This year, a 10-2 LSU team that doesn’t reach the SEC Championship Game — to have a shot at getting there the Tigers need Arkansas to lose at Mississippi State on Saturday and Auburn to lose at Alabama — would certainly land in a January bowl. LSU might even snag an at-large BCS invitation under the right circumstances, some bowl officials said.
“At 10-2 I’ve got to believe LSU would be attractive as an at-large BCS team,” Cotton Bowl President Rick Baker said. “Especially if Florida is in the BCS championship game and the Sugar Bowl needs an at-large.”
If LSU could win out against Ole Miss and Arkansas, the Tigers would have six straight wins and would solidly rank in the top 10 in the BCS and major polls.
Currently LSU is No. 9 in the polls and No. 11 in the BCS. A team from a major conference like the SEC must finish in the top 14 in the final BCS standings to be eligible as an at-large.
While he stopped short of saying where a 10-2 LSU team would rank on his bowl’s wish list, Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan agreed such a record would “greatly improve” LSU’s BCS chances.
“If they are 10-2 at that stage they would be very attractive,” Hoolahan said. “But there’s still more ball to be played.”
The biggest question is whether the SEC gets one or two teams in the BCS.
Stokan envisions two scenarios at this point, with LSU likely going to the Capital One or Cotton bowls with an outside shot at the BCS.
“If the SEC gets two in the BCS (Florida and Arkansas) I think Auburn goes to the Outback, Tennessee to the Cotton and LSU to the Capital One,” Stokan said. “There is a chance they (LSU) could be pulled up into the BCS (with the SEC champion). If it happens, it might be to the Orange.”
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