SPEEDYLEE COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS

(Week 10)

There can’t be doubt in the mind of any sane person who the #1 college football team in the country is by now. #1 LSU’s victory over #4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa was a wild and exciting game. It also gave convincing evidence why LSU is #1 here again this week. Ohio State’s victory over Maryland gave convincing evidence that the Buckeyes’ greatest strength is piling up points against weak opponents. While Alabama was the only top 10 team to suffer a loss in our ranking, undefeated Minnesota stunned ineligible, unranked and undefeated Penn State. The Nittany Lions were among the top 10 in other rankings. Baylor fell off the list and Florida dropped a position even though both teams won this week.

1.      LSU (9-0) defeated #4 Alabama 46-41. The #1 team should beat the #4 team, but this remains a huge win for the Tigers.

2.      Ohio State (9-0), whose schedule is said by some to be tougher than LSU’s, mangled Maryland 73-14.

3.      Clemson (9-0) beat North Carolina State 55-10.

4.      Georgia (8-1) beat Missouri 27-0. The reason the Bulldogs are ranked so high is simple: Right now we believe Georgia would beat the teams ranked lower.

5.      Oklahoma (8-1) narrowly beat middle-of-the-road Iowa State 42-41.

6.      Alabama (8-1) lost to #1 LSU. Right now, Alabama would beat the teams ranked lower.

7.      Minnesota (9-0) defeated Penn State 31-26 in a good football game. It is the first-ever appearance in the Speedylee top 10 for the Golden Gophers. Welcome!

8.      Oregon (8-1) did not play, which looks pretty smart right now.

9.      Utah (8-1) also did not play. Maybe it’s a Pac 12 thing.

10.  Florida (7-2) dropped a position even though the Gators beat Vanderbilt 56-0 in a game that rivaled Ohio State’s win over Maryland for drama.

INELIGIBLE: Penn State.

WATCHLIST: Michigan, Auburn and Baylor. Neither Michigan nor Auburn played this week. Baylor defeated TCU 29-23.

NOTES: Each week it’s the same thing: Everyone wants to know how Slippery Rock fared. Good news: The Rock completed a perfect regular season with a 56-7 victory over Gannon. The Rock plays Kutztown in the PSAC championship game next week. Kutztown is also undefeated. … You are left to wonder how Southern California managed not to hire Ed Orgeron as fulltime head coach of the Trojans. He’s been on staff at USC twice and had a record of 6-2 as the program’s interim head coach. … Odell Haggins is in his second stint as the interim head coach at Florida State and he is undefeated in that role. The Seminoles beat Boston College Saturday to give Haggins his third win against no losses as the fill-in bossman. It was the first game since FSU fired Willie Taggert a week ago. A few years ago, Haggins directed two victories after Jimbo Fischer ditched the FSU program to coach at Texas A&M. … Lovie Smith was carried off the field by his Illinois players after the Illini became bowl-eligible with a victory over Michigan State. In his first two years at the school, the team had seven total wins, but Saturday’s win was the sixth this season.