College Football Rankings Week 5: Why LSU Should Be No. 1

After the LSU Tigers went on the road in a tough environment and dominated a very good West Virginia football team, there is no reason that they should not be the top-ranked team in the country.

In the past few years, non-conference games in college football have gotten soft.Too many teams are looking for that undefeated season in order to get into the BCS National Championship game.

Why should a team bother scheduling a tough game they could lose when they can roll over lesser teams and climb up the rankings?

Les Miles decided that was not good enough for his team this season. LSU went out and scheduled a neutral game against the No. 3 preseason team in the Oregon Ducks. Although it was a great game to watch, the Tigers came out with a double-digit victory.

Because of LSU, the Oregon team that came a win away from a National Championship last season might have lost their chance at redemption before Labor Day.

While many coaches would be satisfied with one marquee, non-conference win, Miles decided to schedule a road game against No. 16 West Virginia.

Although the Mountaineers almost toppled this team on their home turf a year ago, LSU went into Morgantown and took care of business on Saturday. A 47-21 romp should be enough to silence any critics on whether or not LSU is for real.

Oklahoma had a severe test last week going on the road to Florida State, and they had an impressive win against a very tough defense. However, FSU lost this week against the Clemson Tigers, taking away a little bit from the Sooners' victory.

Oklahoma also looked very average against a weaker Missouri team at home. They held on for a 10-point win, but in this competitive age of the AP and Coaches' Polls, style points mean everything.

The Tigers have scored 40 points in three of their four games this year, with only a road game against conference foe Mississippi State being able to slow down their offense. However, that same Mississippi State team was only able to muster six points against the dominant defense.

LSU has already beaten three ranked teams in this young season.

Few teams can say they have defeated more than one.

The only thing preventing LSU from being the No. 1 team in the country is the preseason poll. Voters decide who is the best before any games are played, and they rarely knock a team down without a loss.

However, if voters could start from scratch and decide who has been the best team on the field this year, LSU should be No. 1 without any debate.