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College football rankings

The college football playoff committee spoke Tuesday night.

The only rankings that matter were released, and THE Ohio State was THE No. 1 team.

I can see that, but it’s way down the list of realizations from the first CFP poll.

Let’s review.

› Takeaway 1: Notre Dame is positioned to be in the playoff. At No. 10 Tuesday, even with the two automatic bids looming outside last night’s top 10, the Irish will be in if they win out.

› Takeaway 1B: The ACC’s October swoon has turned them into a one-bid league. That could still change — not sure if there has been a bigger game in Georgia Tech history since winning the 1990 natty — but when your top-ranked team is Virginia at 14, you got issues. And when the Big 12 has three teams ranked ahead of every ACC team, you got serious issues.

› Takeaway 2: Memphis is the current top-ranked non-Power Four conference team. Huge game for the Tigers Friday night against another contender for the 12th seed in Tulane.

› Takeaway 3: The final month in the SEC is going to be filled with elimination games.

› Takeaway 4: The top four have earned mulligans.

› Takeaway 5: There’s a very real chance there could be some teams way-less-than-enthused to be in their conference championship game.

› Takeaway 6: The first two out are No. 11 Texas and No. 12 Oklahoma. Rest easy, Horns and Sooners fans. The path is in front of you, with November dates with Texas A&M and Alabama, respectively. Neither team has any wiggle room, though.

Thoughts, and we’ll start Which Way Wednesday with this: Which (non-ACC) team outside Tuesday’s top 12 will be a playoff team?

Trade winds

Wow, the news came from every NFL outpost Tuesday as quite possibly the busiest trade deadline I can recall unfolded.

(Side note: Want an interesting conspiracy theory? Anyone think the recent MLB interest prompted the NFL league office to encourage the headline-stealing transactions of Tuesday? Discuss.)

But as busy as the trade avalanche was, among my biggest questions is this: Why were more teams not pushing chips in the middle of the future?

Forget the haves and have-nots in an NFL designed for parity. Everyone truly is a have.

The NFL divide is between the cans and the can nots, and every can not should have been dangling almost every star on their roster to any can willing to deal a first- or second-round pick.

We also had one of the rarest of sports transactions unfold Tuesday as the Colts and Jets completed a blockbuster that I view as a win-win for each franchise.

The Colts got one of the sport’s premier lockdown corners in Sauce Gardner. That’s a meaningful piece for the NFL’s biggest surprise team at the midway point.

Indy has Super Bowl aspirations, but to get there for the first time since Peyton’s prime, they will have to beat either Kansas City or Buffalo. And maybe both. Sauce Gardner can help with that.

It cost the Colts a handsome price as they sent two first-rounders to the Jets, but windows close quickly and the Colts jumped into this one. I like that.

I like it for the Jets too, because they stink, and they are on the short list for most QB-starved organizations in the Super Bowl era.

WWW, part 2: Which QBs would make up the Jets’ Rushmore? Also, is that the worst collection of all-time QBs for any single NFL organization, because other than Willie Joe Namath, who would be next, Richard Todd? Mark Sanchez?

Where were we?

Yes, the Jets, who also got a first and a second by sending Quinnen Williams to Dallas, actually making smart moves.

I feel like a need to sit down.

MLB final thoughts

As you guys noted Tuesday, the World Series ratings numbers were huge.

HUGE.

Game 7 averaged 25.5 million viewers Saturday night and peaked at more than 31 million in the late innings of the Dodgers’ comeback series-clinching win over Toronto.

It was the most-watched baseball game since Game 7 of the 2017 series between the Astros and the aforementioned Dodgers.

Just bonkers numbers and puts MLB at the apex of non-football ratings sports.

For comparison sake, the Florida win over Houston for the NCAA hoops title averaged 18.1 million.

The college football title game with some heavy hitters when THE Ohio State beat Notre Dame averaged 22.1 million.

The NBA Finals, with the small-market Thunder winning it all, averaged 10.1 million.

Which leads me here: Is the Dodgers’ dynasty a good thing for MLB big picture? Dynasties are always desirable for a sport’s popularity.

But the disparity between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays off the field is undeniable.

The macro takeaway is the divide between the uber-rich teams willing to spend and everyone else. Sure, the Blue Jays’ active payroll ranks seventh in the big leagues, but the divide from L.A. to Toronto in active salary is roughly the same amount Detroit brass pays all the active Tigers.

Think about that.

This and that

› So Madi Freeze, Hugh’s daughter, took to social media lamenting her father’s firing and the impact it has had on the family. Uh, ma’am, the $15-plus-million buyout is a pretty good parting gift, no?

› LIV is switching to 72-hole tournaments in 2026. If a golfer swings in the forest as a tree falls and no one is there, does it make a sound? Asking for a few friends.

› OKC star and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the defending champ at 8-0, which is cool. Last night was the 80th straight game SGA has scored 20 or more points. That’s also really cool.

› Rules, friends. Here’s Paschall with the SEC angles on the college football playoff rankings.

› Duke is going to be a tough out in March. Know that.

› Tom Brady cloned his dog. Moving on.

Today’s questions

Which way Wednesday continues this way: Which of your pets (and please be specific) would you clone?

Which CFP team is overhanded? Which is underranked?

Which side of the fan discussion are you on — prop dynasty or pro-parity?

As for today, November 5, let’s review:

Monopoly was launched on this day 90 years ago.

We may have done this but I can’t remember, so let’s roll the dice (Spy?) again.

Rushmore of board games. Go.