Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images file

LSU coach Les Miles has his team ranked No. 4, but there have been many critics about the Tigers' play this season.

4. The real deal?
Amid all the feel-good flowing from Ann Arbor, someone has to say it: What happens when Michigan plays a team that can, you know, play defense?

In four games this fall, the Wolverines have rolled over some fairly bad defenses in Western Michigan (95th in the nation), Notre Dame (94th), Eastern Michigan (74th) and Indiana (40th).

That No. 40 ranking for Indiana includes games against I-AA Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan and Akron. The Hoosiers aren't stopping anyone, either.

This week, in a game that screams trap with a trip to desperate Michigan State, Michigan faces the nation's 71st-ranked defense. Obviously, Rich Rodriguez's spread offense has made huge strides this season, but we won't know just how far the unit has come until next week's game at Iowa—currently, the 33rd defense in the nation and the unit that beat the Joe out of Penn State last week.

Enjoy fantasyland, Big Blue. It'll last all of one more week.

5. Points on The Plains
For all the grief Auburn absorbed for forcing out longtime, successful coach Tommy Tuberville and replacing him with Ron Zo… I mean, Gene Chizik, can we all now finally agree that Chizik knew what he was doing when filing out his staff?

There was no better offseason hire than when Chizik convinced offensive whiz Gus Malzahn to leave Tulsa and join what was then an utterly dysfunctional program. Now look at the Tigers:

• No. 3 in the nation in total offense (No. 5 rush; No. 27 pass).

• No. 3 in scoring offense.

• No. 14 in third-down conversion percentage.

• No. 28 in turnovers lost (five in four games).

I don't want to waste your time comparing last year's numbers with this year's, but going into this weekend's first big road test at Tennessee, it's safe to say Malzahn's offense ("War and Peace") is astronomically different from Tony Franklin's offense ("Cat in the Hat") of a year ago.

This time last year, Tuberville was on his way out, in part because of his hiring of Franklin. Four games into his offensive coordinator hire, Chizik is quickly losing his Chizook nickname.

SportingNews.com Lots of hype, hope _ and Dion Lewis _ for Pitt 6 teams with something to prove Rutgers looking for bigger and better bowl in 2010 After the fall, a new subdued era at USC It's what's up front that counts for Buckeyes

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Johnson still directing Utes offense

Brian Johnson, who led Utah to an upset of Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, is ready for his first season as the Utes' offensive coordinator. At 25, the ex-QB will be the youngest with that job at the FBS level.

CFT: Miami says it's 'committed to the ACC'

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