There are 134 FBS teams in college football. Only 12 make the playoffs, and LSU is looking to be one of them.

The No. 15 Fighting Tigers are sitting at 6-2, with a 3-1 SEC record and four games left on the 2024 calendar, but none are as gigantic as the one on Saturday night in Death Valley.

No. 11 Alabama travels to Tiger Stadium in a season-defining showdown. If the Bayou Bengals don’t take care of business, the rest of their campaign will be for pride. But if they can defend their home turf, there’s a serious chance that the purple and gold will reach the College Football Playoff.

ESPN’s Allstate Playoff Predictor currently gives LSU a 21% chance to make the playoffs. If the Tigers reach and win the SEC Championship, they will take advantage of the new 12-team playoff’s automatic bids, making them an automatic top-four seed as they escape from round one with a bye.

But what if they don’t? Is the purple and gold’s resume impressive enough for the committee to put them into the postseason picture?

The Bayou Bengals host Alabama on Saturday before traveling to Gainesville to play Florida in their final road game of the regular season. They then return home to Baton Rouge as favorites against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

A victory against their most hated rival on Saturday night could spark a second half surge. Even without the SEC’s automatic bid, the Playoff Predictor gives the Tigers a 78% chance to get in if they finish the final month of the 2024 season undefeated. This gives the Bayou Bengals a 16% chance to host a playoff game at Tiger Stadium, with a 62% chance to play on the road in the opening round of the playoffs.

So, while it’s still possible for the purple and gold to make college football’s new 12-team playoff, there’s only one path to the postseason: Run the table.