12 games that will determine the 2021 College Football Playoff

11. LSU at Alabama, Nov. 6

Whenever LSU and Alabama are both clicking on all cylinders, the annual meeting between these SEC West titans always has major national implications. And while the Tigers were going through some growing pains last year while the Crimson Tide went perfect en route to another Nick Saban title, the 2021 matchup should have a lot more on the line.

For starters, this isn’t the Alabama team that hoisted the trophy at the end of last season. Mac Jones, Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and virtually the entire offensive line are gone — and that’s just on offense. Obviously, they have immensely talented, albeit unproven, players ready to step up into bigger roles but there will be at least some sort of learning curve for Bryce Young and Co.

Ed Orgeron can at least somewhat sympathize with Bama’s position as his Tigers experienced unreal roster turnover after winning a title in 2019. That was evident last season as they were constantly searching for answers. But now that they’ve dismissed Bo Pelini, the defense should get back on track with stars such as Derek Stingley Jr. and Eli Ricks leading the way while Max Johnson showed real promise at the end of 2020.

It’s certainly not a guarantee that LSU is in the College Football Playoff picture by early November, though Alabama should be if all goes right. With that said, the Tigers should be substantially improved from a year ago and will surely be hungry to knock off the Tide while having the talent to do so. Simply put, they’d love to travel to Tuscaloosa and play spoiler.