Is LSU poised to make a College Football Playoff run in 2024?

Jul 15, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; LSU head coach Brian Kelly speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a successful two seasons for coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] in Baton Rouge, by all metrics.

He’s 20-7 overall and has an SEC West title under his belt while also producing a Heisman Trophy winner in [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag]. But the Tigers are still searching for their first trip to the College Football Playoff entering Kelly’s third season in 2024, and they’ll hope that’s set to change.

It’s no secret that LSU has a lot of production to replace, but it will hope some of the offensive losses are mitigated by a defense that is expected to be improved under new coordinator [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag].

ESPN’s Heather Dinich broke down the 30 teams with the best path to the CFP, and LSU ranked No. 14 among those squads.

Dinich’s take: LSU’s schedule is a double-edged sword because it’s loaded with chances to impress the selection committee against elite competition, but those games could also add up to three or more losses. Nobody — including the committee — knows yet how conference realignment will impact how the group views multiple losses against more challenging schedules. LSU looks like a preseason bubble team, but can move up significantly by the first ranking if it can survive an October that includes Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Alabama.

Toughest test: Oct. 26 at Texas A&M. It’s the second of back-to-back road matchups in late October, at an unforgiving venue, and the toughest opponent the Tigers will face in a true away game. It’s also the last game they’ll play before the selection committee announces its first ranking of the season.

What the committee will like: A 2-0 record vs. the Big Ten. That’s right, the L.A. schools are now in the Big Ten,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lsu-poised-college-football-playoff-172121578.html

Author : LSU Tigers Wire

Publish date : 2024-08-01 17:21:21

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