Paul Finebaum: 'LSU's in Really Good Shape' Following Win Over Arkansas

Brian Kelly and Co. captured their sixth consecutive victory on Saturday night with the program now controlling its destiny.

Jan 6, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN broadcaster Paul Finebaum during media day at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly and the No. 8 ranked LSU Tigers have America's attention after extending their winning streak to six games on Saturday night in Fayetteville.

Kelly and Co. are now 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in conference play with their SEC Championship Game odds rising.

But the ultimate goal is a College Football Playoff berth and the national media is beginning to buy into what the program is building in Baton Rouge.

On Sunday, SEC Network's Paul Finebaum hopped on The Matt Barrie Show where he doubled down on where he stands on the Bayou Bengals heading into the home stretch of the season.

Last week he raved about LSU following a momentum shifting Week 7 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels.

“And quite frankly, they’re in great shape," Finebaum said. "They have now moved into that upper echelon of the SEC teams because so many others are starting to back up.”

Now, he believes there is a legitamate chance for this program to punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff::

“I think LSU‘s in really good shape, even if they lost to Texas A&M , they still have a path probably just beating Alabama,” Finebaum said. “I say that because Alabama and LSU both have games against Oklahoma, but those are no longer games that we talk about. Those are automatic after what we saw (Saturday).”

Finebaum believes the Tigers have won gritty game after gritty game, elaborating on how the program continued fighting to take down South Caarolina and Ole Miss.

But this weekend's contest in College Station is a defining game on who may ultimately reach the SEC Championship Game and further.

“I’m pretty high on LSU. I deal with Brian Kelly every week on our show, he’s a regular guest. He has had to navigate a lot and I like that about this program,” Finebaum said. “I’ll state the obvious: they should have about three losses right now. They dropped the USC game, which they probably should have won. They won the South Carolina game, which they probably should have lost. I still haven’t figured out how they won the Ole Miss game.”

LSU may be without defensive superstar Harold Perkins, but Finebaum has been impressed with the way the defense has stepped up along with the play of star signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier.

The Tigers' "gauntlet" of SEC games is a challenge, with the second of back-to-back conference games coming this weekend in College Station, but it's a week-by-week approach for the program.

“This stretch has always been dicey, but I like the momentum. Nussmeier’s playing really well. They’ve lost a couple of key players but what’s interesting is they lost Harold Perkins, the All-American linebacker, but the defense has played freer without him being there.”

Following this weekend against Texas A&M, LSU will have their second open date before a Nov. 9 showdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tiger Stadium.

Finebaum was candid about the state of Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide squad:

“Alabama is an absolute trainwreck. There’s, there’s no sugar coating it.”

No. 8 LSU will head to College Station next weekend for a date against the Texas A&M Aggies in a battle for the top of the Southeastern Conference.

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