LSU vs. Auburn: How Tigers' Win Reshapes Playoff Picture
Auburn was merely focused on taking care of business Saturday entering its showdown with No. 15 LSU, but it will be hard for Tigers fans to keep from thinking forward to January after a handful of unfathomable results around them in Week 6 shook up the College Football Playoff picture.
In the first of many tests against ranked SEC opposition, Gus Malzahn's crew wasted no time disposing of the LSU Tigers in a 41-7 drubbing. After leading by 24 at halftime, the Tigers from Alabama increased their lead even more in the final moments and shut down both of LSU's quarterbacks.
It wasn't until they got into the locker room with that 31-7 lead, though, that they likely realized just how big Saturday's win would become.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
First things first, archrival Alabama was shockingly upset by Ole Miss 23-17—that in itself is enough to make it a fantastic weekend for Auburn's SEC West chances. Minutes after, No. 4 Oklahoma was upset by No. 25 TCU.
Add that to No. 2 Oregon's Thursday-night loss to Arizona, and every team between the Tigers and top-ranked Florida State fell from the ranks of the unbeaten this weekend.
| No. 1 Florida State (vs. Wake Forest) | Won |
| No. 2 Oregon (vs. Arizona) | Lost |
| No. 3 Alabama (at Ole Miss) | Lost |
| No. 4 Oklahoma (at TCU) | Lost |
| No. 5 Auburn (vs. LSU) | Won |
| No. 6 Texas A&M (at Mississippi State) | Lost |
Simply winning in any fashion probably would've been enough for Auburn to make the big jump to No. 2, but bludgeoning a touted LSU team so convincingly can only help the Tigers' case even more. Auburn outgained its opponent 566-280 in total yards, rushing for 298 of them and holding LSU to 0-of-12 on third down.
And with it being no secret that Florida State—albeit still unbeaten—is struggling as of late, some folks like Fox Sports' Clay Travis would go as far as putting the Tigers atop the rankings altogether:
It obviously didn't hurt, either, to see in-state rivals Alabama fall—which prompted a roar from the Auburn crowd as Justin Hokanson of 247Sports reported:
Auburn fans watching from home had to start feeling a little uneasiness amid the joy of Alabama's loss entering Saturday's game. Watching literally every team ahead of them fall other than the defending champs is great and all, but Les Miles and a talented LSU team came in hungry to turn its season around. Who's to say Auburn couldn't join the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon and—gasp—Bama?
Well, Nick Marshall said so—first with his arm, then with his legs in leading Auburn to a cruiser of a win against a tough SEC West foe.
Malzahn and Auburn established the pass in a big way early, as Marshall connected with Sammie Coates for a 56-yard score to make it 10-0 early. Before the first half concluded, Marshall had scampered for two touchdowns and thrown for two more.
He finished with 207 passing yards on the day (most in the first half), proving offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee's endorsement of the quarterback's aerial maturity wasn't ill-advised.
"He's proven that he's matured to the point that he's going to look to be a passer first," Lashlee told AuburnTigers.com's Charles Goldberg. "He's not going to be a guy that just drops back and tries to take off running. He's trying to throw the ball first, and if he goes through his progressions and it's not there, he needs to feel confident to let his instincts take over and go make plays."
If Marshall continues slinging the ball like he did Saturday and follow it up with his breakaway rushing ability, the sky will be the limit again for Auburn in 2014.
The Tigers just hope that will continue to be the case, because they travel to face a Mississippi State team next weekend that just throttled sixth-ranked Texas A&M at home. ESPN's Mark May thinks that is a matchup that pegs the nation's two most impressive teams, per WCBI-TV's Robby Donoho:
Oh, and that's followed up with coming home to play South Carolina, traveling to face Ole Miss—who just beat Alabama—and then facing Texas A&M and Georgia.
Simply put, Auburn didn't really need the help it got across the nation on Saturday. Regardless of where it stands in next week's rankings, Malzahn's team will have its fate decided in its own upcoming games.
Still, let's take a look at where Auburn stands in an early CFP projection after Week 6:
| 1 | Auburn |
| 2 | Florida State |
| 3 | Baylor |
| 4 | Mississippi State |
Saturday did potentially open up one door, and one that no Auburn fan wants to rely on but will be happy knowing it's there. That's the door to still make the CFP with a regular-season loss, but that will also hinge upon the Tigers' ability to beat and hold tiebreakers over whatever SEC West team stays atop the rankings late in the season—that could be Mississippi State, Ole Miss or even Alabama or Texas A&M.
As for LSU, its already-dim chances of getting back into the SEC West and CFP mix are all but squashed. Two early-season divisional losses should be too much to overcome for Miles and Co. in an SEC West that is looking more and more stacked by the week.
But while it was a death sentence for LSU's postseason aspirations, Saturday's game was just the opposite for Auburn. Already very much alive in the CFP conversation, the Tigers catapulted to the forefront with familiar foes Florida State after an impressive SEC win.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
