re: Is making the playoffs a “moral victory”?

Of course there would be disappointment if LSU made the playoffs and lost. But relative to reasonable preseason expectations making the CFP (which would also entail winning the SEC) would be a HUGE and completely unexpected accomplishment.

In every season that LSU made the BCSNG/CFP there were relatively high preseason expectations. These were the preseason rankings:

2003 - 14
2007 - 2
2011 - 4
2019 - 6

This year not only was LSU not ranked to start the year, professional handicappers thought they were likely to win only 6 or 7 games. LSU was picked to finish 5th...in just the SEC West. Reasonable preseason expectations were as low as they had been in literally 20+ years. Hell, I think that if you caught Brian Kelly in a candid moment he would even say he didn't expect this team to win the SEC West...let alone make the playoffs.

This team has already exceeded all reasonable expectations. Any success they have moving forward is just icing on the cake. So while there is NO question we would melt if LSU lost in the CFP, stepping away and looking at everything on the whole would give you perspective that this season (should LSU reach the CFP) would be really, really, damn good.

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Does it do anything for recruiting / NIL?

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Absolutely. Because Kelly can walk into any recruit's living room and say 2022 is the weakest our roster is ever going to be while I'm at LSU...and we STILL won the SEC and reached the playoffs. When the "floor" is an SEC championship and CFP appearance, you don't have to look up very far to see the ceiling is VERY close.