The roles — or at least rankings — have shifted for the heavily anticipated Nov. 9 showdown in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
No. 1 LSU (8-0, 4-0) overtook SEC rival No. 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0) for the top spot in the new AP Poll released Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers' latest jump comes on the strength of a third top-10 victory, a 23-20 defeat of No. 9 Auburn, on Saturday.
No other team in the country has defeated more than one top-10 opponent.
Unbeatens Ohio State (8-0), Clemson (8-0) and Penn State (8-0) round out the top five.
No. 6 Florida (7-1, 4-1) leads the one-loss teams.
LSU handed the Gators their lone blemish, 42-28, on Oct. 12.
No. 7 Oregon (7-1), No. 8 Georgia (6-1, 3-1), No. 9 Utah (7-1) and No. 10 Oklahoma (7-1) complete the top 10.
The Sooners slid from fifth to tenth following Saturday's 48-41 loss to Kansas State (5-2), who climbed into the rankings at No. 22.
Auburn (6-2, 3-2) fell slightly to No. 11, marking five SEC teams in the top 11.
No. 12 Baylor (7-0), No. 13 Minnesota (8-0), No. 15 SMU (8-0) and No. 20 Appalachian State (8-0) give the country nine remaining undefeated teams.
Texas (5-3), ranked No. 9 earlier this season before falling to LSU, continued its skid out of the top 25 after Saturday's 37-27 loss to TCU.
Louisiana Tech (7-1) received the 32nd most votes in the country.
Complete rankings
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Penn State
6. Florida
7. Oregon
8. Georgia
9. Utah
10. Oklahoma
11. Auburn
12. Baylor
13. Minnesota
14. Michigan
15. SMU
16. Notre Dame
17. Cincinnati
18. Wisconsin
19. Iowa
20. Appalachian State
21. Boise State
22. Kansas State
23. Wake Forest
24. Memphis
25. San Diego State