LSU is the biggest winner from Alabama staving off Ole Miss upset

With Alabama beating Ole Miss in Oxford, LSU has officially clinched its trip to Atlanta already.

Yes, the LSU Tigers have officially won the SEC West with the Alabama Crimson Tide holding on to beat the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, 30-24.

The two-loss Bayou Bengals actually clinched a division crown faster than the No. 1 and the still-undefeated Georgia Bulldogs. This is because the Crimson Tide and the Rebels also have a pair of losses on the season. The only differences are they have both lost to LSU on the season, and the Bayou Bengals can finish no worse than 6-2 in conference play. They still have to play Texas A&M.

For Brian Kelly to have LSU playing for a conference championship in year one is truly unbelievable.

LSU is, without question, the biggest winner of Alabama holding off Ole Miss

While Georgia is strong and dominant over in the SEC East, as is the one-loss Tennessee Volunteers, LSU is the only other team in the SEC still alive for the College Football Playoff. Alabama and Ole Miss needed to win the SEC West to have any realistic shot at it. This is because LSU has the head-to-head tiebreaker over both and no two-loss, non-champion will be getting in.

As for what lies ahead for the Bayou Bengals, they will host the UAB Blazers during Senior Day next week before closing out SEC play at a struggling Texas A&M team in College Station. Even if the Tigers were to somehow lose both of those games, yes, an 8-4 (6-2) LSU team would be playing for a conference championship vs. almost certainly Georgia, or potentially vs. Tennessee.

While no two-loss team has ever made the College Football Playoff before, the SEC would have to be the conference where that could conceivably happen. Had 2017 Auburn beaten Georgia in Atlanta, those Tigers would have made the four-team field for the first time ever. LSU could in theory knock off the No. 1 team in the land in Georgia or avenged its only SEC loss to Tennessee.

Either way, LSU will raise an impressive SEC West championship banner in year one under Kelly.

For more College Football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.