LSU Football: Tigers have everything to lose against Alabama
By Jason Reed
The LSU football team is one half of the biggest college football game this season as they take on the Alabama football team next weekend.
The LSU football team is heading into Tuscaloosa next weekend for a rivalry game against the Alabama football team that has much-higher stakes than previous matchups. Every matchup between the two schools is massive, this one is the biggest of the entire college football season.
The LSU Tigers have been exceptional this season and have surpassed every analysts’ preseason expectations. The Tigers have defeated three teams in the top-10 and after defeating Auburn last week, finally earned the number one spot in the college football rankings.
That spot belonged to Alabama since Week 6 and has seemingly belonged to Alabama the entire decade. This game is huge as it can firmly establish that LSU is the best school in the entire country as there is no win in college football that is bigger than Alabama.
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The problem is that the LSU football team also has everything to lose in this matchup. Despite having three top-10 wins under their belt, while Alabama has one ranked-win against a team that is no longer ranked, LSU will likely have no chance at the College Football Playoff with a loss in this game.
We see it every year and we have this debate every single year. Even with a loss, assuming that LSU wins out, they will be more than deserving to get the nod. However, Alabama will be the one seed and the committee will not give us the LSU-Alabama rematch in the first round of the playoff.
Instead, the other three spots would likely go to Clemson, Ohio State or Penn State (whoever wins the conference) and a team like Oregon if they win out and win the PAC-12.
It is the argument that the conference winners should be part of the playoff instead of a team, such as the LSU football team, that has a good year but does not win the conference, even if Oregon and LSU have the same record and Oregon lost to Auburn.
The thing that makes it so demoralizing is the fact that Alabama is often gifted exceptions to these unwritten rules. Alabama made the College Football Playoff two years ago despite losing the SEC Championship to Georgia.
And if they lose against LSU they will probably get the same treatment, because they have the established prestige that comes with being Alabama. People will still argue that they are a top-four team.
But even though LSU has three huge wins, losing against Alabama will bring out the “fraud” argument. And while some people and voters may still think they are a top-four team in the country, it is hard to see them getting the same favorable placement that the Crimson Tide would get.
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The only time that two teams in the College Football Playoff were from the same conference was when Alabama was given the honors. It wouldn’t be surprising if they got the same benefit this year with a loss to LSU when the Tigers wouldn’t get the same thing in return.