LSU football bowl predictions: Could the Tigers play the Ragin' Cajuns in Birmingham?
LSU will play in a bowl game after upsetting Texas A&M in coach Ed Orgeron’s final game. While athletic director Scott Woodward searches to replace Orgeron, offensive line coach Brad Davis will lead the Tigers as interim coach.
The SEC has a record 13 bowl-eligible teams this season, the most for a conference in college-football history, so where does LSU land?
It depends on what happens in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.
Georgia will make the College Football Playoff with a win over Alabama. If the Crimson Tide win, it would send the Bulldogs to the Sugar Bowl. Barring an upset, Alabama will go to the Sugar Bowl and Ole Miss is likely to receive an at-large bid to a New Year’s Six bowl.
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The Citrus Bowl has the next selection, followed by secondary games like the Outback Bowl (Tampa), Gator Bowl (Jacksonville), Music City Bowl (Nashville), Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte), Texas Bowl (Houston) and Liberty Bowl (Memphis).
The pecking order for the Citrus Bowl includes Kentucky, Texas A&M and Arkansas. From there, the other bowls will select from the SEC pool.
With a 6-6 record, LSU falls behind Mississippi State (7-5) and Tennessee (7-5) in the pecking order. Other SEC teams who finished 6-6 include Auburn, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina.
Here are the leading options for LSU’s bowl destination.
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
Dec. 28 in Birmingham, Ala.
It makes sense to court LSU for attendance purposes. The Birmingham Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 28 from UAB’s brand-new Protective Stadium. Prior to this season, the game was played at Legion Field. Potential opponents include Louisville, Central Florida, Appalachian State and an intriguing matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette, who just lost their coach, Billy Napier, to Florida.
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Dec. 18 in Shreveport, La.
A potential Christmas present for LSU’s North Louisiana fans, Shreveport is a just under four hours from Baton Rouge. The last time LSU played in the Independence Bowl was 1997, when Rondell Mealey stepped in for an injured Kevin Faulk and ran for 222 yards in a 27-9 win over Notre Dame. Projections have the Tigers playing BYU, a rematch of the 2017 season opener.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Dec. 28 in Memphis, Tenn.
LSU’s chances at the Liberty Bowl likely depend on where Tennessee ends up. The Vols are an attractive option for the Music City Bowl and unlikely to fall to the Liberty Bowl. Texas Tech is a possible opponent for the Tigers in Memphis. LSU blew out the Red Raiders, 56-27, in the 2015 Texas Bowl behind 212 rushing yards and five touchdowns from Leonard Fournette.
Bowl projections
Kyle Bonaruga, ESPN: Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, Dec. 28
Mark Schlabach, ESPN: ServePro First Responder Bowl vs. Army, Dec. 28
College Football News: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. Louisville, Dec. 28
Jerry Palm, CBS Sports: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. Central Florida, Dec. 28
Brad Crawford, 247Sports: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. BYU, Dec. 17
Steve Lassan, Athlon Sports: Armed Forces Bowl vs. Army, Dec. 22
Saturday Down South: Liberty Bowl vs. Texas Tech, Dec. 28
Richard Johnson, Sports Illustrated: Birmingham Bowl vs. Appalachian State, Dec. 28
Adam Hunsucker covers LSU for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at ahunsucker@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @adam_hunsucker. Enjoy Adam’s work? Consider a digital subscription for unlimited access.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football bowl predictions: Could the Tigers play the Ragin' Cajuns in Birmingham?
