Bowl Predictions 2012: Arkansas vs. LSU Will Determine National Championship

Most people were debating who would join LSU in the National Championship, but now the real question is whether it will be Arkansas or LSU joining Alabama.

Oklahoma State, Oregon and Oklahoma made it easy on voters by losing to underdogs this week. It's now clear that LSU vs. Arkansas is a play-in game for the National Championship and LSU's incredible season will be for not if they can't seal the deal at home against Arkansas.

Some will gripe and say that there is no way to justify Alabama being in the game when LSU beat them in a head-to-head matchup.

Anyone who saw the game knows that the Crimson Tide and Tigers are a mirror image of one another and a narrow overtime win over Alabama doesn't make it absurd to think Alabama would bypass LSU if the Tigers sustained a late loss.

People are already chocking up a "W" for the Tigers, but let's not forget that they'll be going up against a Top 5 team next week. The Razorbacks looked awful on the road against Alabama earlier in the season, but they come into this game with three straight victories of over 15 points.

They've scored 44 or more points in that span and their offense is clicking. With LSU only allowing 10 PPG, they obviously face an uphill battle, but aside from Alabama, this is the toughest opponent they've seen all season.

LSU has the SEC Championship and presumably a National Championship to think about. Les Miles does well to focus his group on the task at hand, but Oklahoma State, Oregon and Oklahoma are prime examples of what can happen to teams who get caught up in the BCS macrocosm.

LSU needs to place more stock in this game. The "Game of the Century" build-up made it easy on the Tigers to stay focused. The National Championship implications are just as significant in this game, and though the general public fails to recognize that, LSU must if they want to come away with a victory.

Arkansas is surprisingly right in the thick of the BCS Title picture and LSU's legitimacy as the No. 1 team in the country is in limbo.