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LSU's College Football Playoff chances take a dive after week one loss by ESPN

By Nicholas Rome

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) drops back to throw the ball against the LSU Tigers in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) drops back to throw the ball against the LSU Tigers in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / kirby lee-usa today sports
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The end goal every season is to hoist the National Championship trophy especially at a storied football program like LSU. This season wasn't National Championship or bust for LSU as the Tigers reload after losing a ton of talent yet, the College Football Playoff was still a goal.

The College Football Playoff has expanded from four teams to twelve meaning even on an off year any team can make the big dance. At LSU, there's no reason why in most seasons the Tigers shouldn't be one of the Nation's twelve best teams. After losing to USC however, the Tigers chances look slimmer than you'd hope.

Prior to the start of the season, ESPN analytics gave the LSU football team a 25.3% chance of making the College Football Playoff. The LSU Football team is now given just a 5.5% chance to make the Playoff according to ESPN analytics. For reference on how much winning that game meant, USC had a preseason chance of making the playoffs set at 13.4% now after beating LSU the Trojans have a 24% chance of making the cut.

There are a few teams with better chances ahead of the Tigers that don't make a ton of sense including Kentucky at 6.4%, Nebraska at 8.4%, Washington at 8.1%, Iowa at 9.9%, Auburn at 17.4%, and Michigan at 23% after they looked terrible against Fresno State.

The positive news is that everything still lies ahead of the team despite dropping another season opener. LSU will face three teams with a 30% chance or greater and they'll host them all at home with games against Alabama, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma. Another positive thing is that this season seems destined for chaos and we've seen early results indicating this season will be crazy.

An uphill climb but, one LSU can achieve

Its now an uphill battle for LSU if the Tigers are going to make their way into the College Football Playoff but, there's still plenty of reasons to believe. A ton of the mistakes LSU made in week one will be ironed out before they play Ole Miss as the coordinators and Garrett Nussmeier continue to gain experience. The defense looked night and day compared to 2023 and as the group continues to learn Blake Baker's defense and continues to gel, it'll only look better. A week one loss was a result no one wanted to see but, LSU will have its fate in it's own hands this season.

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