Tom Murphy’s ballot

DROPPED OUT

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writer Tom Murphy is a voter in The Associated Press Top 25. Here are his weekly selections in the latest poll. 1. Notre Dame 16. N. Illinois 2. Alabama 17. Utah State 3. Georgia 18. Oregon State 4. Florida 19. Northwestern 5. Oregon 20. TCU 6. Ohio State 21. San Jose St. 7. Kansas State 22. Kent State 8. Texas A&M 23. Boise State 9. South Carolina 24. Arkansas St. 10. LSU 25. Vanderbilt 11. Stanford 12. Clemson UCLA, Texas, Louisville, 13. Oklahoma Oklahoma 14. Nebraska State, Rutgers, 15. Florida State Michigan receiver last season.

Tide, ‘Dogs coy

Alabama Coach Nick Saban finds plenty to like about competing in a league where the champion has a near-automatic reservation to the BCS national title game.

That’s the case again for Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game between the No. 2 Crimson Tide and No. 3 Georgia. The winner advances to meet No. 1 Notre Dame with a chance to keep the national championship in the SEC for a seventh straight year.

And the loser? Well, that team might be shut out of the BCS picture because No. 5 Florida is in line to grab that spot. Saban is less thrilled about that prospect — another side effect of playing in the SEC.

“For either one of these teams, it’s not really a great scenario,” Saban said Sunday. “You play your way into the championship game, which means you’re the best team in your division. They’re the best team in their division. They played their way into the game by a total body of work for the whole season. It doesn’t seem quite right, but it is what it is.”

The Bulldogs (11-1, 7-1) rebounded from a 35-7 loss at South Carolina on Oct. 6 to win the East for the second straight season.

Georgia Coach Mark Richt said he doesn’t want his team getting caught up in the stakes and magnitude of the game.