It's true that time flies when you're having fun! It's August already and we are down to business end of this year's Sam Maguire Cup race. Here's our updated football rankings ...

1. DUBLIN (no change)

It's full steam ahead for the Dublin juggernaut after they steamrolled rivals Meath into submission in the Leinster SFC final. It's hard to argue against Dublin's odds of 4/9 to retain the Sam Maguire Cup when you look at the evidence they put forward in their comfortable wins over Laois, Wexford and the Royals. Sterner tests in the coming weeks await but Jim Gavin and his players look set to pass them with flying colours.

2. MAYO (no change)

This Sunday's clash against Cork will tell a tale as regards Mayo's status. The Andy Moran captained outfit showed they have what it takes to dig out a result in the Connacht SFC semi-final against Roscommon before capturing a fourth successive provincial title at Galway's expense. Croke Park in August and September is an altogether different proposition, however, as James Horan's side have found out to their cost in recent years.

3. KERRY (up 5)

Write the Kingdom off at your peril. That was the message sent out by Eamonn Fitzmaurice and his players as they sauntered to a surprisingly comfortable 12-point victory over neighbours Cork in the Munster football showpiece. Despite having to line out without star man Colm Cooper this year, the Kingdom will be a force to be reckoned with. They will fancy their chances of making the last four when they square up to Galway on Sunday.

4. DONEGAL (up 2)

Jim McGuinness described his side's 0-15 to 1-9 Ulster SFC final as his side's 'best victory' during his time. That's saying something but you could understand where McGuinness was coming for after the "questions that were being asked of us". Neutrals will be keeping their fingers crossed that a potential semi-final against Dublin materialises in the coming months. It will be fascinating to find out if the Ulster side's defensive system can contain the well-oiled Dublin attacking machine.

5. CORK (down 2)

Brian Cuthbert and his young Cork team got a rude awakening in the provincial decider but they got back on track with a workmanlike win over Sligo in the qualifiers. They are due to take on Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final on Sunday and that will provide them with a true barometer of where they stand in gaelic football's pecking order. They are, it would seem, not as bad as their defeat to the Kingdom would suggest but are they genuine Sam Maguire contenders?

6. MONAGHAN (down 2)

Monaghan boss Malachy O'Rourke and his players feel they didn't do themselves justice as they relinquished the Anglo Celt silverware against Donegal. Luckily for them, the back-door system gives them the chance to make amends. The Farney County will aim to bounce back against Kildare in round 4 of the qualifiers tomorrow evening and if they can get Conor McManus and Kieran Hughes firing on all cylinders then a quarter-final spot is well within their reach.

7. MEATH (up 2)

Wins over Carlow and Kildare saw Meath qualify for their third consecutive Leinster SFC final but the confidence drained out of the Royals during their 16-point annihilation at the hands of Dublin. Mick O'Dowd faces the difficult task of rallying his troops ahead of their qualifier encounter against an improving Armagh side at headquarters tomorrow. It remains to be see how badly wounded captain Kevin Reilly and his team-mates are following the Dublin attack.

8. KILDARE (up 2)

The championship got off to a bright start for new manager Jason Ryan against Louth but the Waterford native and his players were brought back down to earth when finishing second best to Meath in the provincial semi-final. They have turned their championship campaign around with hard-fought qualifier wins over Down and Clare but face their biggest challenge to date against Monaghan in round 4 of the qualifiers.

9. ARMAGH (up 7)

Paul Grimley's days as Armagh manager appeared to be numbered when the Orchard County were relegated to Division 3 back in the spring but he has overseen a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes since and they have every reason to be optimistic about reaching the last eight, at least.

10. GALWAY (up 5)

Galway played second fiddle to Mayo in the provincial decider before producing an impressive attacking display against Tipperary in the qualifiers. Defence remains their Achilles heel, however, as they prepare to take on Kerry in the quarter-final of the All-Ireland SFC.

11. TYRONE (down 6)

It has been a championship campaign to forget for supporters of the Red Hand County who watched their side slip down the rankings following defeats to Monaghan (Ulster SFC) and Armagh (All-Ireland SFC qualifiers). Their poor form has called Mickey Harte's management into question but the three-time All-Ireland winning manager has stated he intends to stick around to oversee the rebuilding process.

12. ROSCOMMON (no change)

John Evans' emerging side ran Mayo close in the Connacht SFC semi-final and enjoyed a comfortable qualifier victory over Cavan in Breffni Park. They came up short in round 3 of the qualifiers against Armagh, however, and the Kerry native's future is up in the air. Supporters of the Rossies will console themselves with the fact that there is plenty of underage talent coming through the ranks.

13. TIPPERARY (up 6)

The All-Ireland minor football success of 2011 appears to be rubbing off on the Tipperary senior football side. They ran Cork close before claiming the scalps of Longford and Laois in the qualifiers and you get the impression that there is more to come from Peter Creedon's emerging young side.

14. DERRY (down 7)

Derry's impressive league showing proved to be a false dawn as Brian McIver's men exited the Ulster SFC at the hands of eventual winners Donegal. A three point defeat to Jim McGuinness' men is nothing to be embarrassed about but they subsequently suffered the ignominy of a qualifier loss on home soil to Longford and the same old doubts have reared their ugly head again.

15. LAOIS (down 1)

For 50 minutes of their Leinster SFC quarter-final clash against Dublin, Tomas O Flatharta's side gave as good as they got. It was probably the best they could have hoped for travelling up to headquarters that day but the O'Moore County fans were left frustrated after Tipperary sent them packing from the qualifiers.

16. CLARE (up 7)

Colm Collins' charges came agonisingly close to pulling off an upset against Kildare in round 3 of the qualifiers but they can be satisfied with a year which saw plenty of progress made. They are looking forward to Division 3 football next year but the dual player debate is a cloud hanging over their potential to make further improvement.

17. DOWN (down 6)

The Mourne County are on the look-out for a new manager after James McCartan said enough was enough following their qualifier loss to Kildare in Newry. They failed to build-on the promise of McCartan's first year back in 2010 when they lost the All-Ireland final by a solitary point to Cork and it's back to the drawing board for Down football.

18. CAVAN (down 5)

After securing promotion to Division 2 for next year, Cavan's season unravelled when they succumbed to Armagh (Ulster SFC) and Roscommon (SF qualifier) in the championship. After the high of reaching the quarter-final stages last year, the championship defeats were bitter pills for the Breffni faithful to swallow.

19. LOUTH (down 2)

Aidan O'Rourke's tenure as Louth manager came to an end following their heavy qualifier loss to Tyrone in Healy Park. The writing was on the wall for the former Armagh All-Ireland winner following the heavy Leinster SFC defeat they shipped at the hands of Kildare.

20. WESTMEATH (down 2)

Paul Bealin's first year as Westmeath senior football manager failed to deliver a win in either championship or league and Dessie Dolan brought the curtains down on his illustrious gaelic football career. It was a year to forget for Lake County followers.

21. SLIGO (down 1)

Qualifier wins over Wicklow and Limerick put the buzz back into Sligo football after a disastrous 2013 but Pat Flanagan's charges were found wanting against Cork in round 4 of the qualifiers.

22. WEXFORD (down 1)

Another team that felt the full force of Dublin's attacking arsenal, the Model County resembled a sitting duck when Laois arrived in Wexford Park for the qualifier clash.

23. FERMANAGH (down 1)

Antrim brought Fermanagh's Ulster SFC ambitions to an end at the quarter-final stages before Pete McGrath's side fell at the first qualifier hurdle away to Laois.

24. LIMERICK (up 2)

Qualifier wins over London and Antrim were the highlights of Limerick's year and manager John Brudair has grounds for optimism looking ahead.

25. LONGFORD (down 1)

Longford pulled off, arguably, the shock of the back-door series when coming away from Celtic Park with a 2-16 to 2-14 win over Derry in round 1 but Jack Sheedy's side were left left red-faced when they finished up on the wrong end of the 2-17 to 0-6 scoreline against Tipperary in round 2.

26. ANTRIM (down 1)

Liam Bradley's men put Fermanagh to the sword in the quarter-final of the Ulster SFC but had no answer to Donegal in the last four. Their involvement in this year's championship came to an end following 0-15 to 3-11 defeat at the hands of Limerick.

27. WICKLOW (up 1)

Harry Murphy side's report card reads two championship defeats (Laois and Sligo) and one win (Offaly).

28. LEITRIM (down 1)

As expected, Leitrim failed to keep the ball kicked out to Down in the round 1 qualifier at Newry and it was a long trip home west for Sean O'Hagan and his players following their 0-9 to 4-18 reversal.

29. OFFALY (no change)

Emmet McDonnell was the first managerial casualty of the year following the Faithful County's 0-17 to 3-12 qualifier defeat in Aughrim.

30. CARLOW (up 2)

The Barrowsiders' restored some pride to the jersey following their 28-point hammering to Meath when getting the better of Waterford but they finished a distant second to Clare next time out.

31. WATERFORD (down 1)

The Deise were unlucky to lose out to Clare in the Munster SFC after a replay but there was no excuses following their qualifier defeat to Carlow.

32. LONDON (down 1)

It was always going to be a big ask for Paul Coggins and his players to repeat their heroics of 2013 and defeats to Galway and Limerick are all they have to show for their efforts.

33. NEW YORK (no change)

May saw New York heavily beaten by last year's All-Ireland finalists in the Connacht SFC. For all that, there is still plenty to be said for keeping them involved in the championship. Tweet

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