The LSU Tigers entered their Week 10 matchup against top-5 Alabama in desperate need of a win to maintain control of their College Football Playoff destiny heading into the final few weeks of the regular season.
Unfortunately for Lane Kiffin and the Tigers, that outcome did not come to pass, as the Bayou Bengals dropped their fourth straight contest against the Tide despite outgaining their former SEC West rivals by nearly 200 total yards.
ESPN analyst and insider Heather Dinich now believes that LSU’s postseason aspirations are officially on life support, placing the Bayou Bengals on her CFP bubble watch Tuesday for the first time all season.
…The Tigers can still change the SEC race and, in turn, the playoff picture with wins against Texas and Tennessee over the next two weeks,” Dinich writes. “ESPN’s FPI gives LSU at least a 50% chance to win in each of its three remaining games, including the regular-season finale at Arkansas. LSU is No. 5 in overall efficiency and has the No. 9-ranked remaining strength of schedule.
It’s clear that, even with 3 losses, the Bayou Bengals still have a path to a CFP berth, but they have given themselves no margin for error. If they want to make the dance, they will need to knock off a resurgent Texas team at home before hitting the road to take on Tennessee and Arkansas in back-to-back weeks.
The opportunity is still there, but the ground is quickly shrinking beneath LSU’s feet. A loss to either one of Tennessee of Texas would eliminate what’s left, and send the Tigers to what is essentially an early offseason.
