Goodbye, 7-1 Ohio State; hello, 7-1 LSU

Remember how Ohio State was the team built to challenge Alabama? That was last week.

In the spirit of instant overreactions, we interrupt this season to give you Boilermakers 49, Buckeyes 20. Yeah. Wow.

And the upset is one thing. But the thorough domination is at least as baffling as that loss to Iowa last season. And even though it’s the Buckeyes’ first loss, it might be as damaging as that one was. Look out below as the Buckeyes plummet from the Football Four.

Meanwhile, Clemson suddenly looks like the team with an offense and a defense built to win it all. You know, kind of like, well, Alabama. Could we be headed to a now familiar matchup of college football’s best programs?

So yeah, there’s some shuffling this week in the Football Four, as the calendar nears November and things start to get tense. As always, remember we pick the College Football Playoff bracket as if the season was over.*

Football Four

1. Alabama: Twelve in a row against Tennessee, which isn’t surprising. Not much is surprising by now with his bunch. Tua. Touchdown. Rinse. Repeat. Next up, Nov. 3 and a trip to LSU. Seems fairly big. 2. Clemson: Put together the most complete performance of the season in a 41-7 rout of North Carolina State. Don’t look now, but freshman QB Trevor Lawrence makes the Tigers very dangerous.

3. Notre Dame: After taking the weekend off, the Irish start the stretch run with Navy in San Diego. Can the Irish win out? If they do, the Playoff field gets very, very crowded.

4. LSU: The Tigers ground away again for another victory, clamping down defensively against Mississippi State. Now, an extra week to prepare for Alabama’s visit to Death Valley, which will determine whether LSU moves up in the Football Four … or moves back out.

Four More**

5. Michigan: After smothering little br — sorry, Michigan State — are the Wolverines suddenly the Big Ten favorite? Yeah, maybe. With that defense, it makes some sense. But pay attention to Shea Patterson and an emerging offense, too.

6. Texas: The Longhorns enjoyed the weekend off. Back in action this week at Oklahoma State. Texas could be headed toward a rematch in the Big 12 championship game with Oklahoma (see below), and it could be a de facto Playoff quarterfinal. 7. Oklahoma: After a long two weeks, the Sooners got back on track with a convincing win at TCU. Kyler Murray and that “O” remain almost unstoppable. More important, the defense got some stops. Oklahoma gave up two second-quarter touchdowns but was actually, um, pretty good the rest of the way.

8. Georgia: Took the weekend off after that loss to LSU. Now comes the annual little soiree with Florida. But it, and everything, suddenly looks much more difficult, doesn’t it?

A Few More After That***

Central Florida: Twenty in a row. Even without McKenzie Milton, the Knights had no issues with East Carolina.

Iowa: Could the Hawkeyes be headed to winning the Big Ten West Division? And what to make of a one-loss Iowa then?

Washington State: Never mind the visit by “College Gameday” to the Palouse. With a big win against Oregon, Wazzu is the Pac-12’s last remaining one-loss team.

Ohio State: The good news is, it resembles Iowa 2017 but it’s only the Buckeyes’ first loss. The bad news is, yeah, one loss can be overcome. But how they lost makes you wonder if they’re capable of winning out.

Kentucky: Scuffled with Vanderbilt but won to remain tied atop the Southeastern Conference East Division. The Wildcats have a chance for a special season. Florida: A cocktail party with plenty of meaning this week, when the Gators get their shot against Georgia.

West Virginia: Baylor comes to Morgantown on Thursday as the Mountaineers try to rebound from that Iowa State loss.

*The season is not over. **Don’t be worried that your team sits just outside the cut. This is a weekly snapshot. And what do we know, anyway?

***See the previous note, but it’s OK to be slightly concerned or very angry. But what do we know, anyway?

❚ Weekend scores, 7C