Scoreboards lit up around the nation on college football’s opening weekend, but nowhere was it more eye-opening than in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday night.
Lane Kiffin made a smashing debut as the Tigers’ head coach with a 51-10 blowout win over Clemson.
That might not be enough for some pollsters to come off their preseason rankings, but considering the first poll is based on projections, there’s a case to be made LSU should stand at No. 1 after its dominant debut.
At least, that’s how the top of this poll is going to look when submitted for this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
For some, seeing how Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt would respond in Kiffin’s offense was a big question.
Not anymore: Leavitt complete passes of more than 20 yards to four different receivers and had 113 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
The LSU defense, meanwhile, held Clemson to 145 total yards and just eight first downs.
Texas gets the nod over Georgia at No. 2 in the poll because its 59-7 blow-out win came against an FBS team in Texas State while the Bulldogs 63-3 win was against FCS Tennessee State.
Texas’ Arch Manning opened his season and Heisman Trophy campaign with 305 yards passing and four touchdown throws while Georgia’s Gunner Stockton threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns before getting pulled in the second quarter.
The top of this poll might seem a bit SEC heavy, but it seems warranted after the league had its first undefeated opening week since 1997 -- and that was when the SEC still had only 12 teams, as opposed to the 16 it has now.
Ohio State, the conventional No. 1 pick based on the AP preseason Top 25, might deserve more than its No. 4 ranking, and it will have the opportunity to prove so when it travels to play at Texas next Saturday.
Note Dame, this pollster’s preseason No. 1, needed more time than expected to pull away from Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on Sunday night before prevailing 41-13, so it slips this week.
Miami, Indiana and Oklahoma were all impressive enough to the extent they remain in the top eight as potential championship contenders.
There’s enough questions about Oregon after its less-than-impressive 34-27 home win over Boise State to drop the Ducks to No. 9, while Alabama’s line play poses questions about its ceiling, though not top 10 ranking at the moment.
Here’s how the Top 25 should look when it comes out Tuesday (provided 3-point favorite SMU wins at Florida State on Monday night):
1. LSU
2. Texas
3. Georgia
4. Ohio State
5. Notre Dame
6. Miami
7. Indiana
8. Oklahoma
9. Oregon
10. Alabama
11. BYU
12 Texas A&M
13. Penn State
14. Ole Miss
15. Tennessee
16. USC
17. Florida
18. Utah
19. Texas Tech
20. Louisville
21. SMU
22. Washington
23. Iowa
24. Houston
25. Auburn