LSU's No. 99 -- defensive end Sam Montgomery -- probably thinks the Tigers are No. 1, too. Photo by Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
The AP media poll got it right. The USA Today coaches poll got it wrong.
LSU should be the No. 1 team in the land, and it really shouldn’t be up for debate.
The Tigers moved into the top spot in the AP poll today after their win at West Virginia, earning 42 of 60 first-place votes. Erstwhile No. 1 Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes, followed by Alabama (five) and Boise State, which picked up one first-place mention.
OK, that last part doesn’t make sense, but, on the whole, the AP voters got it right with LSU, while the coaches stuck with the Sooners, the preseason No. 1.
LSU’s resume can’t be touched, though. The Tigers have a win over Oregon in Dallas (after seeing the Ducks in person Saturday night, that must be one beastly defense to be able to slow down Oregon). A win at Mississippi State. A win at West Virginia.
I have had LSU at No. 1 since its victory over Oregon.
Oklahoma has a win at Florida State (which then turned around and lost at Clemson) and a home win over Missouri, which lost to ASU, which lost to Illinois.
Just not nearly as impressive as what LSU has done.
Still, the coaches seem to be operating on a “just win” mentality, rather than judging the teams’ full bodies of work. They gave the Sooners 32 of 59 first-place votes. LSU, which is tied for second with Alabama, received 20.
I moved Oklahoma State up to No. 4 this week because of its impressive win at Texas A&M. Clemson, based solely on the results — home wins over Auburn and Florida State — could logically be ranked even higher than No. 10.
The Tigers’ resume is much better than Wisconsin’s or Stanford’s, for example, but you can’t take all the opinion out of the poll, especially this early in the season when the sample sizes are still small.
Except when it comes to LSU, which has three quality wins, none coming in a true home game. It’s a no-brainer to make the Tigers No. 1.
Here is my ballot for this week:
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma State
5. Boise State
6. South Carolina
7. Stanford
8. Oregon
9. Wisconsin
10. Clemson
11. Nebraska
12. Virginia Tech
13. Texas A&M
14. Baylor
15. South Florida
16. Florida
17. Florida State
18. Texas
19. Michigan
20. TCU
21. Georgia Tech
22. West Virginia
23. Illinois
24. Arizona State
25. Auburn