Committee must weigh Alabama, Minnesota
Not since 1950 had Ohio State done such a number on a Big Ten opponent. The Buckeyes spent Saturday scoring 10 TDs, gaining 705 yards of offense and dropping 73 points on Maryland, the second-most points the school had scored in a conference game since the birth of the poll era in 1936.
Meanwhile, in Tuscaloosa: LSU snapped an eight-game losing streak against Alabama with a 46-41 win that showed how the Tigers have unearthed not just a hugely improved offense but perhaps the best in the sport.
There’s no bigger debate around this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, set to be released Tuesday evening, than the cases for No. 1. Ohio State held the top post in the debut rankings but might be replaced by LSU, should the selection committee put heavy stock in the Tigers’ road win. Yet the Buckeyes made their own case, albeit against an inferior opponent.
It’s not the only question the committee must address as the regular season streams through November. Consider, for example:
Where will Alabama land? Alabama would’ve fallen out of the top four had Penn State found a way to beat Minnesota; that would’ve bumped the Nittany Lions to No. 3 while Clemson climbed to No. 4, leaving Alabama next at No. 5. The Golden Gophers’ win creates a scenario where Alabama will drop only two spots to No. 4, however, with five or six contenders in the mix for No. 5.
A better question might be whether Alabama deserves to fall below No. 4. On one hand, there’s no overlooking the team’s lack of marquee wins. Alabama has just one win against a Power Five team with a winning record, Texas A&M. The once-impenetrable Alabama defense has allowed at least 28 points in three of its past five SEC games. The eyeball test matters, and on defense the Tide draw a failing grade.
There’s still this conundrum for the committee: If LSU is the No. 1 team in the country, what does that say about an opponent that lost to the Tigers by five points and is otherwise unbeaten? That’s the case for Alabama falling only to No. 4, though the coming weeks will give those teams just behind the Tide ammunition and an argument for leapfrogging ahead into the top four.
Will Minnesota soar up the rankings? Yeah, the Golden Gophers are going to make a huge leap. The team’s flimsy schedule justified, to a degree, being No. 17 in the debut rankings. That changed with Saturday’s 31-26 win against the unbeaten Nittany Lions.
Minnesota will easily move ahead of several two-loss teams ranked higher in last week’s release and into the top 10, where the Gophers will come into comparison with undefeated Baylor and one-loss Oklahoma, Georgia, Utah and Oregon. Given how the committee valued Penn State a week ago, there’s reason to believe the Gophers will be in the mix for No. 5, though Georgia would be the obvious choice to move up after being sixth in the debut rankings.