LSU is Number One

At this point, a pollster of any stripe that still puts Southern Cal ahead of LSU is either not watching the games, or stubbornly sticking to a predetermined, biased storyline.

Consider the resumes –

USC

38-10 over Idaho
49-31 over Nebraska
47-14 over Washington State

The Nebraska win, said to be the marquee item on the Trojan resume, was cheapened considerably by the Husker’s near loss to Ball State, a game in which those Cardinals put up 610 yards total offense against Nebraska in Lincoln, or 153 yards more than the Trojans managed.

Now LSU –

45-0 over Mississippi State
48-7 over Virginia Tech
44-0 over Middle Tennessee State
28-16 over South Carolina

The dominating Virginia Tech and South Carolina (more on that in a second) wins speak for themselves, and the results of the Mississippi State game have enhanced the Tiger resume as the Bulldogs have turned out to be better than first thought.

In last night’s action, the Tigers win over South Carolina was a clichéd “not as close as the score indicated” game that was total LSU domination. South Carolina was held to a meager 17 yards rushing on 261 total yards, a ground total made more conspicuous by the fact the Gamecock’s had rushed for 140 yards against the competent defense of Georgia at Athens.

Similarly, South Carolina’s more-than-competent and experience defense surrendered an alarming 290 yards rushing to the Tigers.

The overall effect was a performance so dominating that the Old Ball Coach committed a Tressel-like fourth-and-dumb moment at the Gamecock’s own 30 (with over 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter), essentially surrendering beyond reach a game that was merely a two score deficit.

Moreover, the Gamecock’s final touchdown was the result of perhaps the most vicious facemask penalty ever committed, a near decapitation of Chris Smelly by LSU’s Marlon Favorite on a play that should have ended the South Carolina drive.

After the game, Spurrier made an essentially un-Spurrier confession in regard to the Tiger defense that it so confounded his offensive sensibilities that, at least at one point, he “Didn’t know what call.”

The thought of my Gators traveling to that place two weeks hence causes me considerable anxiety.

Of the teams heralded by the chattering classes as the “Big Four” (so last week at this point), the Sooners continued to look strong, but our beloved Gators finally revealed the secondary weakness we all suspected/feared might be lurking, making the “race” at this point look more Big Three than Four.

Finally, in my opinion after seeing Miami's domination of Texas A&M this past Thursday night, Oklahoma's win over the 'Canes is a better resume item than anything the Trojans can claim.

Based on the resumes, I cannot see the top five any other than –

1. LSU
2. Oklahoma
3. USC
4. Ohio State
5. Florida

Certainly 2, 3, 4, 5 and beyond are debatable, but number 1 is not.