No. 3 LSU Tigers (AP Poll: 4th)
No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (AP Poll: 3rd)
The committee has shown a willingness to rank one-loss teams ahead of undefeated squads if the team has played a strong schedule. LSU fits that description thanks to a strength of schedule that ranks No. 2, by far the best of any contender. LSU's top wins include Auburn and Georgia.
The Tigers have a chance to have an even better resume if they can somehow pull off an upset against Alabama. The Crimson Tide will open as heavy favorites, but the Tigers have the advantage of playing a night game in Baton Rouge. LSU head coach Ed Orgeron admits Alabama is the target for the program.
"We gotta beat them to get where we want to go," Oregon explained to AL.com. "...[Alabama is] One of the highest levels I've ever seen in college football. Being coached great every day, they've got great players. They have No. 1 recruiting classes. They're what everybody aspires to be. You want to have a No. 1 recruiting class. You want national championships and win national championships and they're doing it."
Alabama has cruised through their opening schedule, and LSU will be the most difficult test they have faced this season. The Tigers will rely on their defense to try to steal an ugly win. All eyes will be on LSU quarterback Joe Burrow to see how he is able to handle the pressure of Alabama's defense.
The Committee Has a Difficult Decision to Make If Notre Dame Remains Undefeated
Notre Dame survived a scare against Pitt thanks to a late comeback that allowed them to head to their bye week remaining unbeaten. Notre Dame has a solid strength of schedule with wins over Michigan, Stanford and Virginia Tech. The S&P+ has Notre Dame ranked No. 47 in their strength of schedule metrics.
Michigan is the only top-level team on the Irish's schedule this season, but Notre Dame is still playing a group of good teams across the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12. After the Irish's close victory against Pitt, quarterback Ian Book noted they were just pleased to get the victory.
"We had to stay calm," Book said per UND.com. "A win's a win and these football games happen. You know, there's no point in freaking out when you have some time on the clock, and we've been there before, you know, so we didn't want to make it a bigger deal than it was. I'm proud of the guys for remaining calm being able to go down and win the game."
If Notre Dame wins out, it will be interesting to see how the committee compares the team's resume with other teams who will play in a conference title game. Notre Dame's most difficult remaining test comes against USC to close the season.
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College Football Rankings: CFB Playoff Predictions Week 10