LSU didn’t play on Saturday, but the Tigers are feeling the impact of a chaotic college football Saturday. A wild day in the SEC busted the conference race wide open, raising the stakes for LSU in its approaching showdown with Ole Miss.
No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Tennessee both fell on the road to Vanderbilt and Arkansas, respectively. The Crimson Tide were in the driver’s seat coming off the win vs. Georgia, but now the margin for error grows thin. The same could be said for Tennessee, who was on a roll after going on the road to beat Oklahoma two weeks ago.
For a team like LSU which is 1-0 in conference play but has a nonconference loss on its record, the chaos is good. LSU didn’t play, but it moved up in the standings. As far as playoff resumes go, Alabama’s and Tennessee’s losses are both worse than LSU’s loss to USC, even with the Trojans falling to Minnesota.
This LSU team isn’t dominant. It was always going to need some help to make the College Football Playoff and the muddier the picture gets across the sport, the more paths there are for LSU.
On Saturday, LSU welcomes Ole Miss to town. It’s LSU’s biggest test since the season opener and we’ll find out just how much progress LSU made over the last month and change. A win, and LSU is right back in the national picture.
LSU has the chance to buy back the margin for error it lost against USC. At 10-2, I’d like LSU’s chances of making the 12-team field. LSU can beat Ole Miss and afford to drop one later in the year. If LSU loses, it probably has to win out.
But after Saturday, it’s clear that few resumes will be perfect this year. That’s good news for the Tigers.
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