Any Talk Of LSU Making The College Football Playoff Is Utter Nonsense
I keep seeing people trying to push the narrative — which absolutely matters in the College Football Playoff selection process — that LSU has a chance to get into the CFP over Tennessee if the Tigers beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. I think it's very likely the dumbest argument we have going in sports right now and I will not allow the haters and losers to continue to push this bullshit without rebuking and exposing it.
Let's start with the most obvious thing anyone can look at when discussing these two football teams:
Tennessee went into Death Valley and absolutely dominated LSU on October 8. Just beat the Tigers senseless and embarrassed them on their home field. This was not an overtime game that could have gone either way or one that was "closer than the score indicates." It was a thrashing.
So if the discussion for a College Football Playoff spot does, in fact, come down to these two teams, we've already seen which one of them is decidedly better.
Despite this, there are still people out there who seem to think 11-2 LSU could and/or should get into the Playoff over 11-1 Tennessee if it wins the SEC Championship. Never mind the fact LSU only gets a chance to play in that game because of arbitrary divisions and if the game was actually played between the two best teams in the conference it would be a Tennessee-Georgia rematch, but fine. Let's look at a previous situation similar to this one to give us a reference point for what might happen in this scenario.
In 2016, 11-2 Penn State won the Big Ten Championship Game, having already beaten Ohio State in the regular season. And even with a win over the Buckeyes — a luxury LSU obviously does not have in its situation — 11-1 OSU made it into the Playoff while Penn State finished No. 5 in the final rankings and played in the Rose Bowl. So if a two-loss conference champion with a win over the team it was battling for a Playoff spot didn't get in, LSU certainly isn't making it with a home loss to Tennessee.
And I think Tennessee reporter/Brandon Walker owner Wes Rucker made a fantastic point, as well. If LSU gets into the Playoff over Tennessee, head-to-head can no longer be used as an argument at all. So why should Georgia be in over Tennessee at that point?
The Vols' wins over LSU and Alabama are certainly better than any two the Bulldogs would have excluding Tennessee. And UGA wouldn't have won the SEC Championship, which is apparently the only game that matters. So what argument is Georgia left with?
While I think it's pretty clear Tennessee is the second-best team in the country, I can live with an undefeated TCU or even a 12-1 USC getting into the Playoff over the Vols — though I don't think the latter would necessarily be the right call. But LSU can't get one of the four available spots when its main competition not only has a far superior résumé, but beat it by 27 points on its home field.
This will all be irrelevant once LSU gets killed by Georgia, but until then, I will not allow this drivel to flourish.