ESPN Highlights LSU As SEC Bubble Team For The College Football Playoffs

ESPN's Heather Dinich took a stab at projecting the 12-team College Football Playoff if it started today and put LSU in the "On the cusp" category.

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This week, we added a fourth category: On the cusp. These are the true bubble teams and the first ones outside the bracket.

If the playoff were today:

Would be in: Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M

On the cusp: LSU

Work to do: Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt

Would be out: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina

Spotlight: LSU. The Tigers dropped out of the top 12 projection following their loss to Ole Miss because they didn't look like a playoff team: 2-of-11 on third downs, 59 rushing yards, seven penalties and one turnover. The LSU defense allowed 13 explosive plays, its most in a single game since the 2024 season opener against USC. Offensively, LSU managed just three explosive plays -- its fewest in a game since 2018. Still, it was a close loss on the road, and LSU has plenty of chances to get back into the race. Unless it continues to play like that. According to ESPN Analytics, LSU's chances of reaching the SEC title game dropped to 2.9%, the 10th-best chance in the league. If the Tigers are not in the conference championship game, they could still earn an at-large bid, but they have the No. 12 toughest remaining schedule. That includes trips to ranked opponents Vandy, Alabama and Oklahoma.

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Here's what the rest of LSU's schedule looks like:

10/11 vs. South Carolina
10/18 at Vanderbilt
10/25 vs. Texas A&M
11/8 at Alabama
11/15 vs. Arkansas
11/22 vs. Western Kentucky
11/29 at Oklahoma