next season No. 1.Its basically humman condition to get satisfied with success, said the 64-year-old Saban, who is 105-18 at Alabama. Mark Myers Jersey. Theres a lot of books written on how to be successful. Theres not a lot of books written on how to stay successful.The Tide, ranked in the preseason top five for the eighth straight year, need to replace Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry and defensive All-Americans Reggie Ragland and AShawn Robinson and will be breaking in a new quarterback, but the next wave of four- and five-star recruits is ready to step up. In Calvin Ridley, Alabama has one of the best receivers in the country, and linebacker Reuben Foster and pass-rusher Tim Williams will anchor another potentially dominant defense.Clemson returns quarterback Deshaun Watson, a Heisman finalist whose 2016 campaign essentially started with a magnificent performance against Alabama in the championship game, and nine other offensive starters. The Tigers face tough opposition in their own division with Florida State.The Tigers and Seminoles give the ACC two top-five teams in the preseason poll for the first time in the history of the conference.Six SEC teams made the first Top 25, the most of any conference. The Pac-12 has five teams, while the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 each have four. The American has one representative in Houston at No. 15.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '