Take Two: Could Alabama compete with the Cleveland Browns?

Storyline: For the second straight season, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has been linked to the LSU job. This time, though, it’s serious because coach Les Miles is gone and there is an opening.

Fisher has coached at LSU and he’s done a phenomenal job in Tallahassee, so the question is a legitimate one: Will Fisher leave for college football’s top conference and an opportunity to slay the dragon – namely – Alabama?

There are competing thoughts: The Seminoles have an easier path to the national championship and a bigger recruiting base in the state, so if Fisher is looking to win titles, then staying at Florida State might make more sense.

But if Fisher is looking for a new opportunity, to become the king of the SEC and probably load up his checking account, then heading to LSU could be ideal.

To no one’s surprise, Fisher isn’t saying much yet. This could get a whole lot more interesting in the coming weeks.

First take: “Regardless of where Jimbo Fisher goes, he's coming out a winner. He'll be making millions coaching at a nationally recognized program, which will compete for national titles. At this point, one would think Jimbo Fisher would stay at Florida State for the rest of his career. He's received backing from the university in terms of facilities and personnel. He's said after Tuesday's practice he wants to remain at FSU and that he's happy in Tallahassee. Not that you would expect him to say anything different in that sort of setting.

“LSU won't go away and there's a reason for it. Fisher can bring offense — and more to the point, a quarterback — to a program which can recruit playmakers to no end. Either way, both FSU and LSU can provide more resources than any school in America not named Alabama, Ohio State and maybe Michigan. It really comes back to where Fisher thinks he can be happy. If he's saying FSU, then, we'll have to take him at his word until something changes.” – Ryan S. Clark, Warchant.com

Second take: “It all depends on what Jimbo wants. LSU would really bring out the checkbook for him. The SEC is the top conference in the country and the challenge of beating Alabama in the West would be something very attractive to him. If he wants to be the giant slayer and make more money and compete at the highest level, then he should go and it would be a step up. The path to the national championship is much more clear at Florida State. You have a better recruiting territory. If he wants to win another national championship, he should stay at Florida State. It really depends on what his motivation is.” - Farrell

Storyline: Alabama is the best college football team. The Cleveland Browns are winless and the worst NFL team. So could the Crimson Tide hang with the Browns?

Longtime Las Vegas handicapper Danny Sheridan set the line at Alabama plus-27 this week, which basically means Cleveland would dominate the game and win by almost four touchdowns.

However, this needs to be considered. Alabama’s defense is especially loaded with, basically, NFL rookie first-round draft picks. From Jonathan Allen to Tim Williams to Reuben Foster to Minkah Fitzpatrick, could the Crimson Tide keep the game close?

Or is the NFL level so dramatically better and just different than what Alabama does to dominate on Saturdays? Maybe the best pick, if the line is ever given, would be to take the under in a slugfest.

First take: “It's fun to talk about how Alabama might stack up against an NFL team, but I think things would get ugly pretty quick. Alabama has some players, like Cam Robinson, Jonathan Allen and Reuben Foster who would hold their own against an average NFL starter. But Alabama doesn't have All-Americans or All-SEC players at every position, and any NFL roster would be able to exploit that. You'd also be asking freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts to break down an NFL defense at the line of scrimmage. He's had a phenomenal season, but he's still getting most of his pre-snap reads from the sideline, often only looking to one side of the field. An NFL secondary would be able to key on that and make it impossible for Alabama to get a passing game going. The running backs would also suddenly find they weren't beating defenders to the edge for easy yards before contact. A similar conversation came up about five years ago, when folks asked if Alabama could beat the Raiders. It wouldn't have been a fair fight then, and it wouldn't be any more fair now.” – Ben Jones, TideSports.com

Second take: “They would cover. They would not win. All the people every year who say Ohio State would beat Cleveland and all this stuff, these are grown men. These are 22- to 32-year-old men. These are physically imposing and very experienced football players. They are the worst team in the NFL but they would just be too physically mature and experienced for Alabama to beat them straight up. But I don’t see any way Cleveland would beat Alabama by four touchdowns.” - Farrell

Storyline: Michigan lost to 5-4 Iowa last week, yet remained No. 3 in the rankings. If Michigan wins out, the Wolverines will be in the College Football Playoff. Coach Jim Harbaugh’s club controls its own destiny.

Still, it’s a worthy debate to argue that losing matters and that Michigan’s loss at Iowa last weekend should have played more of a consideration in the committee’s thinking this week when they decided to keep the Wolverines third.

Louisville’s only loss was late at Clemson, a phenomenal battle between clearly two of the nation’s top teams. Why does Michigan get a pass in the loss to Iowa but Washington does not after losing to a much-improved USC team? Should Michigan QB Wilton Speight’s injury go into the thinking?

All of this debate is good for coffee shops and bars and message boards, but really it all doesn’t matter. If Michigan wins out, the Wolverines are in. That starts this weekend against Indiana. The real test comes in two weeks when the Wolverines visit Ohio State.

First take: “There's no question Michigan belongs, despite the clunker in Iowa City. The Wolverines are the only team out there with three wins over current top-10 squads (Colorado, Penn State and Wisconsin), and that's a big deal to the selection committee -- as it should be. It's a moot point, though, since for Michigan, the playoffs start this weekend at home with Indiana, and continue in Columbus the following week. Lose one and it's done -- and the Wolverines know it.” – John Borton, TheWolverine.com

Second take: “Top four? Yes. Should they have dropped after losing to Iowa? Yes. They should be No. 4. You can argue the victory over Penn State in convincing fashion, the victory over Wisconsin, the victory over Colorado, is enough. Clemson should have dropped from two to three. But who cares? At this point, it doesn’t matter for Michigan. If Michigan was fifth or sixth, it still controls its own destiny. If it wins out, it is in, no matter what. If it wins out, they’re going to get in and if it loses, it will have a really tough time getting in. I just don’t see it as fair that it didn’t drop a spot when Clemson dropped two spots.” - Farrell