Rank warfare
Showdown will deal an ugly blow to playoff hopes for LSU or Alabama
The most anticipated game of the college football season to date, featuring No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Alabama, will deal an ugly blow to whichever team comes out on the losing end.
Tuesday night’s revelation of the initial College Football Playoff rankings didn’t serve much purpose beyond driving interest in the sport, but whom am I kidding? I’m a born sucker for this kind of stuff.
It’s nice to know — and fun to squawk about — how teams rate in the eyes of the selection committee, even at this early juncture. The final rankings will look nothing like the first ones, of course. Even next week’s rankings will be full of major changes.
And that brings us to the most anticipated game of Week 10 — and of the season to date — No. 2 LSU at No. 4 Alabama (7 p.m., Ch. 2). This is the seventh time in the last 11 years that both of these teams are in the top 10 of the polls at the time of their matchup. (CFP rankings are used in this column.) Both could be in the top 10 again next week, but there’s little chance both will stay in the top four, and four is the key number where the playoff is concerned.
Just how big is Tigers-Tide? Put it this way: Each year, the Southeastern Conference gets one — and only one — regularseason game on CBS in prime time. Five years in a row, CBS has chosen this matchup. Considering the enormous profile of the SEC, that’s really saying something.
Alabama (7-1) has won four in a row in the series, beginning with the national title game to end the 2011 campaign, and that streak undoubtedly plays into the fact the Tigers (7-0) are 6½-point underdogs. But if there’s a more confident team than LSU these days, I’d love to see it.
With national rushing leader and Heisman Trophy favorite Leonard Fournette working behind the most physical offensive line in the country, there’s no secret where that confidence comes from.
‘‘They should look forward to it,’’ Tigers coach Les Miles said of his players. ‘‘They should relish it. It’s why you come to LSU, to be a part of this game.’’
The Tide have a monster at running back themselves in Derrick Henry, and a more balanced offense overall. Both defenses are littered with NFL talent, but Alabama has been better at keeping points off the scoreboard. It could be LSU is the best team in the country, but some of us will just have to see it first. I’m picking ’Bama, 26-20.
No. 16 Florida State at No. 1 Clemson (2:30 p.m., Ch. 7) isn’t all it would have been if both teams were 8-0, but it’s not like the 7-1 Seminoles are pushovers. Then again, they are double-digit underdogs in an Atlantic Coast Conference game for the first time in their 24 seasons in the league. Isn’t that kind of crazy? FSU is on a 4-1 mini-tear in this series, with each of the five meetings having decided the Atlantic Division title.
This could boil down to how well former Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson plays for the Seminoles. That’s assuming Clemson — which is terrific on both sides of the ball in run and pass situations — doesn’t romp and stomp like the No. 1 team in the land should.
‘‘For our guys to keep finding a way to win every week is a beautiful thing,’’ Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said.
They get to 9-0 — by the skin of their teeth.
Not a dang thing wrong with No. 8 TCU at No. 14 Oklahoma State (2:30 p.m., Fox-32), which offers turnstile offenses and a near-guarantee that one of these 8-0 squads will jump multiple
spots in the next CFP rankings. No league is more fun at the top than the Big 12, whose best teams will battle it out all November long.
The Cowboys are coming off a 70-53 victory at Texas Tech — a game they once trailed 24-0 — but can they afford to try to outscore TCU, which ranks second (to Baylor) nationally in scoring and total offense?
This one’s going to be nuts. TCU wins by a touchdown, covering the five-point spread.
I see a few other teams with playoff chances that could lose Saturday. There’s real danger in No. 7 Michigan State at Nebraska (6 p.m., ESPN), No. 12 Utah at Washington (6:30 p.m., Fox-32) and Navy at No. 13
Memphis (6 p.m., ESPN2). That the 8-0 Spartans are favored by only six points over the 3-6 Huskers speaks to this danger, but I continue to be blown away by Michigan State’s bottomline success — 21-1 in its last 22 Big Ten games and, dating back further, 19-3 in its last 22 Big Ten road games. Sparty wins, 31-24.
Washington (4-4) is coming off a 49-3 throttling of Arizona — Chris Petersen has his team ready to spring an outright upset of the Utes (7-1). It wouldn’t surprise me if Memphis lost at home to Navy, but I’ll go with the Tigers to win and the Middies to cover the eightpoint spread.
My favorite favorite: North Carolina State (minus-4) at Boston College (11:30 a.m.). BC has a great defense, but its offense is historically bad. The Wolfpack have too much offense to be held down.
My favorite underdog:
Arkansas (plus-10½) at Ole Miss (2:30 p.m., Ch. 2). The Hogs aren’t as good as the Rebels, but they have a way of playing to the level of their opponent. Ole Miss in a close shave.
Last week: 5-2 straight-up, 3-3-1 vs. the spread.
Season: 43-15-1 straight-up, 29-27-3 vs. the spread.