LSU Football: Tigers' Road to College Football Playoff

November is here, which means it's time for LSU fans to find out where they stand.

The Tigers (7-0, 4-0 SEC) travel to Tuscaloosa to square off against Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC) in a game that will define the landscape of the SEC in the month of November.

When they enter Bryant-Denny Stadium, they will have a playoff spot to lose. 

The Tigers chimed in at the No. 2 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2015 season, behind only top-ranked Clemson.

Where LSU Stands  

While LSU isn't atop the standings, head coach Les Miles' crew is sitting pretty in the second spot. A win over Alabama will sit well in the eyes of selection committee members, and the Tigers are currently in control of their SEC West and College Football Playoff destiny.

Record	Playoff Ranking	Sagarin Strength of Schedule
7-0 (4-0, SEC)	2nd	37th

When it comes to contenders, Clemson landed in the 28th spot on Jeff Sagarin's strength of schedule rankings (via: USA Today), while Baylor has the 104th easiest schedule, TCU 58th, Michigan State 59th and Ohio State 68th.

That schedule will be ratcheted up down the stretch for the Tigers, who play at No. 4 Alabama, Arkansas, at No. 18 Ole Miss and No. 19 Texas A&M to close out the season.

 

Help Needed  

In terms of help, LSU doesn't need any. If the Tigers win out, they're in, plain and simple. 

The only question would be seeding. 

With everybody in the Pac-12 having already suffered one loss, the only undefeated teams that could mount a challenge for the No. 1 spot would be Clemson, the eventual Big 12 champion and either No. 3 Ohio State or No. 7 Michigan State.

I have a hard time believing that either Clemson or a Big 12 champion would be considered better than an unblemished LSU, so Ohio State or Michigan State would be the only real challenger to the top spot in the standings if LSU wins out.

Ohio State has a title to boast, so the Buckeyes might get an edge on the Tigers. Michigan State has been sluggish all season long, and I'm not sure an undefeated Spartans team would be ranked above LSU—even if it ends up producing a heads-up win over the Buckeyes and a Big Ten title.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Final Bowl Prediction 

LSU has to get by Alabama this weekend, and I don't see that happening.

The Crimson Tide front seven is the best in the country and has already proved it can shut down elite running backs when it held Georgia's Nick Chubb in check until the game got way out of hand. Head coach Nick Saban's crew will slow down Leonard Fournette enough to put the game in the hands of quarterback Brandon Harris, and while he's thrown for over 200 yards in three straight games, asking him to go win a game against an elite defense on the road is too much to ask.

It will be the only loss of the season for the Tigers, and they'll still make a "New Year's Six" bowl.

Prediction: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.