Athlon has LSU finishing just outside top 5 in preseason SEC standings

With the SEC expanding to 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma, divisions are now a thing of the past.

That means that LSU won’t just have to win the SEC West to reach the title game in Atlanta; it will have to finish with a top-two record in the league, as well.

Athlon recently released its annual preseason college football preview magazine, and in its first predictions for the expanded SEC, it has LSU finishing just outside the top five in the final standings at No. 6.

While that isn’t exactly an ideal finish, it’s not exactly out of the question that it could be enough to make the College Football Playoff, which will expand to 12 teams for the first time this fall.

Whether LSU pushes for a spot remains to be seen, but it’s clear Athlon sees the Tigers as an upper-half SEC team.

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