If the College Football Playoff was played today, LSU would not be in the 12-team field.
But the CFP selection committee just laid out a path for the Tigers to get there.
In the initial playoff rankings released Tuesday night, LSU was ranked No. 14 among the contenders vying for the 12-team field. But the Tigers will face the CFP’s No. 5 squad, Alabama, this weekend in Tiger Stadium.
LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC) also will host CFP No. 7 Texas on Nov. 14 and travel to No. 13 Tennessee on Nov. 21 before heading to unranked Arkansas to close out the regular season on Nov. 28.
If the Tigers, who are currently the SEC’s seventh-ranked team in the CFP, take care of business this month, they will rise up the playoff rankings. If LSU loses to one of three CFP-ranked foes, two wins could still be enough to squeak into the field.
Alabama (6-2, 4-2) can’t afford a loss as easily this weekend, because the Crimson Tide doesn’t have many quality opponents in November aside from a road game at LSU. Vanderbilt and Auburn are a combined 2-9 in SEC play and Chattanooga is an FCS squad.
At the same time, Alabama is getting more benefit of the doubt than expected with a debut at No. 5 because the Crimson Tide have only one win over a team that’s currently ranked, Kentucky, though the Wildcats weren’t when they played.
Alabama also beat then-ranked Mississippi State just before the Bulldogs took a tumble out of the top 25 without Kamario Taylor. The Tide lost back-to-back games to Georgia and Tennessee.
When the final edition of the CFP rankings is released in December, an SEC team will need to rank in the top 11 to make the field because a Group of Six school is guaranteed a bid, like Tulane in the 2025 playoff. The highest-ranked Group of Six school in Tuesday’s initial rankings was Boise State, which came in at No. 25.
In the SEC, No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Kentucky lead the way, while No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 18 Missouri, No. 21 South Carolina and No. 24 Florida were also in the top 25.
The Big Ten had No. 4 Indiana, No. 8 UCLA, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 19 Iowa, No. 20 Southern Cal and No. 23 Oregon ranked.
The ACC landed Miami at No. 1, along with No. 16 Wake Forest. The Big 12 was led by No. 3 Utah, No. 9 BYU, No. 15 Texas Tech, No. 17 Houston and No. 22 Arizona.
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