Ranked No. 5 in the country in the regular season’s final week, LSU had a path to the playoff. A New Year’s Six appearance was probable — whether it be Sugar, Cotton or Orange.
LSU’s loss to Texas A&M has shifted the outlook.
The top of the SEC is crowded. Georgia is a playoff lock and Tennessee and Alabama sit in the top 10 as well. Alabama and Tennessee are well positioned at 10-2, a mark better than LSU’s 9-3 record.
The odds of the SEC getting four teams in the NY6 aren’t great. With Georgia headed to the playoff, Alabama will likely head to the Sugar Bowl as the SEC’s highest-ranked non-playoff team.
That would result in Tennessee being sent to Miami for the Orange Bowl, leaving the Cotton Bowl as LSU’s last hope.
This year’s Cotton Bowl will feature two at-large teams, one of which will be the Group of Five representative.
The latest projections have a 10-2 Penn State team assuming the other spot. An SEC team hoping for that bid would also need to fend off any Pac-12 team creeping up the rankings.
A 9-3 Florida State team with a head-to-head win over LSU could get it, too.
For now, LSU looks destined for the Citrus Bowl. LSU’s most recent Citrus Bowl appearance came in 2017, where they lost to Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame.
LSU won the Citrus Bowl the year prior with a strong defensive performance against Lamar Jackson and Louisville.
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