LSU left Week 8 with more than a convincing 38-17 win over Auburn and its first SEC road victory since 2024. The Tigers also walked into their bye week with the kind of momentum that can pull a team right back into the College Football Playoff picture.
That doesn’t mean the path is simple. It just means LSU has put itself back in the mix.
Per ESPN’s College Football Playoff Index, LSU sits seventh in the nation with an FPI of 24.0. The model is designed to forecast how a team would perform going forward and measures true strength along with how it would fare on a neutral field. In the broader playoff projections, LSU owns the 13th-highest CFP chances among FBS teams.
That puts the Tigers in a crowded middle tier, packed with other two-loss SEC teams. The league’s October picture is messy: seven SEC teams already have two losses, with Ole Miss and Tennessee the latest to join that group.
Kentucky and Georgia are the only one-loss teams, while seven others have at least three losses. With the nine-game conference schedule, the SEC has turned into a weekly shuffle, and several teams are still alive for both the conference title game and the CFP.
LSU’s recent run has changed the conversation. After the loss to Kentucky, many had written the Tigers off.
Instead, they’ve won four of their last five and quietly worked their way back into the discussion. If they run the table, LSU should punch its ticket to the playoff.
But the road ahead is brutal. Coming out of the bye, LSU faces three straight ranked opponents: No.
10 Alabama, No. 11 Texas, and No.
16 Tennessee. The Tigers get Alabama and Texas at home, but that doesn’t make the stretch any less demanding.
The stakes are obvious. If LSU gets through that three-game run with all three teams sitting at two losses, the playoff picture gets a lot clearer.
If the Tigers take a third loss, their postseason hopes will be hanging by a thread. For now, the focus is on getting healthy and getting ready for one of the toughest three-game stretches in the country.
In Other News...
LSUs Auburn Grades Exposed Whos Fueling This Surge And Who Isnt
LSUs 38-17 win over Auburn came with another strong showing in the grading sheet, as Pro Football Focus gave the Tigers an 83.6 overall mark. It was the second straight week LSU finished above 80, a sign that the offense and defense are both carrying real momentum as the season starts to take shape.
Jackson Harris led the way with a 90.2 grade, while DJ Pickett also landed among the top performers at 84.6. On the other end, Tre Brown and William Satterwhite II were the lowest-graded LSU players, a reminder that even in a comfortable win, there are still a few spots the Tigers will want to clean up before the next test. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Have A New Reason To Revisit Dave Arandas Legacy
Dave Arandas run at Baylor ended with another abrupt reset, as the school moved on from the former LSU defensive coordinator after a 4-3 start in his seventh season. Joe Klanderman was elevated to interim coach, closing a tenure that had produced a 40-40 record and included multiple losing seasons in recent years.
For LSU fans, it is another chance to look back at a coach whose name still carries real weight in Baton Rouge because of what he built on that side of the ball. Aranda is expected to receive a $12 million buyout, a reminder of how costly these coaching changes can be, even as Baylor now searches for a cleaner direction after years of uneven results. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Is Climbing But One Thing Still Stands Between The Tigers And The Playoff
Another wild Saturday across college football is likely to shake up the AP poll, and LSU is sitting in a much better spot because of it. Two previously unbeaten teams lost for the first time this season to unranked opponents, while two one-loss teams also stumbled against unranked foes, opening the door for the Tigers to climb as pollsters reassess the field. Miami still looks locked into No. 1 after another dominant showing, but the churn behind the top spot is exactly the kind of chaos that can help a team like LSU move closer to the conversation that matters most.
For LSU, the bigger picture is still about where it lands in the playoff race and how much ground it can make up with the contenders around it taking hits. Oklahoma State, Iowa and Texas Tech are among the teams facing possible movement after the weekends results, and every reshuffle matters this time of year. The Tigers can benefit from the mess in front of them, but they still need the rankings to break their way before anything feels secure. [Read more 🡒]