BCS Rankings 2011: LSU Dominates Auburn to Solidify Hold on Top Spot

Is there anything LSU has done so far to suggest that it isn't the best team in college football right now?

The Tigers, who already own a slim lead over fellow SEC powerhouse Alabama for the top spot in the BCS rankings, destroyed Auburn at home on Saturday, 45-10, to leave no doubt that they are as deserving as any team of playing for the crystal football in New Orleans.

It's not simply a matter of beating the league's other Tigers by 35 points that puts LSU even more firmly in the driver's seat in the BCS, but rather how that huge margin came to be. Not to discount the value of 396 yards or 38 points, but Les Miles' squad didn't exactly dominate on offense. Yes, Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson threw the ball well, and yes, Michael Ford and Kenny Hilliard ran with authority.

But, as has been the case all season, it was the defense that carried the day for the Tigers. Auburn managed only 250 yards of offense and didn't score its first touchdown of the game until the 3:15 mark of the fourth quarter.

Granted, this year's Auburn team is hardly an offensive juggernaut, especially with Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn juggling between Barrett Trotter, Clint Moseley and Kiehl Frazier at quarterback throughout the campaign, but it's not as though the Tigers are devoid of talent on that side of the ball. Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb still comprise one of the better backfield duos in all of college football, while Philip Lutzenkirchen is about as solid a tight end as you'll find in the game today.

Nonetheless, LSU made them all look like chumps, particularly on the ground. The Tigers' talented defense held Auburn to just 87 yards rushing—well below the team's season average of 197 yards per game.

Perhaps most impressive of all, though, is the fact that LSU accomplished all of this without two of its most important playmakers in running back Spencer Ware and cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. Ware and Mathieu were among three LSU players suspended for Saturday's game after testing positive for synthetic marijuana.

Clearly, the Tigers didn't miss them too much. Ron Brooks, Mathieu's replacement, came up with his first pick of the season, while Ford and Hilliard combined for 147 yards and two touchdowns in Ware's stead.

That ability to simply plug in players when others get hurt or in trouble is what truly sets this LSU team apart. Lee stepped in beautifully under center when Jefferson was suspended following a bar fight just before the start of the season. Likewise, Russell Shepard's absence opened up the opportunity for Rueben Randle to make an impact at wide receiver.

It's that seemingly never-ending well of game-ready talent that has vaulted LSU to the top of college football and that will keep them there after manhandling Auburn.