I’m going to go ahead and throw it out there:
No matter how badly you want to fight it, and don’t agree with it, and downright refuse to acknowledge it, two of the top-5 teams in the country were on display Saturday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
This isn’t a disrespect to Notre Dame (although we will get to them in a second) and I am certainly not saying LSU is better than Kansas State, a legitimate title contender. What I’m telling you, is that Alabama winning that game Saturday night, putting up 21 points on an LSU defense that anyone with two eyes (and in some instances ears) can see is still national championship caliber.
It is amazing to think about the kind of roll Alabama is on. Does anyone truly realize how hard it was to do what they just did on the road? Traveling to a hostile environment at “Death Valley” and coming from behind to win could be the win that might just propel this team to the finish line.
So, for now, anyone who is anyone may want to stop the SEC is overrated talk, stop the “SEC has no depth” talk. Because LSU, a legitimate power in this country will no doubt be left out of the BCS party because their division rival beat them fair and square. While Alabama will still have the SEC championship game (presumably against a Georgia Bulldogs team overflowing with defensive talent in their own right) I don’t see much keeping Alabama from a second consecutive national title, and third in four years.
Which brings me to “the rest of the field.” Let me be unwavering in my opinion of who the second best team in the country is. They aren’t in the Pacific Northwest, and they do not play under the view of “Touchdown Jesus.” They’re from the “Little Apple” of Manhattan Kansas, and they are formidable, folks. Bill Snyder has the only team in the country (yes my beloved Bulldogs included) that has any shot at derailing the Alabama Crimson Tide. Collin Klein is not “Tebow Light” but a legitimate dual-threat quarterback. Their defense pushes back when pushed, and they don’t allow teams to fly all over the field against them.
That second point is something Notre Dame and Oregon don’t do.
Like many of the others, I wasn’t impressed with Notre Dame’s triple overtime win over the Pittsburgh Panthers. What I am impressed with, however, is their ability to play defense with anyone in the country. But what happens when that defense plays a better defense and gets taxed with their inability to score consistently enough to win? Kudos to Notre Dame for scheduling the way everyone wants to see and winning. They still haven’t shown enough offensively, coupled with the defense to make me a believer they can finish the deal.
I do believe they are in a better place than Oregon. No one scores like the Oregon Ducks. No one. I say that as they come off a win in Los Angeles against the USC Trojans putting up 62 points in the Coliseum. It doesn’t make sense sometimes the amount of talent they have on offense with Kenjon Barner (321 yards rushing, 5 touchdowns Saturday), D’Anthony Thomas, and Marcus Mariota (20/23, 304 yards, 4 touchdowns). But their defense can’t stop anything. As impressive as the offense was the defense may have ruined the overall performance for me. You can’t put up 62 and give up 51 against the aforementioned teams and their competitors. We saw what happened to Oregon last season when they played LSU, that kind of thing won’t work against Alabama, Kansas State, Notre Dame etc. While the defense has improved, that kind of let up is unacceptable.
Here are my top 5:
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (could be tied at second)
- Oregon Ducks
- Georgia Bulldogs
