The College Football Playoff’s expansion to 12 teams should, in theory, open the door for several programs that previously had difficult paths to the postseason. In actuality, it will likely mostly just lead to even more representation for the SEC and Big Ten.
But that could mean LSU is a beneficiary, and On3’s Andy Staples thinks it could be in contention for a CFP bid this season. Staples predicted that five SEC teams would make the playoff, and while he thinks four of those spots will be occupied by Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss, he thinks the Tigers, along with teams like Tennessee, Missouri and Oklahoma, could also be in contention.
“Missouri would have made it last year in this system,” Staples said. “Now I don’t know if Missouri this year is going to be as good. We’ll talk a little more about the Tigers later. We know their defense needs to be, you know, replenished. I’m not worried about their offense. So they’re a contender. Tennessee got a great schedule draw. Should be better on offense, should be as good or better on defense. They’ve got a good situation,” continued Staples. “Oklahoma and LSU are Oklahoma and LSU. Now, yes, their schedules are a little bit tougher but these are programs that always are good. Like, their baseline is good. So, if some of the breaks go their way, they could be 10-win regular season teams. They could be in the playoff. I think it’s possible.”
LSU is still looking for its first CFP appearance under coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], but with the field expanding by an order of three times, that path just got quite a bit easier.
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