LSU football: College Football Playoff chances

Nov 7, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Sheldon Day (91) breaks off of the line of scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Notre Dame won 42-30. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Clemson, Notre Dame and Stanford

If everything that happens above takes place then these teams should not matter in the equation of whether or not LSU should get in or not.

All of these teams are currently ranked ahead of LSU, though, and two of them have one loss. So it would be unwise to ignore these teams and they’re potential risk to the Tigers.

The No. 1 Clemson Tigers are the undefeated team out of this bunch, and it appears that they will run the table this season. But ‘Clemsoning’ seems to have become a tradition for the top team in the ACC, whether Dabo Swinney likes it or not.

Don’t be surprised if Clemson stumbles in upcoming games against South Carolina or in the ACC title game against a solid North Carolina squad. Either one could devastate Clemson’s season, and greatly improve LSU’s College Football Playoff chances in the process.

A Clemson loss would also hurt the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame’s only loss came on the road against Clemson by two points, and is the driving factor behind the Irish’s top-four ranking. At this point, Notre Dame is the only one-loss team in the country with a more impressive loss than LSU, but that could change if Clemson drops its first game of the season.

Notre Dame and one-loss Stanford, who is ranked No. 7, meet in a game later this year that some analysts have declared a play-in game for the College Football Playoff. But if LSU plays impressive enough in the next three games, it will be difficult for the committee to look past the Tigers, especially if Stanford wins that game.

When compared to Stanford, LSU has the more difficult schedule. In addition, the Tigers’ loss would have come against one of the top teams int he country, while Stanford lost to No. 18 Northwestern in its season-opener.

Next: Importance of a Conference Title