SEC fans have seen a team put together the kind of season LSU has this season, especially in the College Football Playoff. SEC Network host Paul Finebaum recalled the 2017 Georgia team, which won the SEC Championship, and then had a thrilling victory over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.

But the Bulldogs then fell to Alabama in the national championship.

The challenge for LSU coach Ed Orgeron is to win tonight against Clemson, and avoid that comparison. Finebaum made these comments on his regular appearance on the Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM program “The Roundtable.”

“Not to take anything away from Ed Orgeron, but he has to win tonight,” Finebaum said. “Ask Georgia fans how much they remember and reminisce about the 2017 SEC Championship and the Rose Bowl Championship because they didn’t win the national championship. I think that is on the line right now for LSU. To be considered what they want to be, they need a title tonight. They just can’t show up and look like the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night.”

This would be an especially tough loss for LSU since the game is in New Orleans, where it’s won previous national championships, and the purple and gold Tigers are 5.5-point favorites in the game.