The LSU Tigers are 9-0, with six of those victories coming against ranked teams -- including the No. 25, No. 16, No. 3 and No. 2 teams all away from Baton Rouge. So are they a unanimous choice for No. 1 in the country?
Of course not! One holdout AP voter has Boise State No. 1. Hopefully the Associated Press is learning a valuable lesson about the dangers of giving College Football Pundit a vote.
Well, Les, you may not be his No. 1, but you're mine, dawg, and you're almost certain to be the unanimous choice in the collected Power Poll ballots that will be tallied at Team Speed Kills on Wednesday. My full ballot follows:
1. LSU -- Les Miles has won high-octane shootouts, he's won with special teams, last week he won a game of straight-up Cro-Magnon trench warfare. He's schooled his daughter at pickup hoops. Right now he's probably blasting a group of Korean teenagers off the map in Modern Warfare 3. Is there any kind of contest he can't win?
2. Alabama -- Losing by a field goal in overtime to the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation shouldn't be a source of consternation for the Tide faithful. Nick Saban getting outcoached, though, might be.
3. Arkansas -- Probably let South Carolina hang around longer than they should given the statistical disparity between the two teams, but otherwise this was the kind of complete offensive performance we hadn't seen from the Razorbacks in weeks. Coach Petrino, your fruit basket from Mark Richt is on its way.
4. Georgia -- South Carolina (literally) fumbled the SEC East lead right into Georgia's hands; now the Dawgs have to avoid the ultimate letdown opportunity when Auburn comes calling this weekend.
5. Auburn -- What if I told you a team ranked 108th in the nation in pass offense, 89th in total offense, 84th in run defense and 75th in total defense could still be 6-3 with a shot at a January bowl game? Watch "Why Won't Gene Chizik Start $#!@ing Losing Already," this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
6. South Carolina -- They've got a better record through nine games than they did last year, and they arguably started the season with a better team, yet injuries and a surge by UGA have dropped the Gamecocks back to second place in the division. For now.
7. Florida -- If I were Will Muschamp, I might avoid making any "People better have their fun now" remarks to the media. That's basically the same thing his offensive coordinator said after his Notre Dame team got drilled 38-0 by USC back in 2007, and he was out the door two years later.
8. Vanderbilt -- If the Commodores played in the ACC or Big Ten, they'd probably have a shot at a January bowl right now. If they played in the Big East, they'd be leading the conference by two games.
9. Mississippi State -- Congrats on your second 50-point outing of the season. Might want to sock away some of those points for Alabama and Arkansas the next two weeks, though.
10. Tennessee -- Their game against Vanderbilt in two weeks looks like it might be a case of two desperate teams fighting for the conference's last bowl invite.
11. Kentucky -- Hope Joker Phillips enjoys admiring Houston Nutt's scalp on his wall, because it looks like that's going to be the only trophy the Wildcats come home with in 2011.
12. Ole Miss -- What's a more embarrassing sign for the Ole Miss program: The fact that rumors are circulating about the Rebels making overtures to Tommy Tuberville for their head-coaching position, or the fact that said rumors aren't the least bit implausible?