Will LSU Football Play a Bowl Game in 2020?
LSU is 3-5 this season and is not showing many signs in radically improving its 2020 season outlook. In typical seasons, the Tigers likely wouldn't be bowl eligible by season's end but this is no ordinary season.
The NCAA has made some extreme decisions this year, including granting all fall athletes an extra year of eligibility and the option to opt out of the 2020 season and return in 2021. But one of the other big decisions that was made is make every team eligible for a bowl game regardless of record.
On Saturday before the Alabama game, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said on the 98.1 pregame radio show in Baton Rouge that the Tigers "would likely play" in a bowl game if invited. There are currently nine bowl games that feature SEC opponents after the cancellation of the Las Vegas Bowl.
“It’s going to be a weird year, obviously," Woodward said. "It’s not going to be traditional like in years past. I think we will play in a bowl. The question is which bowl and how we’re going to do it and how we’re going to participate."
Barring any further cancellations, LSU would be on the edge of the conference teams eligible for a bowl game in the standings. Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia will likely all be competing for a New Year's Six Bowl by season's end.
As the rankings, currently stand, LSU has a better record than Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. This is all subject to change of course, particularly because of the difficult schedule that lies ahead for the Tigers to close out the season.
The Tigers final two opponents in the regular season, Florida and Ole Miss, both feature explosive offenses that have been the plague of this LSU team more than any other factor this season. Also if LSU were to be invited to a bowl game, what would the roster look like for the game?
Keep in mind there are still several juniors and seniors who could elect to just move on after the regular season, including Jabril Cox, JaCoby Stevens and Glen Logan. Other stars, like Derek Stingley Jr., have been in and out of the lineup because of injuries and it might be better to just shut them down to avoid further complications.
All of these roster issues would need to be sorted out but getting that bowl game experience, even in a down year, would likely be beneficial to a young team looking for momentum heading into 2021.
