The LSU Tigers lost to the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday night in Oxford.

And beyond the emotional storylines of the game, it’s a loss that puts LSU in a tough spot early in the season when it comes to the Tigers’ chances to reach the College Football Playoff.

LSU’s playoff hopes aren’t on life support by any means, but the margin for error is much slimmer now. The Tigers can’t afford many more slip-ups in SEC play if they want to stay in the conversation come November.

I don’t think LSU fans should be too concerned about the loss, though. For one, it was an emotional Rebels team that took the field in Oxford, and those are always tough games in the SEC – no matter who the opponent is. Ole Miss had every reason to be fired up, and that kind of energy at home in a conference game is often the difference.

LSU wins this game if the quarterbacks are switched

This game came down to the quarterbacks. If you switch the quarterbacks, LSU wins the game. 

That’s nothing against LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, but Trinidad Chambliss was Lane Kiffin’s guy. Chambliss is the quarterback Kiffin wanted to bring with him to LSU. Leavitt was simply the option he had to go after when other options fell through. If Chambliss had followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge, this is a win for the Tigers.

I know that’s a lot of what-if, but I think the big takeaway here is that it’s a good sign for the future. Kiffin had to scramble to land Leavitt because it was the only choice he had with the way the cycle played out. Leavitt was never the top choice. 

We know there’s no one better at developing quarterbacks than Kiffin. He always manages to find “the guy.” And there’s no doubt that he will in the future at LSU. He just didn’t have enough time, because of the calendar, to find “the guy” for this season. And he did the best he could by landing Leavitt. 

LSU fans are just going to have to get through this season with Leavitt, but brighter days are certainly ahead when it comes to the quarterback situation in Baton Rouge. Once Kiffin lands the quarterback he truly wants, this program’s ceiling will change in a hurry.