LSU-Florida: No Losers Here

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The biggest game of the college football season will originate from the 225 around 7 p.m. on Saturday night when the Gators and Tigers clash in a battle of the last three national champions and the only two teams to hold two BCS titles.

But regardless of the final score, there will be no loser.

Florida enters the game as a near double digit favorite to beat the home team. Thus, if Florida wins, it's pro forma, and everybody is persuaded that Florida is what we thought they were—an incredibly deep and talented team with tons of experience and a Leonidas-like leader.

If that happens, the ramifications for LSU are not that serious. They are expected to lose to the No. 1 team in the nation, and that's what they will have done.

Even more importantly, the Tigers will still control their own destiny for a trip to Atlanta. The mission will be simple: beat everyone left on the schedule and then face the Gators again in the SEC title game.

That's no easy task, however, as three SEC West teams—Alabama, Ole Miss, and Auburn—will be tough tests, to be sure.

Two of them—Alabama and Auburn—are undefeated at the moment, and both will be good candidates to knock off the Tigers. Crucially, none of them will face Florida in the regular season.

But even if LSU beats the Gators, the task remains the same. None of those other teams have Florida on the regular season schedule, so LSU will still have to win the remaining games on the schedule to earn their way into the SEC title game.

The task for the Gators is almost identical if they lose. Simply win out against East foes Georgia and South Carolina and the East title is likely theirs, and with it a trip to Atlanta.

And does anybody really think that the loser of this game—especially if it's close—will have disqualified themselves from national title contention?

There's no way. If the loser of this game wins out through an SEC championship game, especially defeating the other in a rematch, the BCS title game will beckon.

So while this game will likely be a hard-hitting and intense affair that will represent everything that is good about college football, it will not ruin either team's season

As for a prediction? LSU 19-18, and Tebow doesn't play.

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