gsmith

I have LSU as a shaky No. 4 on my Examiner.com ballot, but the Tigers won't be No. 4 next week. They'll either use the momentum from the exciting finish against Georgia, play their best game of the year against Florida and move up, or they'll continue to struggle in almost every department, lose and start their descent.

It really doesn't matter how they played in the first five games anymore. They're 5-0, and the heart of the schedule is ahead of them.

My full take: LSU vs. Florida

Am I being too harsh? Will the Tigers beat the Gators for the third time in a row in Baton Rouge?

LSU has not looked like a top-10 team in its first three games, but that's true for almost every team in the country. I rated the Tigers sixth in the latest Examiner.com top 25 poll because I can't find another team that deserves to be ahead of them.

Check out my rationale and see the whole top 25 here.

LSU deserves to be No. 6

I ranked LSU No. 10 in the inaugural Examiner.com top 25 poll, which will be updated every week.

If Jordan Jefferson is as good as many observers say he is, my initial ranking is too low, but it won't take long for the Tigers to move up if they win their first four games.
Tigers No. 10 on my ballot

A huge part of coaching is recruiting. I wasn't just rating their game-day decision-making. But in fairness to Carroll, look at him compared to John Cooper. Cooper was an incredible recruiter at Ohio State, but he never won anything of significance and couldn't beat Michigan. Carroll's teams have excelled in big games against teams close to USC in talent.

Stoops' teams have won a ton of big games in the Big 12, including a long run of dominance over Texas that Brown only recently has reversed. But I understand your point.