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CFB chair Rob Mullens talks about why LSU jumped Ohio State for No. 1
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
LSU’s spot at the top of Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings wasn’t a surprise. And now the Tigers have a clear-cut path to its first appearance in the playoff, which could culminate in a spot in the national championship game in New Orleans in front of a heavily-clad purple and gold crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Jan. 13.
But it was more than its win over Alabama that vaulted LSU to No. 1. Its solid resume, unmatched by any other team in the country, was a huge part in the ranking as well. With their win over the Crimson Tide, the Tigers have now knocked off 4 teams in the top 20: Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Texas.
“We got two great teams at the top in LSU and Ohio State,” said CFP committee chair Rob Mullens on ESPN. “Like I said last week, the committee is really impressed with Ohio State and their consistency, but when you look at LSU’s resume with the win over Alabama on the road. That makes their fourth top 20 win, and they’re the only team in the nation to have that. They’re deserving of that No. 1 ranking.”
They probably won’t clinch the SEC West officially until later in the month, but with games against Ole Miss, Arkansas and Texas A&M, the Tigers should have no problem running the table and entering the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 7 as a heavy favorite, putting them a win away from the No. 1 seed in the playoff.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
