Orlando, Dallas still in postseason picture for Tigers

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 13, 2009 - Page: 1C

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The big-ticket items on LSU’s list of season goals slipped through the Tigers’ fingers last week with a loss at Alabama.

But there’s still plenty of destiny in LSU’s grasp as far as the 2009 bowl season goes.

The Tigers were knocked out of the running for the Southeastern Conference Championship Game and are also out of the hunt for a second BCS national championship in three years.

That doesn’t mean there’s not a nice and attractive landing spot for LSU this season, though. And two high-profile January bowl games are the most likely destinations if the Tigers finish strong.

The Capital One Bowl is the first non-BCS bowl in the SEC pecking order, and LSU is at the center of the game’s radar.

The SEC and Big Ten collide in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 1 in a bowl that generally generates the highest TV ratings after the BCS slate of games.

“We’re absolutely looking at LSU,” Capital One Bowl Executive Director Steve Hogan said Wednesday. “They’ve played a great season, with their only losses in very competitive fashion to two of the best teams in the country. In my opinion, they deserve to be ranked up in the top 4-5 when you look at who they’ve played and how those games have turned out.

“LSU has great tradition and history and a great fan base.”

The Tigers also have the opportunity to meet two of Capital One’s ambitious qualifications.

“We look for 10-win teams or better that are highly ranked,” Hogan said.

To land a spot in the Capital One Bowl, LSU (7-2) will most likely have to win its last three games, although a nine-victory season would still leave the Tigers in the mix.

If LSU wins out and heads to Orlando, the Tigers would square off with one of the Big Ten teams that have been ranked in the top five this season: Iowa, Ohio State or Penn State. Wisconsin is also an outside possibility.

The Big Ten is likely to get only one BCS bid, meaning the league’s second-best team will land in Orlando.