The LSU Tigers had about as good of a bye week as they could've asked for. In a week where there was only one ranked matchup on the slate, we saw an incredible amount of upsets, particularly in the SEC; Vanderbilt upset No. 1 Alabama, Arkansas upset No. 4 Tennessee and No. 25 Texas A&M knock off No. 9 Missouri, meaning three of the top contenders suffered their first conference loss very early. As it stands right now, there are just three SEC teams who have no SEC losses: Texas (1-0), Texas A&M (3-0) and LSU (1-0).
With seven games to go, LSU is in total control of their destiny. They face the Aggies in College Station just a few weeks from now, and if they're able to beat Ole Miss, Arkansas and A&M (and I know that's a big if), they'll be 4-0 in conference play and will either be the last undefeated SEC team or will be tied with the Longhorns for first place.
The formula is pretty simple: win and you're in. With some of the big dogs like Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss all suffering an early conference loss, the Tigers have complete control of their destiny and won't need any sort of help if they win out, but like I said, that is an extremely tough task.
First, the Tigers have to host the Rebels this Saturday in Tiger Stadium. It's going to be a top-15 matchup with an incredible environment. These two teams got into a shootout last year with the Rebels coming out on top in Oxford, but this time it's going to be Saturday night in Death Valley. This is by far the Tigers toughest test to date, but if they can walk out with a win, they'll be in a really good spot.
After this weekend's game, the Tigers have a tough two-game road stretch where they'll travel to Arkansas and Texas A&M. The Razorbacks may not be considered a very good team, but they ALWAYS play LSU close. The last four matchups between these two programs have been decided by one score, so I wouldn't expect this year's game to be much different. After their trip to Arkansas, the Tigers then have to go to Kyle Field to play an Aggies team that is firing on all cylinders right now. Both of these games are coin flips to me. Theoretically, LSU probably should win both of these games, but it is going to be very tough to go 2-0 through this stretch.
Following that two-game road trip, LSU will have their second bye week before hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide on November 9th. Nick Saban isn't around anymore, but that doesn't take away from the hype that always comes with this matchup. Kalen DeBoer took down a very good Georgia team in his first season as head coach, and even though they lost to Vanderbilt, I'm not ready to claim the sky is falling for the Tide. They're going to march into Tiger Stadium angry and prepared, and I think they're going to give the Tigers some problems.
The Tigers will follow that emotional game up with a trip to Gainesville before coming back home to finish the season out with games against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. If LSU is able to beat Alabama, Florida is going to be one of the trapiest trap games of all-time. They cannot let themselves have a big game hangover against the Gators, because while their season will probably be over by then, you know they'll do everything in their power to end LSU's postseason dreams, if they're still alive at that point. The Tigers should be able to handle Vanderbilt, but Oklahoma poses another threat to their postseason hopes. The Sooners might not be in playoff contention by then with games against Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri and Alabama still to come, but they're a solid team who is a threat to upset anyone on any day.
When I look at LSU's remaining schedule, there isn't a game on there that I don't think LSU could realistically win. However, there also isn't a game on there that I don't think they could realistically lose. They have a tough seven-game stretch ahead of them, but again, they can control their own destiny if they can just find ways to win.
Despite their loss to USC in the opener, LSU is in one of the better spots of any team in the SEC. Every single team outside of Texas has a loss on their record, and of those teams with a loss, all of them outside of LSU and A&M have a SEC loss. At risk of sounding like a broken record, the Tigers have complete control of their own destiny as they enter the thick of their SEC schedule, and you can't really ask for much more than that.
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