LSU'S Path to The Playoff Is Not Out Of Reach Yet

The road for LSU has been very tough in Lane Kiffin's first season as the Tigers' head caoch. LSU is 6-3, with one of the greatest offensive minds in the sport on the sideline and one of the most talented rosters in the sport on the field, making the plays come to life.

With a lot of differing expectations set for this team before the season, LSU falls closer to the floor with the meltdown loss to Alabama on Saturday.

LSU's path forward towards the playoff is rather simple. At least, it should be.

Two of LSU's final three opponents sit inside the Week 11 AP poll, with Week 12's game coming against No. 8 Texas before traveling to face No. 9 Tennessee.

The Good News

Win all three and LSU has filled the holes missing in its resume.

Head coach Lane Kiffin isn't being paid to lose three games, but to be fair, two of those losses were to Top 10 foes, Ole Miss and Alabama. The third loss, an overtime blunder of a game against Kentucky looks a lot better now, considering the Wildcats were ranked as high as No. 6 in the first CFP poll last week.

If the CFP selection committee keeps a 9-3 LSU with wins over likely-to-be top-10 Texas and Tennessee from the playoff because its resume isn't sufficient, it's admitting it made mistakes in where it initially ranked Alabama and Kentucky - who held similar resumes in the first CFP ranking - too high from the jump.

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Why a Three-Loss Team Could Sneak In

Jan 20, 2026; Miami, FL, USA; From left: College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark, Las Vegas 2027 host committee members Sandra Douglass Morgan, Jim Gibson and Steve Hill and 2026 Miami host committee members Jack Seile and Eric Poms pose during the CFP host committee handoff press conference at Marriott Marquis Miami. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The CFP selection committee weighs a lot when it makes decisions on how and where it ranks teams each week. For LSU, a three-loss entry could be likely because the selection committee heavily rewards strength of schedule, strength of record and quality wins against a gauntlet of ranked SEC opponents rather than just a raw look at the win-loss record.

For teams with better records that don't play the best of the best each week, this is a hard concept to grasp.

At the end of the day, the SEC, top to bottom, is the hardest conference to play in.

The ceiling is almost always higher than that of other conferences, and the floor is always the highest of any conference.

LSU's losses have come to Ole Miss, Alabama and Kentucky. Both Ole Miss and Alabama were top-10 at the time of the losses, and Kentucky, which was top-10 last week and sits near the top of the SEC. LSU has only some of the highest-quality losses.

But it lacks the quality win.

All of LSU's big wins, Clemson, Texas A&M and Auburn, have had disappointing runs that have made LSU's wins over them look less and less impressive.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google