Because it is now time for Football

[Jarius]

Well, I said "near guaranteed loss". But if you're playing the game of marking "W" "L" or "toss up" on our schedule, they don't fit under "W" or "toss up". That's about an 80% "L". Could we beat them? Sure. But they're the better team, by far. If you had to put a year's salary on the outcome of the game, I think you would have to pick them. They'll be a double digit favorite, I suspect.

ETA: FPI is out. Not that it's that great or anything, but it's a data point.
Alabama Crimson Tide – FPI: 28.2, Record: 11.1-1.6
Georgia Bulldogs – FPI: 27.4, Record: 11.7-1.2
LSU Tigers – FPI: 22.1, Record 9.6-2.6
Tennessee Volunteers – FPI: 15.2, Record: 8.2-3.9
Ole Miss Rebels – FPI: 13.4, Record: 7.6-4.4
Florida Gators – FPI: 12.7, Record: 6.8-5.2
Texas A&M Aggies – FPI: 12.7, Record: 7.5-4.5
Kentucky Wildcats – FPI: 9.7, Record: 7.2-4.9
Arkansas Razorbacks – FPI: 9.0, Record: 6.8-5.2
Mississippi State Bulldogs – FPI: 7.8, Record: 6.3-5.7
Auburn Tigers – FPI: 6.9, Record: 5.8-6.2
Missouri Tigers – FPI: 6.4, Record: 6.0-6.0
South Carolina Gamecocks – FPI: 5.6, Record: 5.5-6.5
Vanderbilt Commodores -FPI: -2.8, Record: 4.0-8.0

LSU at home is closer to a tossup than a guaranteed loss. They were not some overpowering force last year.

[PMDawg]

LSU at home is closer to a tossup than a guaranteed loss. They were not some overpowering force last year.

Should be fairly obvious that we're not playing last year's LSU team. They played a lot of young guys on the OL, and got better as the year went on. Their QB got better too. Yes, they lost to A&M, but that's become quite a rivalry game. It's kind of like the Egg Bowl - throw the records and expectations out. That outcome doesn't color my outlook.

Of course I can't guarantee the outcome of that game. But, LSU will (as usual) finish ahead of us in the SECW standings, and they will be favored against us. Their O/U for the season, per Vegas, is 9.5 wins. Ours is 6.5. They'll be a heavy favorite unless something crazy happens between now and then. But, hey, NCAAF can be totally unpredictable. Perhaps they end up being an overrated team that falls flat on their face. I'm willing to accept that I could be wrong on this. Personally, I don't think that's the barometer game because I think it's the 2nd hardest game on our schedule. But, if that's your barometer game, so be it.