BCS Rankings 2011: LSU Should Open as No. 1 Over Oklahoma

Depending on which poll voters you ask, the No. 1 team in college football is either the LSU Tigers or the Oklahoma Sooners.

However, the only ranking that matters when deciding who plays in the BCS Championship comes out next Sunday, the Bowl Championship Series Ranking. 

So which team should open the first BCS rankings at the top?  

Oklahoma supporters will make their case for the Sooners, as they are the top team in the USA Today Coaches Poll.  

LSU supporters will make their case for the Tigers, as they are the top team in the Associated Press Poll.  

I am here to make the case that LSU should open as the team to beat.  

LSU opened the 2011 season losing their starting quarterback to an off-campus incident. The suspension to Jordan Jefferson was mere weeks before their opener in Dallas against one of the teams in last year’s BCS Championship, the Oregon Ducks.  

Losing their leader on offense while playing last year’s runner-up should have made for a disaster game to open the 2011 season.

However, LSU floored the Ducks with a defense that shut down everything the Ducks tried to do on offense.  

The win against Oregon moved LSU in the Associated Press Poll from No. 4 to No. 2.  

Two weeks later, LSU went on the road to No. 25 Mississippi State, winning in impressive manner. Their defense led the way as the Tigers won 19-6.  

The following week, LSU traveled to Morgantown to face the best team in the Big East, No. 16 West Virginia. The Tigers came out of that game with a 47-21 victory.  

The win against the Mountaineers was enough to move the Tigers into the first spot of the Associated Press Poll. 

After last week’s 41-11 blowout against No. 17 Florida, the Tigers sit comfortably in first in the Associated Press Poll and second in the USA Today Coaches Poll.  

After six games this year, LSU has played four ranked opponents. Compare this to Oklahoma’s first five games, in which the Sooners have played only two ranked teams.  

Both teams deserve to claim the number one spot on Sunday.

However, with LSU at No. 1 and No. 2 in both polls, the Tigers and their fans can start dreaming of a national title game in New Orleans in front of their home fans. 

Twitter: @tjmcaloon