LSU’s overtime loss at Kentucky was the kind of setback that usually slams the door on a playoff push. Instead, the Tigers walked out of Saturday with a 35-34 defeat and, oddly enough, a path that still isn’t closed.
That doesn’t mean the margin for error is friendly. LSU has already taken two road losses this season, and the next half of the schedule leaves no room to breathe. To keep the playoff dream alive, the Tigers have to run the table against four more ranked opponents: Mississippi State next week, then Alabama, Texas and Tennessee.
But the college football board around LSU shifted in ways that kept the Tigers from being buried. Texas dropped from No. 1 to No. 7 in the AP Poll after falling to an unranked Oklahoma team that had struggled early. Alabama stayed at No. 6 after losing a tight one-score game to an undefeated Georgia team.
That chaos matters because LSU’s losses are not the kind that should automatically end a team’s season. Both came away from Baton Rouge, and both came down to the final play. In a year where other contenders are stacking bad losses of their own, that distinction still has some weight.
Ole Miss is another team LSU can watch closely. If the Rebels pick up a second loss, something that looks likely with Missouri and Texas still ahead, the committee could view their 24-point loss to Florida as a bigger blemish than either of LSU’s one-score defeats.
There’s also reason to think LSU can at least make a late push because of where its toughest games are left. The Tigers have been unbeaten at home and winless on the road, and the back half of the schedule gives them their hardest matchups in Baton Rouge, where they’ve had the upper hand before. Texas, meanwhile, just took a neutral-site loss to Oklahoma, a result that could point to a vulnerability for the Longhorns.
Even the teams sitting above LSU do not have clean paths. Alabama has to visit Tennessee next week before meeting LSU later in the year, and it still has the Iron Bowl against Auburn, a game loaded with enough emotion that rankings hardly tell the whole story.
Texas may be in the toughest spot of all. The Longhorns still have five ranked opponents left, including Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri before they even get to LSU.
Their regular season also ends with a trip to College Station to face Texas A&M. A&M has disappointed, but Oklahoma had already been viewed the same way before upsetting Texas in rivalry fashion.
Ole Miss could slip even farther, too. The Rebels still have Missouri, Texas and Georgia on the schedule, and they could wind up unranked with four losses.
Week 6 scrambled the SEC and the playoff picture in a big way, turning what looked settled into a mess. LSU would have been in a much stronger position with a win at Kentucky, especially after the other SEC upsets, but the loss leaves the Tigers needing perfection from here on out.
Still, this isn’t a closed book. In a season this unstable, LSU fans have every reason to keep watching. No playoff spot looks secure right now.
In Other News...
LSU Already Looks Like A Real SEC Threat Again
LSUs womens basketball program is once again being talked about as a factor near the top of the SEC, and the preseason honors help explain why. Mikaylah Williams landed on the leagues First Team, giving Kim Mulkey another proven centerpiece as she heads into her sixth season in Baton Rouge, while the roster also brings back five players and adds six newcomers for the upcoming year.
The Tigers were projected to finish third in the conference, a reminder of how quickly LSU has reinserted itself into the league conversation after last seasons buildup. There is still a familiar hierarchy ahead of it, and the preseason list makes clear the challenge, but LSU also has enough talent and turnover to keep the ceiling high once games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Painful Kentucky Loss Came With One Very Unusual Twist
LSUs overtime loss at Kentucky already carried the usual sting of a road defeat in league play, but the aftermath added a layer the Tigers dont often see. The Southeastern Conference fined Kentucky $500,000 after Wildcats fans stormed the field following the win, turning a celebratory scene in Lexington into a costly one for the home side.
Under SEC rules, that money is paid directly to the opposing team, which means LSU stands to benefit from the unusual twist even as it sorts through the disappointment of the result. It is the first SEC football field-storming fine of the 2026 season, a reminder that in this league, the postgame fallout can be almost as noteworthy as the game itself. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Can Expose Mississippi States Biggest Offensive Problem
Mississippi State heads into its matchup with LSU still trying to sort out the most important spot on the field, with Will Rogers dealing with an injury that has left the Bulldogs uncertain at quarterback. That matters in a game where both teams are coming off stretches that have raised real questions, because LSU is also trying to steady a defense that has given up too much and Mississippi State has not been able to lean on the run game in a meaningful way.
For LSU, the path to controlling the game starts with forcing Mississippi State into a less comfortable offensive script and making the Bulldogs operate without the balance they want. For Mississippi State, the challenge is whether the staff can adjust quickly enough if Rogers is limited or unavailable and whether the offense can find answers against a defense that has its own issues but will be looking to take advantage of any hesitation. It sets up as the kind of game where preparation and in-game adjustments may matter as much as talent. [Read more 🡒]