Ole Miss loss means LSU-Alabama decides who controls the SEC West

LSU-Alabama is always a big game, and given that LSU is No. 2 and and Alabama is No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff committee rankings, it’s a big one again this year. However, it just got a lot bigger now that it’s for sole control of the SEC West.

Despite being in the Playoff if it started today, and being very much in if it beats LSU, Alabama did not control its destiny in its own division heading into the day. With a loss head-to-head to Ole Miss, if the Rebels and Crimson Tide both finished with one loss in the conference, Alabama would be left out of the SEC Championship game. That’s of utmost importance, given that winning championships is among the selection committee’s most important criteria for picking its top four.

That all changed after Ole Miss lost to Arkansas, 53-52, in overtime in the afternoon game leading up to the LSU-Alabama game. Before that game, Ole Miss and LSU were the only teams in the SEC West that controlled their own destiny. Now, destiny will be controlled by the LSU-Alabama winner.

That’s especially important when you consider the schedules both these teams face for the rest of the season. Both teams will be favored in every game the rest of the season. If LSU wins, it will essentially have a two-game lead over the rest of the division and will have all but wrapped up the title. If Alabama wins, LSU just needs one more loss from the Crimson Tide, but it’s tough to see them losing again.

LSU-Alabama always means something, and regardless of the Ole Miss result, it was going to mean something again on Saturday. Now, it’s for SEC West supremacy, with no caveats.