Sunday, September 20th is only seven weeks away which means we are entering the home straight in the race for Sam Maguire Cup honours. Just 10 teams are left standing, here's our latest football rankings...

1. KERRY (no change)

The Kingdom saw off the stubborn challenge of arch rivals Cork at the second attempt in the Munster decider. This Sunday they travel to Croke Park to take on Kildare in the last eight. Eamonn Fitzmaurice's side got out of jail in the drawn game against their neighbours but they learnt from their mistakes and, as Footballer of the Year James O'Donoghue said this week, the two tough games should stand in goodstead. As we stated back in April, possession is nine-tenths of the law so Kerry hold on to the number one spot but the question is: for how long?

2. DUBLIN (no change)

As expected, there was no team in Leinster that could keep the ball kicked out to the Dubs. The sky blues powered their way to a 54th provincial success and, at this stage, it's hard to argue against their 1/3 favouritism for All-Ireland glory. Surprise packets Fermanagh will provide the opposition in Sunday's quarter-final. Moving forward, how they cope with a blanket defence in the heat of a championship battle will be the acid test but, as things stand, you would have to say it would be a surprise if Jim Gavin & Co get caught on the hop again this year.

3. MAYO (up one)

Wins over Galway and Sligo saw the new management team of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes deliver a 46th Connacht SFC title. In the process they emulated the achievement of the Galway team of the late 50s in winning five provincial titles in-a-row. Their ruthless dismantling of the Yeats County (6-25 to 2-11) made people sit up and take notice following an indifferent league campaign.  Sterner challenges lie ahead, of course, but any team that contains Aidan O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor in their full-forward line can't be ignored.

4. MONAGHAN (up 1)

Malachy O'Rourke and his players proved that their 2013 Anglo Celt Cup success was no flash in the pan when edging a keenly contested Ulster SFC final against Donegal on a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-10. Inspired by captain Conor McManus, the Farney County put down a large deposit on their 16th provincial success in the first-half before withstanding a late Donegal comeback in a dramatic finish. Now they turn their attention to a quarter-final a Round 4B qualifier and they will fancy their chances of making the last four - at least.

5. DONEGAL (down 2)

Donegal haven't become a bad team overnight just because they lost one of their four games in the Ulster SFC. Despite exhausting a lot of energy in defeating Tyrone, Armagh and Derry, the Michael Murphy outfit just came up short against Monaghan. Last year's defeated All-Ireland finalists have the opportunity to get that disappointment out of their system this Saturday when they travel to Croke Park to take on Galway but injury concerns over former Footballer of the Year Karl Lacey is a headache manager Rory Gallagher could do without.

6. TYRONE (up 3)

"I think what I saw today gives me great confidence that we'll not be a bad place when the dust settles." Prophetic words from Mickey Harte following Tyrone's three point Ulster SFC preliminary round defeat to Donegal in Ballybofey. Fast forward two and a half months and the Red Hands are looking good for a place in the last eight of the All-Ireland race. No disrespect to Sligo but anything other than a Red Hand victory this Saturday would constitute a major surprise this Saturday.

7. GALWAY (up 4)

The Tribesmen failed to throw a spanner in the works of Mayo's quest for five-in-a-row but they have redeemed themselves with a string of impressive displays in the back-door series. The Paul Conroy captained outfit has successfully negotiated the hurdles of Armagh and Derry and will be looking to make it a hat-trick of championship wins over Ulster opposition when they square up to Donegal in Croke Park on Saturday.

8. KILDARE (up 5)

The qualifier draw was kind to Jason Ryan and his players but, to their credit, they have seized the opportunity with both hands and last Saturday's win over Cork gave everyone associated with the Lilywhites a massive lift. After the 19-point hammering at the hands of Dublin in the Leinster SFC semi-final, they got back on track with back-door wins over Offaly and Longford before claiming the Rebel County's notable scalp. Can they repeat the trick against Kerry this weekend?

9. CORK (down 3)

Brian Cuthbert became the highest profile manager casualty of the 2015 gaelic football season following the Rebel County's embarrassing exit to Kildare last Saturday evening. It was difficult not to feel some sympathy for Cuthbert who was only seconds away from masterminding a memorable Munster SFC final success over Kerry. His experience, as he said himself, "demonstrates the tight margins that exist between success and failure at inter county level".

10. FERMANAGH (up 8)

The biggest movers in our rankings, Fermanagh have been the story of the senior football championship season so far. Under Pete McGrath's shrewd management, the Ernesiders gave as good as they got against Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final before embarking on a qualifier run which saw them overcome Antrim, Roscommon and Westmeath. They will make their first All-Ireland SFC quarter-final appearance since 2004 on Sunday but the fear now is that they may have bitten off more than they can chew in the form of Dublin.

11. ROSCOMMON (down 3)

After claiming the Division 2 silverware, the Rossies flattered to deceive in the championship. They took their eye off the ball in the Connacht championship and paid the price when suffering a shock semi-final defeat to Sligo. Their restored some of the damage to their reputation with a qualifier win over Cavan but Fermanagh compounded their woes in Round 3A of the qualifiers. Question marks hang over John Evans' future as manager.

12. DERRY (up 2)

Brian McIver called it quits as Derry senior football boss following their qualifier departure at the hands of Galway. The experienced manager was left fuming at the performance of referee Conor Lane in Salthill but he also admitted that the Oak Leafers were the architects of their own downfall in a lot of ways. An Ulster SFC quarter-final victory over Down was the highlight of their championship year.

13. ARMAGH (down 6)

Armagh fans who were hoping that their team could mount a serious challenge for a first Ulster SFC success since 2008 following the appointment of Kieran McGeeney were left disappointed. The Orchard County were no match for Donegal when they met in the province and made a tame exit from the qualifiers when losing by 0-12 to 1-12 to Galway.

14. WESTMEATH (up 6)

Despite their 0-6 to 2-13 Leinster SFC final education by Dublin and subsequent qualifier defeat to Fermanagh, it will go down as a year to remember for Tom Cribbin and his players. A first ever championship victory over neighbours Meath, not to mention wins over Louth and Wexford, gives them a platform to work on into the future.

15. DOWN (down 3)

Jim McCorry's first year at the helm of the Mourne County got off to a good start with promotion to Division 1 but that proved to be as good as it got. The team in red and black lost their Ulster SFC quarter-final to Derry by a point before suffering a surived defeat to Wexford in the first round of the qualifiers.

16. MEATH (down 6)

The Royal County's fortunes nose-dived in the Leinster SFC and they failed to recover in time for the Round 2B trip to Healy Park to take on Tyrone. The clubs will have their say on whether or not Mick O'Dowd should be given a fourth year as manager at the next County Committee meeting but the Management Committee has given him their unanimous backing.

17. TIPPERARY (down 2)

Peter Creedon walked away from the Tipperary manager's job following the 12 point qualifier defeat to Tyrone in Semple Stadium. There were high expectations surrounding the Premier County in 2015 but a facile qualifier victory over Louth is all they have to show for their efforts following their 2-8 to 2-14 Munster SFC semi-final loss to Kerry.

18. CAVAN (down 1)

Time is running out for Terry Hyland and his management team to deliver tangible reward on the senior stage. The promise of the recent U-21 success is in danger of evaporating if the Breffni County is not careful. The lack of a marquee forward continues to haunt them as they suffered championship defeats to Monaghan and Roscommon.

19. SLIGO (up 2)

Niall Carew's Sligo pulled off a major upset when registering a 1-14 to 0-13 Connacht SFC semi-final success over Roscommon but their bubble was well and truly burst by Mayo in the Nestor Cup decider. They will attempt to pick up the pieces when they take on Tyrone on Saturday at GAA headquarters but a result against the Red Hands is a big ask.

20. LAOIS (down 4)

Tomorrow (Friday) is the deadline for nominations to be submitted to the County Board for the vacant Laois senior football manager position. Tomas O Flatharta  stepped down in the wake of the O'Moore County's All-Ireland SFC qualifier defeat to Antrim.

21. LONGFORD (up 3)

The Midlanders are also on the lookout for a new manager after Jack Sheedy stepped down due to personal reasons. The former Dublin star and his players can look back on 2015 with a fair degree of satisfaction following their promotion to Division 3 and championship wins over Offaly and Clare.

22. CLARE (down 2)

It's back to the drawing board for Colm Collins and his backroom team. Their 1-12 to 2-12 qualifier defeat to Longford on home soil was a big set-back for Banner County football.

23. OFFALY (down 1)

The 0-13 to 0-16 Leinster SFC loss to Longford took a lot of the shine off the Division 4 final success but Pat Flanagan and his players will draw encouragement from their brave qualifier display against neighbours Kildare.

24. WEXFORD (up 2)

The Model County savoured a championship victory to remember when lowering Down's colours on home soil but they will be operating in Division 4 in 2016.

25. ANTRIM (up 2)

Fermanagh proved to be the rock on which the Saffrons' championship aspirations perished not once, but twice this year. However, their 2-15 to 1-16 smash and grab raid against Laois was one of the stand-out results of the summer.

26. LOUTH (down 2)

"This was a mismatch" said Wee County boss Colin Kelly following his team's 23 point qualifier hammering at the hands of Tipperary in Semple Stadium.

27. LIMERICK (down 2)

Two championship outings against Clare and Tyrone, two defeats for John Brudair's charges.

28. WICKLOW (up 2)

Jonny Magee and his players put their disappointing Division 4 campaign behind them to produce two spirited championship performances against Meath and Armagh.

29. LEITRIM (down 1)

The Connacht minnows lost both of their championship games, against Galway (Connacht SFC) and Louth (qualifier) by eight points.

30. LONDON (up 2)

There's a fair few teams who would struggle against Roscommon and Cavan so there is no shame in that from the Exiles' point of view.

31. CARLOW (down 2)

The Barrowsiders promising early showing in the league proved to be false dawn as they lost out to neighbours Laois by 17 points in the Leinster SFC before suffering a 10 point loss to Longford in the qualifiers.

32. WATERFORD (down 1)

22 points separated the Deise and Tipperary when they met in the Munster SFC and things didn't get much better for Tom McGlinchey and his players in the qualifiers against Offaly.

33. NEW YORK (no change)

The Gaelic Park scoreboard read 2-18 to 0-8 in Galway's favour back on Sunday, May 3rd.

Tweet

Most Read Stories