3 College Football Playoff contenders Oregon’s loss helps the most

If LSU wins out, the Tigers will be the first two-loss team to make the playoff

Without question, the biggest winner from Saturday’s action has to be LSU. Although it was not the least bit pretty on the road vs. Arkansas, the Bayou Bengals still got the win. More importantly, with Alabama beating Ole Miss in Oxford, the two-loss Tigers clinched the SEC West in Brian Kelly’s first year on the job. Should the Tigers win out, they are absolutely making the playoff now.

They host UAB next week for Senior Day before playing a completely dead and not going to a bowl game Texas A&M team in College Station to close out SEC play. As long as the Tigers beat the Blazers and the Aggies in succession, they will make the playoff should they stun a potentially undefeated Georgia team in Atlanta. Doing so may get them the No. 4, or even the No. 3 seed?

This is because a 12-0 (8-0) Georgia team is getting in, no matter what happens vs. LSU. Given the Dawgs’ stature around the sport, that might be enough to propel LSU from one of the first two or three teams out into one of the last two teams in. Winning the SEC Championship is essentially a guaranteed spot into the four-team field at this point. LSU has the chance to make history here.

Not since 2017 Auburn have we seen a two-loss team control its own playoff destiny this late.

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