ESPN’s latest College Football Playoff projection after Week 8 has LSU sitting on the edge of the bracket at No. 12, a spot the Tigers reached after Saturday’s 38-17 win over Auburn.
LSU is 6-2 and has now won two in a row. The Tigers are headed into a bye week before a brutal stretch that will send them through Alabama, Texas and Tennessee in three straight weeks.
ESPN’s explanation for LSU’s placement centered on what the Tigers have done lately, what still counts against them, and why the next month matters so much.
- LSU Tigers (6-2)
Why they could be here: The Tigers are still ranked behind the two teams they lost to (Ole Miss and Kentucky), but they've outscored their past two SEC opponents by a combined 69-17. The Tigers might have been written off more in the court of public opinion than in the committee meeting room, which would take into account the intangibles involved in the emotional loss at Ole Miss during Kiffin's return to Oxford.
With the win at Auburn on Saturday, LSU displayed what it's capable of when everything comes together and quarterback Sam Leavitt is efficient and limits turnovers. That cohesiveness was lacking earlier in the season.
Why they could be lower: LSU's 51-10 drubbing of Clemson in the season opener has been devalued, and it took another hit Saturday, when the Tigers lost to Virginia Tech and dropped to 4-3. The 63-14 dismantling of McNeese on Oct. 3, along with a 45-14 win against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 12, pads the stats but won't generate much interest in the committee room. Saturday's win at Auburn was LSU's first road victory of the season.
Need to know: LSU has the second-toughest remaining schedule in the country, according to ESPN Analytics, which is exactly what it needs to impress the selection committee. LSU has a bye week to prepare for its season-defining stretch against three straight ranked opponents, starting Nov. 7 against Alabama followed by Nov. 14 vs.
Texas and Nov. 21 at Tennessee. ESPN's FPI gives LSU at least a 50% chance to win each of its remaining games.
If the playoff were today, LSU would get bumped out of the bracket for the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, which is currently projected to be Boise State.
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 7 vs. Alabama. The Tide also have a bye to prepare, and both teams will be looking to avoid a devastating third loss.
Using those rankings, ESPN’s projected seeding would send Miami, Ohio State, Georgia and BYU into the first-round byes. The first-round matchups would feature Boise State at Notre Dame, Ole Miss at Indiana, Texas at Utah and Kentucky at UCLA.
That would set up quarterfinal games of Boise State or Notre Dame against BYU, Ole Miss or Indiana against Georgia, Texas or Utah against Ohio State and Kentucky or UCLA against Miami.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Quietly Added An Offensive Voice As LSU Feud Escalates
As LSU's offseason and early-season storylines kept spinning, Lane Kiffin revealed that the Tigers quietly added Nate Carroll as an offensive analyst before the season, a move that had not been publicly disclosed at the time. Carroll, who brings NFL coaching experience and comes from the Pete Carroll coaching tree, has been helping LSU's offensive staff during games, giving the program an extra experienced voice behind the scenes.
The timing adds another layer to a situation already marked by legal friction between LSU and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey over the schools recruiting practices and Kiffins comments. With the public focus elsewhere, the quiet addition of Carroll underscores how much of college football now unfolds away from the spotlight, even as the larger LSU-Sankey dispute continues to simmer. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Got A New Reason To Worry About Alabamas Passing Game
Alabamas passing game has been dealing with a hit since the injury to Ryan Coleman-Williams in the Georgia game, and LSU now has another name to plan for ahead of Nov. 7. Kalen DeBoer said the wide receiver is expected back for that matchup, a development that matters because Coleman-Williams had already been part of the offense before the injury sidelined him for recent games.
For LSU, the timing is hardly ideal. Alabama has had to adjust without one of its receiving options, but DeBoers comments point to a possible boost when the Tigers arrive, with Coleman-Williams expected to be available and, in the coachs view, ready to matter right away. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Holds Firm As AP Poll Chaos Shakes Contenders
Week 8 turned the AP Top 25 into a weekly stress test, and the ripple effects were felt well beyond the top line. With nearly a third of the top ten taking losses, the rankings shifted in a way that opened the door for movement all over the board, including a boost in first-place support for Miami after No. 2 BYU went down. Teams such as Texas and Utah were among the biggest movers, while the fallout also pushed some familiar names, including Iowa and USC, into the vote-getting crowd without a place in the poll itself.
For LSU, the bigger takeaway is the kind of volatility that can reshape the path ahead in a hurry. Poll weeks like this tend to reward teams that keep stacking clean Saturdays and punish anyone living on the edge of the rankings, and the churn around the top 25 only sharpens the pressure on contenders trying to stay in the conversation. It also leaves the picture unsettled enough that every ranking checkpoint now feels like a referendum on who can hold up when the standings start to wobble. [Read more 🡒]