College Football Rankings: Who Is the Best Between LSU, Oklahoma and Alabama

Week 7's AP Poll is already out and the top of the rankings hasn’t changed. LSU, after an easy win against short-handed Florida Gators, remains No. 1. They are followed by Alabama, who didn’t face a big challenge either this week against Vanderbilt. Finally, Oklahoma remains No. 3 even though they crushed the No. 11 Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry.

Who will finish at the top spot this year? This is the question many people debate. I have watched every game tape of these teams this year and you probably must have heard everything about their respective stats. We will try to compare these three teams on different angles of analysis in order to determine which team has the best shot at the No. 1 spot.

Year-To-Date Opposition

Alabama easily defeated all their opponents this year. Their closest win was by 16 points vs. No. 23 Penn State. They won against three ranked teams and have been impressive with two stunning consecutive wins against No. 14 Arkansas and No. 12 Florida. The game vs. Florida was the most impressive one. Even when Florida Gators quarterback Brantley was in the game, Alabama was dominating Florida. After six games, they outscored their opponents by the score of 226-42.

LSU had an impressive start this season. They easily neutralized then No. 3 Oregon and four of their six wins were against ranked opponents. They outscored their opponents by the score of 231-75. However, I wasn’t as impressed when they faced the Gators. After a big start, they seemed to fall asleep during the second half.

Oklahoma is perfect this year and played fewer teams. They outscored their opponents by the score of 225-78, but before Week 6, none of these victories was impressive with only a ten-point margin in two of the games. However, everything changed in the Red River Rivalry. Indeed, they destroyed the Texas Longhorns by the score of 55-17. Still, this is why the Sooners dropped from the No. 1 spot. Their schedule was easy and wins were unimpressive, until this past weekend.

Edge: LSU, followed by Alabama.

Experience

Down the stretch, the experience is a big factor to win a championship. Only based on the number of senior players, Alabama is the most experienced team while the Sooners have the youngest team. However, Alabama has no experience under center. Will it affect them towards the end of the season?

Edge: None, since the difference isn’t significant

Stars

Each team has a potential Heisman trophy candidate. Landry Jones (Oklahoma), Tyrann Mathieu (LSU) and Trent Richardson (Alabama) are the top players for each team.  We are all aware that in college football a single player can make the difference between contenders and champions. Reggie Bush, Vince Young and Cam Newton are perfect examples of this.

Trent Richardson already has 729 rushing yards (6.3 YPC) and 11 rushing touchdowns. He also ranks second on the team in the receiving department. He has 13 receptions for 149 yards. Landry Jones racked up solid numbers so far this year. He completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 1,814 yards and 13 touchdown passes.

To determine the following factor, here’s a simple question. If you start a new team in the NFL, and you can only draft one of these three players, who do you pick? Right away, Mathieu is out of the equation since he is a cornerback. It would either be Trent Richardson (RB) or Landry Jones (QB). However, most people will tend to say that they prefer a game manager quarterback over a running back.

Edge: Oklahoma has a small edge with Landry Jones, but Alabama is right behind with Trent Richardson.

Upcoming Schedule

Alabama has five games remaining, and other than their big anticipated showdown vs. LSU, it will be a pretty easy schedule. They have two home games and they only play against two actual ranked teams (LSU and Auburn). Finally, the game vs. LSU, on November 5^th, will be played in Alabama. I think they have the most favourable schedule.

LSU has six games remaining and half of them will at home. They will also face three actual ranked teams: No. 24 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama and No. 10 Arkansas. The positive aspect is that two of these games will be played at home.

Oklahoma probably has the toughest schedule remaining. Out of their six remaining games, four of them will be against actual ranked opponents (No. 17 Kansas State, No. 21 Texas A&M, No. 20 Baylor and No. 6 Oklahoma State). Even more, out of four games vs. ranked opponents, three of them will be played on the road. It will definitely be a rough path for the Sooners.

Edge: Alabama has the softest schedule. They have less games remaining, and will get their bye week before the LSU showdown played at home.

Conclusion

I like Alabama to finish No. 1 this year. They have the complete formula to win it all: solid defense, strong lines, experience and power running game. When they faced Florida, their defense stunned their opponent. There was no room for them to run and the pressure was constant. As for Alabama’s running game, it mainly rests on Trent Richardson’s shoulders. When they reach the second half, their opponent’s defense is exhausted. I prefer long and hard fought drives rather than a quick scoring one. Finally, their schedule is very favourable down the stretch. They have everything in their favour to win vs. LSU with the bye week and the home-field advantage.