1. Ohio State Buckeyes– I think everyone expected their big showdown against the Wisconsin Badgers to be a lot closer because of the inclement weather. It seemed as if they were going to get that challenge that we expected they’d get. But once they scored that first touchdown of the game, I knew it was a done deal for the Badgers. As good as the Buckeyes offense was, their defense was lights out. Chase Young had everyone talking about him with his 4.5 sack performance in the win. This is the most complete team in the country. They are consistent offense, defense and special teams.
2. LSU Tigers– Their offense was finally slowed down. Auburn has one of the better defenses in the county and they made Joe Burrow and these Tigers work for their yards. They didn’t just carve up a defense like they have all season long. Still, Joe finished the game completing 32 of his 41 pass attempts with 321 yards passing and a touchdown pass. Every test that comes in their direction, they pass it. They handled business against Auburn, this week is the bye week before they face Alabama next weekend.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions– They are slowly but surely making people notice. They have knocked off Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Two of those games I mentioned were on the road. The thing I admire about them is they just continue to go about business. They really don’t care if people are mentioning them. They just play football and stay focused. If they can run the table and go undefeated, this will be the most battle-tested team in the country.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide– No Tua, no problem. Nick Saban will implement a plan to keep the football team afloat. Mac Jones stepped in and the Tide didn’t miss a beat. All eyes will be on Tua’s ankle for the next two weeks. Will he be ready to go when they get their biggest team of the year with LSU comes to town? It’ll be good to see them face a top five team for once this year. That can will basically determine who wins the division along with who will go to the SEC title game in December.
5. Clemson Tigers– Talk about dominating. This was their most complete effort of the year last week. Trevor Lawrence finally didn’t throw an interception. The defense was able to hold Boston College to a single touchdown. This ended up being a 52-point victory for the defending champs. Dabo Swinney knows he has to get through this soft schedule unscathed. Then comes the conference title game. After that, it’s the playoffs.
