Mississippi State vs. LSU: How Bulldogs' Win Reshapes Playoff Picture

The usual LSU comeback led by coach Les Miles was in full force Saturday night in the waning moments of a 34-29 home loss to Mississippi State that throws the inaugural playoff picture for a loop.

Led by sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings, the Tigers have had issues on offense all season long, but it is hard to remember the defense getting so thoroughly torched on the way to a loss. In total, the Tigers gave up 570 yards of offense.

Author Clay Travis put it best:

While Jennings fought through an injury scare to finish with a 13-of-26 mark for 157 yards, it was Bulldogs star quarterback Dak Prescott who put on arguably the best show of the week.

The junior dual-threat quarterback finished with a 15-of-24 line for 268 yards and two scores, while also making a fool of the LSU defense on the ground with 22 carries for 105 yards and a score—with his 56-yard scamper being one of the top highlights of the week.

To be blunt, the upset was not all that difficult to see coming given the well-known offensive issues for LSU. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs had held three opponents to a total of 37 points while posting 35 or more in each contest thanks to Prescott's explosiveness.

Before the contest, even Miles was wary of the strong roster Dan Mullen has crafted.

"I can tell you that this Mississippi State team is talented as any and is capable as any and maybe as complete, offense, defense, special teams, as any Mississippi State team we've seen," Miles said, per Michael Bonner of The Clarion-Ledger.

With LSU seemingly bowing out of the playoff picture for the time being, the Tigers will need to perform better in contests down the road against Auburn, Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M, with those final two being of particular importantance.

Nick Saban's Crimson Tide seems all but a lock to make a serious run at an undefeated mark by season's end—the quarterback question got an answer Saturday in a 42-21 win over Florida as Blake Sims threw for 445 yards and four scores.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M scoffs at the idea it would not have been a contender this year without Johnny Manziel. Quarterback Kenny Hill has had the look of an undercover Heisman contender so far and has the Aggies looking like a serious threat for the playoff.

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Despite the strong showing from the Bulldogs Saturday night, they happen to share the same opponents named as hurdles for LSU above. Even worse, the team's next game comes at the start of October against the Aggies, followed by Auburn. The only saving grace? Both contests come at home.

On a day that Alabama emerged as the favorite once again, nothing short of running the table in the brutal SEC seems like the key to the playoff.

A note from Bryan Fischer of NFL.com puts things into perspective:

As if fans would want it any other way.

With LSU exposed in brutal fashion, Mississippi State is now one of the most dangerous teams in the nation, even in the playoff race. But so it goes in the SEC—we could just as easily be labeling the Bulldogs frauds after their upcoming encounter with Texas A&M.

For now, the inaugural playoff has a shocking entrant led by an unheralded quarterback who continues to run wild.

AP poll via The Associated Press. Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.