Five things to know about college football this week; and our picks

The first College Football Playoff rankings were announced on Tuesday and sure enough, Tennessee is where it belongs — at No. 1. I thought the attraction of putting the undefeated defending national champion (Georgia) ahead of everybody would prevail, even though that fact was irrelevant.  Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong. (We did, however, have Nos. 2 through 8 correct — OSU, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan, Alabama, TCU and Oregon).  Why is Alabama, with one loss, ranked ahead of an undefeated TCU team with four victories over ranked teams?  Two reasons: their loss was a close one against Tennessee (52-49) and they are — ALABAMA! Tide over Horned Frogs in any photo finish.  It's just SEC bias at its best. The Committee has a long history of tendencies and an inconsistent approach in its rankings. While there is a rotating schedule of committee members, that has been a common denominator. The fact that they got it right with Tennessee now does not mean its inconsistencies will not reappear in five weeks when the final rankings are announced. After all, that is the one with finality.

Penn State collapses

Penn State had every chance last week to defeat Ohio State and led the Buckeyes, 21-16, with 9:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.  The Nittany Lions then imploded with Ohio State scoring two touchdowns in 36 seconds, sealing the win. Coach James Franklin is now 2-14 against top-10 teams. The crowd at Beaver Stadium was stunned. The Nittany Lions proved again they are not ready for the national stage as they had four turnovers.  How about No. 9 Oklahoma State not showing up at No. 22 Kansas State, losing 48-0 with the Wildcats not having their starting quarterback (Adrian Martinez)?  Utter humiliation for Mike Gundy and the Cowboys.

Auburn's Harsin shown the door

Did you see where Auburn fired its coach Bryan Harsin after just 21 games as predicted here?  Harsin had alienated the fan base, the administration and lost the locker room.  That trifecta, combined with a losing record (9-12), assured him of being shown the door.  No worries, he's owed over $15 million. Deion Sanders would be a great hire here. On a good note, fired Arizona State coach Herm Edwards returns to where he excels the most, television, signing back with ESPN as an analyst for college and pro games. He was missed.

Not the first time

After video showed an attack on a Michigan player by Michigan State players, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called for an investigation and predicted arrests could follow.  Eight Spartan players have been suspended.  The reality is there was a previous altercation between Penn State and Michigan players in the same area one week earlier but Harbaugh rejected coach Franklin's concerns.  "I have bigger fish to fry than worry about that kind of whining." Now he's got egg on his face and is complicit with the alleged assault for not eliminating the dangerous exposure for physical confrontation when made aware of it.

Big 12 cashes in

ESPN and Fox bring the Big 12 instant stability with a six-year $2.28-billion contract.  It includes the new schools (BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston) all of which were rejected just four years ago by the same league. Of course, Oklahoma and Texas were in the league then; it's easy to figure out who was making the decisions.

On the field

No. 6 Alabama (7-1)-13.5 at No. 10 LSU (6-2): Huge impact on which team wins the SEC West Division. LSU has hopefully turned the corner since its blowout loss at home to Tennessee. Alabama is simply Alabama. Although it lost to Tennessee as well, it was the most competitive game of the year. The difference was a field goal on the final play. The Crimson Tide have quarterback Bryce Young, who is simply the best player on the field. They are coached by a perfectionist (Nick Saban) but have shown a propensity for making mistakes, including 17 penalties against Tennessee. It's LSU coach Brian Kelly's first indoctrination in a game with massive implications in Death Valley on Saturday night.  Tiger fans will either embrace him or ostracize him, depending on the outcome.  LSU must play turnover-free football and contain both Young and stud running back Jahmyr Gibbs.  It says here Young is the difference-maker. Roll Tide!

No. 1 Tennessee (8-0) at No. 3 Georgia (8-0)-8: Many are saying this is the game of the year. Tennessee averages over 49 points per game with their Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Hendon Hooker. But Georgia is No. 1 in defense, yielding just over 262 yards per game. So something’s got to give. Georgia has lost its dominant linebacker Nolan Smith for the season but it recruits five-star players on defense more than anybody. The losing team, especially if it’s Tennessee, will still have a chance to make the college football playoff.  Many compare Tennessee to the 2019 LSU Joe Burrow national championship team since Burrow was a transfer as is Hooker (Virginia Tech).  That team went undefeated and beat 'Bama on the road.  This game is at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and that is the most important factor. Bulldogs win big.

No. 4 Clemson (8-0) at Notre Dame (5-3)+4: Whether you hate them (Notre Dame) or you love them, you watch them. That is why I am passing on both SEC games to travel to South Bend this weekend to see if the Irish can resurrect their season. The Irish defeated Syracuse on the road last week (41-24) but I don't think the Orange are very good.  It's been a disappointment so far in Irish coach Marcus Freeman's first season but a win over the Tigers will energize the fan base. They have talent to compete with the Tigers but their quarterback Drew Payne has been unimpressive.  Even Freeman said the obvious:  "He's got to improve in his accuracy." At the same time, Clemson’s quarterback and supposed starter DJ Uiagalelei was pulled in his last start for freshman Cade Klubnik (27-21 victory over Syracuse).  The trenches will decide this game with Notre Dame averaging 286 running yards per game and wanting to run the ball while Clemson's defense yields just 88 yards per game.  It’s a rare night game that will add to the mystique. The fact that Clemson has no signature victory and has not been dominant all year only adds to the hype and their undeserved ranking.  It says here Notre Dame finally plays to its potential, forces some turnovers and pulls the upset over the overrated Tigers. That's right, I'm picking the Irish outright.  Remember you didn’t just hear it here first, you heard it only here.

Follow Ken Schreiber's adventures on TikTok at @livewiththeschreib

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 5 things to know about college football this week;