Tigers up to No. 8 in BCS standings

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 9, 2009

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Saturday’s loss at Alabama ended any hopes LSU harbored of slipping into a chance to play for the BCS national championship.

But the Tigers’ chances of playing in a BCS bowl game are still alive, which became clear when the BCS standings were released Sunday.

Despite the loss, LSU (7-2) crept up a spot to No. 8 in the BCS standings.

LSU, the only team in the country to lose twice to top-10 foes this season, is behind the six remaining undefeated teams (Florida, Texas, Alabama, TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State) and one-loss Georgia Tech.

To remain in BCS contention, the Tigers need a scenario similar to 2006, when they didn’t play in the SEC Championship Game but were picked as an at-large selection and played in the Sugar Bowl, routing Notre Dame 41-14.

For that to happen, LSU would have to win out and hope for Florida or Alabama, possibly both, to stumble in at least one of their final SEC games.

The Gators close out their league slate Saturday at South Carolina, while Alabama plays two road games: at Mississippi State this week and at Auburn on Nov. 27.

Because LSU is a strong brand name and its fans travel well to bowl games, the Tigers would likely have an edge over other at-large teams.