LSU Football: Best Bowl Game Options for the Tigers

LSU head coach Les Miles will not win 10 games this season. 

Arkansas' 17-0 drubbing of the Tigers marked an end of unprecedented success for Miles, who has accumulated double-digit win totals every year since 2010. It will be only the third time in 10 seasons he will have fallen short of 10 victories. 

LSU was dismantled by the Razorbacks in every aspect of the game. The offense raked in a miserable 123 yards of total offense, and the defense could not get off the field on third down. Reliable kicker Colby Delahoussaye missed two makable kicks that cost the Tigers dearly.  

LSU will get a much-needed bye this week before heading to College Station to play Texas A&M on Thanksgiving. How the Tigers fare against the Aggies will determine which bowl they will attend. 

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Bowl committees will judge LSU from many different angles. The Tigers are a household name that has a signature win in prime time over Ole Miss. Miles is one of the biggest coaching celebrities, and LSU fans travel well.

On the other hand, LSU's offense is unbearable to watch. Quarterback Anthony Jennings has thrown for fewer than 100 yards in each of the last two games. The Tigers' 23 points in the past three games is awful.

LSU will not make the College Football Playoff. The question now remains if it will make a New Year's Day bowl game. 

The Tampa Bay Times' Jim Tomlin believes LSU will play on New Year's Day. Tomlin sees the Tigers facing Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. 

The Citrus Bowl seems optimistic, but it is possible. The key will be if two SEC teams make the College Football Playoff. Alabama and Mississippi State are the two most likely candidates to make it. 

Jason Kirk of SB Nation sees LSU playing their final game in 2014 against West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl. The Tigers played a home-and-home with the Mountaineers in 2010 and 2011, both of which resulted in victories for Miles.

The Liberty Bowl looks more likely to happen than the Citrus, especially if the Tigers drop their season finale against Texas A&M. 

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A possible, high-profile matchup would be LSU facing Texas in the Texas Bowl on December 29. The Tigers have a major alumni base in Houston, and the drive from most South Louisiana cities is relatively easy. It would be the second time the Tigers would play in NRG Stadium in 2014 and the first time they would play a bowl game before December 30 under Miles. 

An even-higher-profile matchup though would be Texas A&M facing the Longhorns in the Texas Bowl. The in-state rivals used to play each other every season on Thanksgiving. Kirk projects these two will meet in this game. 

There is also the possibility of the Tigers traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana for The Independence Bowl. This game usually matches up an elite Conference USA team with a lower-level team from the SEC or ACC. Though the game takes place in the Pelican State, it would be a massive downgrade from what Bayou Bengal fans are accustomed to seeing.

Alabama, Mississippi State, Auburn and Georgia are locks in bowl pecking order ahead of the Tigers. Ole Miss and Missouri look as if they will finish with better records than the Tigers. How all of that will factor in bowl-committee evaluations is tough to predict. 

LSU's chances of reaching New Year's Day bowl game looks slim. The Tigers will likely be in the Liberty Bowl, Texas Bowl or Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Bowl projections are an inexact science. There is no telling where the Tigers will go. The picture will certainly be cleared after LSU's turkey day matchup against Texas A&M.

Stats, rankings and additional information provided by cfbstats.com, ESPN.com and LSU Sports Information. Recruiting information provided by 247Sports.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter @CarterthePower.