Historic College Football Program Jumps 23 Spots in New Rankings After Week 1 Blowout

One SEC football powerhouse had about the best first game you could possibly imagine, and now they're getting a big push in the latest rankings.

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Lane Kiffin was going to be the talk of college football no matter what happened in his first game as LSU’s head coach, but thankfully for him and the school’s fan base, that talk is uniformly positive, and now the SEC title hopefuls just got a big boost in the rankings.

Changing their minds after watching the first full weekend of college football develop across the country, a group of CBS Sports analysts found themselves blown away by the humiliation LSU handed to Clemson in primetime, and as a result rewarded Kiffin’s team with by far the biggest jump in their updated poll heading into Week 2.

Lane Kiffin Movin’ On Up the Rankings

LSU saw its position improve dramatically, outpacing all other ranked teams by moving up 23 positions to the No. 3 slot in the latest power rankings coming out of the opening weekend coming off its 51-10 rout against Dabo Swinney’s program.

“That opening was darn near perfect,” they said in their analysis of LSU’s performance.

LSU Defied Even Its Most Optimistic Expectations

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Not that it was so surprising. LSU was a more than 10 point favorite, Lane Kiffin has a reputation for dynamic offenses, he built a very promising roster this offseason, and Clemson has been a shell of its former self in recent years.

But the sheer ease and aggression with which LSU ravaged its ACC counterpart, racking up 644 total yards and handing Clemson its worst loss since 1996, all gave the appearance of a program that was waiting to prove itself to a somewhat skeptical public.

“The best thing about that game is it’s over,” a bewildered Dabo Swinney said after. The best thing about LSU is that its season is beginning.

It has a dynamic, dual threat quarterback in Sam Leavitt, what looks like an improved offensive line, a more confident ground offense after ranking 126th in FBS last fall, and a defense that commands the field with consistent pressure, able pass coverage, and sure tackling.

While a ton of pressure was relieved with that Week 1 performance, more is to come as LSU faces the rest of the gauntlet of a nine-game SEC schedule to prove they belong going forward.

Other Movement At the Top

Ohio State stayed put at No. 1 after its 53-point victory against Ball State, but the No. 2 position also saw a big change with another College Football Playoff hopeful seeing a major rise, moving up 12 spots after its record-breaking beatdown against Stanford.

That was enough to knock reigning national champion Indiana down two places to No. 4 and back-to-back SEC champs Georgia slid three positions despite its 60-point win over Tennessee State, and into the No. 6 place. Clearly, LSU’s and Miami’s wins were more impressive and consequential.

(CBS)