College Football Playoff Rankings: Hits and misses in Week 10 ranks

There will be outcry from the masses, primarily those sporting the shamrocks of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but this was absolutely the right call. The College Football Playoff rankings always feature an interesting twist in their first release and the surprise team of 2018 is definitely LSU.

There were questions as to whether or not head coach Ed Oregon would make it through the season this year. He’s put all of those hot seat rumors to bet, emphatically. Notre Dame has their signature win over Michigan, and that’s a good one, but neither of the teams they registered their AP Top 25 wins over (Virginia Tech or Stanford) were ranked inside the CFB Playoff Top 25.

Contrast that with LSU who has wins over No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 6 Georgia. There lone blemish at the hands of No. 11 Florida impugned their perfect record, but the College Football Playoff committee isn’t trying to identify the undefeated teams (that’s easy) they’re trying to find the best teams.

Notre Dame is ranked higher in the AP Poll because of their undefeated status. Right now, though, LSU has done more to prove they belong higher up on the list, albeit slightly.