Schedule released for LSU football; Thomas leaves

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BATON ROUGE -- We knew the opponents, now we know the schedule.
On Monday, the Southeastern Conference released the entire 2020 season schedule and the LSU Tigers now know what to expect come September.
The SEC is the final conference to release their full schedule and is only one of six FBS conferences that still intend to play football this upcoming fall.
LSU will begin their defense of the National Championship on September 26 when they host the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Last year, the Tigers found themselves hard pressed to score on the Bulldogs in a 36-13 win.
Game two sees LSU travel back to Vanderbilt, the same place that the Tigers blasted the Commodores 66-38 last season.
LSU hosts the Missouri Tigers in week three and then travels back to Gator country for a battle with perennial foe Florida.
A home game against the South Carolina Gamecocks in week five completes the first half of the season. The Tigers have not played South Carolina since 2015 when they roared past the Gamecocks with a 45-24 pasting.
Week six has LSU traveling to the Plains to take on nemesis Auburn. This will be a very pivotal game for the Bayou Bengals if they hope to make a statement in 2020. The last four games between these two teams have been decided by five points or less.
LSU has an open date in week seven. That open date is key for the Tigers because the very next game puts the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tiger Stadium
Despite losing a ton of talent this past season, the Tide will come in with the No. 2 recruiting class in the country and a huge chip on the shoulder after last year’s loss to LSU.
Weeks nine, ten and eleven can be a thorn in the Tiger’s side or it could be the final three games needed for LSU to go undefeated for the second regular season in a row.
The Tigers travel to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks in week nine and then travel to College Station the following week to challenge the Texas A&M Aggies.
The final game of the regular season has the Ole Miss Rebels coming to Baton Rouge hoping to possible derail another Tiger title run.
As of now, the NCAA playoff selection committee has stated that they will pick the four best teams for the College Football Playoff, regardless of which conferences play football or not. So, unless things change dramatically, a successful LSU season will continue with either a bowl game or a College Football Playoff bid.
In other Tiger notes, defensive end Justin Thomas has decided to leave the team. That announcement came via LSU head coach Ed Orgeron on Tuesday and makes the third potential defensive starter not playing this season. Defensive lineman Neill Farrell and defensive back Kary Vincent both opted out of playing in 2020 because of coronavirus concerns.