How Florida State-LSU impacts 2023 playoff LSU will feel those consequences now. The Tigers face the unenviable task of trying to get through the SEC without a loss in order to get to the CFP.
The Tigers did lose to Florida State last season and still made the SEC championship game with three losses.
But had they beaten Georgia, a flimsy case based on the SEC championship would have been there. No other conference has that argument.
Now, LSU will have to get through the SEC West unscathed– which features a trip to No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 4 – to have a chance.
Those are long odds now, and the second-half meltdown against Florida State will remain a talking point in November.
Florida State gets a huge boost. A top-five ranking is almost assured now, and this gives the Seminoles room with the ACC race.
Had Florida State lost, a visit to No. 9 Clemson would have been an elimination game. Now, it’s potentially a best-of-two scenario with wiggle room.
The Seminoles have a substantial increase in their chances of making the playoff. The top-10 showdown was worth it, because they won.
That worked out for two playoff teams in Week 1 of 2022.
Last year, No. 2 Ohio State beat No. 5 Notre Dame 21-10 in Week 1. No. 3 Georgia beat No. 11 Oregon 48-3 – which wasn't a top-10 showdown but close to it.
While the argument here is typically, “That got Georgia and Ohio State in the playoff,” games like this impact the loser more.
The Ducks finished 9-3 and Irish 8-4 in the regular season. The pressure not to lose again – no two-loss team has played in the College Football Playoff – was too great.
That is the uphill battle LSU faces now, and that's a problem.