Rece Davis lauds LSU as National Title darkhorse: 'If they get [to the CFP], I'd watch out'

As the 2026 college football calendar turns to the month of November, teams will begin to separate from one another in an effort to grab an elusive spot in the College Football Playoff. In this day and age of the CFP, once you reach the 12-team field, absolutely anything can happen. This became very evident last season, when Miami snuck into the field as the final at-large bid. The Hurricanes, which earned the No. 10 seed, knocked off No. 7 seed Texas A&M, No. 2 seed Ohio State, and No. 6 seed Ole Miss to clinch a berth in the National Championship Game. Mario Cristobal‘s team was unable to win the title, but gave an underdog performance for the ages. Now, who could be the Miami of this season? AKA, a team that if they can reach the field, they can do some real damage. ESPN’s Rece Davis joined Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, where he gave his answer to this very question. “Who is Miami from last year… a team that if they get in, watch out. They can win the whole thing. To me, that’s LSU. I think LSU has had a couple of hiccups, including the loss at Kentucky on the two-point conversion and the wild game we saw at Ole Miss early. “Watching LSU the last couple of games, it feels like [Sam] Leavitt is getting comfortable and he’s taking care of the football better than he was earlier. They feel like they’re coming. I think LSU is the team. Now, they’ve got some tests. They’ve got Alabama and Texas, but if they get [to the College Football Playoff], I’d watch out. They certainly are capable of winning the whole thing if they get in.” LSU has bounced back in a big way following its Week 6 loss at Kentucky, outscoring No. 16 Mississippi State and Auburn 69-17 in its past two wins. The Tigers’ 38-17 win over Auburn came just one week after Alex Golesh‘s team stunned No. 1 Georgia in Athens. As Rece mentioned, the play of quarterback Sam Leavitt has been key in these dominant performances. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage Across his past two games, Leavitt has racked up 676 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns with no interceptions. He certainly looks to be playing the best ball of his career as the Tigers head into the final stretch of the regular season. LSU, which sits at 6-2 (3-2) and is ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll, closes out the regular season with games against No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Texas, No. 16 Tennessee, and Arkansas. It would likely take wins in three of those four games for LSU to sneak into the CFP field. It will be an uphill battle for sure, but you can never truly count out Lane Kiffin and his team, which seems to be clicking on all cylinders right now. LSU is seeking its first CFP appearance since 2019, when it won the National Championship.