Week 10 College Football Picks: LSU over Alabama, Plus Clemson, Ohio State

The first edition of the 2015 College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday, with three of the teams expected to be there and the fourth not much of a surprise because of the SEC’s strong reputation as the best conference in the country.

It will not matter, though, since the second-ranked LSU Tigers (7-0) visit the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) on Saturday, with the loser falling out of the top four.

The Tigers are led by Heisman Trophy favorite Leonard Fournette, who leads the nation in rushing with 1,352 yards and 15 touchdowns. While the Tide have a very good running back as well in Derrick Henry (1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns), Fournette will prove why he is the best player in the country.

Alabama is a consensus 6.5-point favorite according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark and has gone 0-5 against the spread in its last five home games. The road team has also won four of the past five meetings, so back LSU to spring the upset and stay in the top two next week.

The top-ranked Clemson Tigers have won 11 straight games dating back to last year, and they host the Florida State Seminoles (7-1) as 12-point chalk.

The home team has won eight of the past nine meetings in this SEC matchup, and Florida State has dropped five of six in the series both straight up and ATS on the road.

The Seminoles have also failed to cover eight of their last 10 games following a win, meaning the Tigers will win this one easily by two touchdowns or more to remain in the top spot.

The third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0) have had to deal with some off-the-field issues recently, as starting quarterback J.T. Barrett has ceded the job back to Cardale Jones following his suspension.

But the defending national champion Buckeyes will be very focused against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-4), who will struggle here without head coach Jerry Kill, who resigned last week due to health issues.

Ohio State is a huge 23-point favorite in this spot but will still find a way to cover in what will be the team’s most impressive win this season.