LSU's impressive 37-10 triumph over Georgia during Saturday afternoon's Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta catapulted the Tigers to the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
By virtue of claiming the top spot, Ed Orgeron's Tigers (13-0) will return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 28 for a Peach Bowl national semifinal date against fourth-seeded Oklahoma (12-1).
The other semifinal will be that same day at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, and it will pit second-seeded Ohio State (13-0) and third-seeded Clemson (13-0).
This will be the sixth year of the College Football Playoff and the first without Alabama, which won national championships in the 2015 and 2017 seasons and finished runner-up to Clemson in 2016 and again last season.
LSU is making its first playoff appearance. The Tigers won national championships in 1958, 2003 and 2007, defeating Oklahoma 21-14 for the BCS title in 2003 and downing Ohio State 38-24 for the 2007 BCS crown.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.