SportsPulse: The first College Football Playoff ranking has been released. Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg debate what the committee got right and wrong and why the Pac-12 is sitting pretty. USA TODAY


Here’s a look at our five burning questions and predictions entering this week’s college football games:

1. Can the loser of the LSU-Alabama showdown still make the four-team playoff field? 

LSU, with one loss, would have a better chance of being in the field than Alabama, with one loss, because the Tigers played a tougher non-SEC schedule. Bama must win Saturday's game. 

2. Is Ohio State star Chase Young a serious candidate for the Heisman Trophy? 

With 13½ sacks, he should be. But too many voters, like fans, get giddy about quarterback numbers. Plus Young's suspension this weekend and resulting NCAA investigation won't help. 

3. Is the Willie Taggart firing at Florida State, with his lucrative buyout, bad for college football? 

It should be, yet there was no national uproar when reports surfaced that Florida State had come up with $17-$18 million to fire a coach in the middle of his second season. 

4. Why is Charlie Weis grinning as the debate about the size of Taggart's buyout continues? 

Because the buyout Notre Dame gave him is estimated to have been $18.5 million, the only one bigger than Taggart's. In college football, somebody who didn't do his job can be set for life. 

5. Was Rutgers involved in the recruitment of Antonio Alfano, the five-star defensive lineman? 

Apparently not. The 285-pounder from Colonia is transferring to Colorado after not playing in a game at Alabama, his original choice. Alfano attended three high schools, including Bergen Catholic. 

John Rowe’s picks 

Odds from 

*LSU (+6½) against Alabama: The Tigers finally have a balanced offense capable of improving their chances against Bama. Won't be easy, but LSU holds on at the end. 

Penn State (-6½) over Minnesota: The Gophers are finally done in by their schedule (no ranked opponents until now). Penn State works hard for its fourth Big Ten road win. 

*TCU (+2½) against Baylor: The unbeaten Bears have a knack for winning close games, but TCU, at home, looks like a very qualified underdog. May take a late field goal to prevail. 


*Boston College (-2½) over Florida State: Have to wonder what the Seminoles' state of mind is after a week that began with the firing of their head coach. Plus there's Boston's cold weather. 


*Colorado (+3½) against Stanford; Kansas State (+6½) against *Texas; Tennessee (+1½) over *Kentucky; *Arizona State (-1½) over USC. 

*home team

Last week: 2-6

Season: 51-34-3

Plays of the Day: 5-5-1 


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