Kirk Herbstreit and the ESPN analysts on Tuesday noted that with 5 teams in the top 11, it was an SEC takeover during the initial 2022 rankings for the College Football Playoff. No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 6 Alabama are the top 3 teams from the SEC.

However, Herbstreit is a big believer in No. 10 LSU. LSU is coming off a 45-20 victory against Ole Miss. Herbstreit thinks LSU now has the momentum to potentially make some noise as the Tigers become more acclimated to Brian Kelly’s system.

“We talked about it a little bit earlier, but the LSU Tigers, mainly because since the loss to Tennessee, they were able to regroup, beat Florida, then go back home and take care of Ole Miss in a game where they pulled away late. I think they found some confidence,” Herbstreit said. “I think they believe in what Brian Kelly’s doing and as you said, they’ve got a quarterback playing well, and if they beat Bama, it’s a big if, but if they beat them, they’re an Arkansas and A&M (win) away from getting to Atlanta.”

If LSU can take down visiting Alabama on Saturday, the committee will certainly take notice. An LSU victory there and a berth in the SEC title game could be in line. Alabama at LSU will kickoff at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN). LSU has dropped its last 2 games against Alabama and trail the all-time series 55-26-5.