Oct 28, 2019 - Sports

LSU edges past Alabama to become college football's new No. 1

Kendall Baker, author of Sports
Expand chart
Data: AP; Table: Axios Visuals

LSU swapped places with Alabama in this week's AP poll to become the nation's new No. 1 team.

The state of play: The two rivals both have byes this week but will play each other in Tuscaloosa two Saturdays from now in what looks to be the first regular-season AP No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting since their 9-6 game in 2011.

Meanwhile: Oklahoma became the third top-six team in the past three weeks to lose to an unranked opponent, falling at Kansas State and dropping five spots to No. 10. And it didn't help them that Texas lost and fell out of the top 25, either.

  • Yes, but: 14 of the past 20 College Football Playoff semifinalists had a loss, so the Sooners aren't dead. They just need some serious help (i.e. run the table and beat a ranked team in the Big 12 title game, at the very least).

The big picture: The eight-point margin between the top three teams is the closest since 1978. But it's a toss-up after that, with vastly different teams résumé-wise vying for that fourth and final spot in the playoff.

  • The rankings don't show it, but Georgia had a brutal bye week. Their marquee win is against Notre Dame (destroyed by Michigan) and their biggest loss was to South Carolina (lost by 20 to lowly Tennessee).
  • Minnesota is 8-0 for the first time since 1941 and will be off this week before hosting undefeated Penn State two Saturdays from now in the program's biggest game in decades.

In: No. 22 Kansas State and No. 24 Memphis returned to the rankings after brief stints earlier this season, while No. 25 San Diego State entered the top 25 for the first time since 2017.

  • Out: Texas fell out of the rankings for the first time this season after losing to unranked TCU, while Iowa State (lost to Oklahoma State) and Arizona State (lost to UCLA) also dropped out.

Saturday's slate:

  • (8) Georgia at (6) Florida
  • (15) SMU at (24) Memphis
  • (7) Oregon at USC

What's next: The first CFP rankings come out in a week. With Oklahoma's loss, consider the potential debate over the following one-loss teams come Selection Day:

  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • The loser of LSU-Alabama (Nov. 9)
  • The loser of Penn State-Ohio State (Nov. 23)

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 12,772,755 — Total deaths: 566,036 — Total recoveries — 7,030,749 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 3,269,531 — Total deaths: 134,898 — Total recoveries: 995,576 — Total tested: 39,553,395 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump wears face mask in public for first time.
  4. States: Florida smashes single-day record for new coronavirus cases with over 15,000.
  5. Public health: Trump's coronavirus testing czar says lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table" — We're losing the war on the coronavirus.
  6. Education: Betsy DeVos says schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds — Pelosi accuses Trump of "messing with the health of our children."
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Fadel Allassan
1 hour ago - Health

Florida smashes single-day record for new coronavirus cases

Data: Covid Tracking Project; Chart: Axios Visuals

Florida reported 15,299 confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday — a new single-day record for any state, according to its health department.

The big picture: The figure shatters both Florida's previous record of 11,458 new cases and the single-state record of 11,694 set by California last week, according to AP. It also surpasses New York's daily peak of 11,571 new cases in April, and comes just a day after Disney World reopened in Orlando.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Rashaan Ayesh
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi: Trump is "messing with the health of our children" with push to open schools

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' aggressive push to fully reopen schools this fall is "malfeasance and dereliction of duty," accusing the Trump administration of "messing with the health of our children."

Why it matters: Trump has demanded that schools reopen as part of his efforts to juice the economy by allowing parents to return to work, despite caution from health officials that little is known about how the virus impacts children.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow