ESPN's FPI Gives Prediction on LSU Tigers College Football Playoff Chances

What are the chances LSU reaches the College Football Playoff? ESPN's FPI chimes in on where things stand.

Oct 26, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) warms up prior to the game against the Texas A&M Aggies The Aggies defeated the Tigers 38-23; at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

No. 16 LSU (6-2, 3-1) will have no margin for error to close out the 2024 season after dropping a Week 9 contest to Texas A&M on Saturday night in College Station.

With the chance to cement their status as the No. 1 team in the Southeastern Conference, the Tigers fell 38-23 in Kyle Field.

Now, it's back to the drawing board during the open date this week before what many are calling a "College Football Playoff Elimination Game" on Nov. 9 against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Bayou Bengals will look to put Saturday's loss to Texas A&M behind them, but it's certainly one that will be in the back of their minds until the season ends.

“I mean, we’ve lost our margin, right?” Brian Kelly said after the game. “We have no margin for error. We have to go back and look at some of the things I just talked about, right? We have to build balance within the offense. We have to be able to handle the running quarterback. The silliness of the field goal stuff, that has got to end. That is just ridiculous. We’ll clean that up in short order. But those two things in particular.”

LSU will take this week to begin game preparation for the Crimson Tide before ramping up practice next week.

With the Tigers now sitting at 6-2 on the season with losses to Southern Cal and Texas A&M, what are the program's chances of making the College Football Playoff?

ESPN's Football Power Index: LSU has a 21.2 percent chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoff and a 4.3 percent chance to win the SEC Championship.

LSU will take it week-by-week, but it's simple: The Bayou Bengals must win out to keep their postseason goals alive with matchups against Alabama, Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma left on the 2024 schedule.

ESPN's FPI provided early predictions on the remaining schedule for the Tigers.

LSU will have a 32 percent chance to beat the Crimson Tide on Nov. 9, a 59 percent chance against the Gators and a 75 percent against the Sooners with the Tigers also predicted to come out on top against Vanderbilt.

That being said, LSU is favored in three out of the last four games of the season with only one game as underdogs against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Heading into game preparation against the Crimson Tide, LSU will focus on developing a consistent defensive game plan for dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe while sharpening both the offense and special teams unit.

“We need to be really good at a few things, and that’s what we do, and let’s get really good at it. We’ve got the bye week. We’ll clean some things up. We’ve got a good football team. Tonight was a bad half of football for us. And we’ll go back to work on ourselves, and we’ll get ourselves ready to play better football," Kelly said after the loss at Texas A&M.

LSU will have a bye week this Saturday before returning to Tiger Stadium on Nov. 9 to host No. 14 Alabama.

The Game Information: LSU Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

• Time: 7:30 PM ET
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 9
• Venue: Tiger Stadium
• TV Channel: ABC Network

More LSU News:

Instant Takeaways: No. 8 LSU Falls to No. 14 Texas A&M in College Station

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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