Playoff committee - does LSU really want to risk this?

If LSU has as good a team this year as they claim, why on earth would they risk a playoff spot over these players? The CFP has already said they would consider any team using former NFL players ineligible.

And this time the law will be against you:

The College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee operates as an independent private entity (CFP Administration, LLC) governed by its Board of Managers, giving it legal and operational separation from state court rulings that govern conference regular-season play.

Subjectivity and Committee Authority

The Florida State Precedent: The 2023 Florida State decision established that an undefeated record does not guarantee a playoff berth. The committee's official selection protocol explicitly grants discretionary power to evaluate roster availability, competitive strength, and team integrity without judicial interference.

Discretion of Private Selection Bodies: Courts grant wide legal deference to private athletic associations regarding postseason invitations. Lawsuits challenging subjective playoff selections face near-impossible legal standards because postseason participation is deemed a privilege rather than a constitutionally protected property right.

State Court Jurisdiction Limits

Scope of the Louisiana Injunction: Judge William Jorden’s Louisiana preliminary injunction explicitly names the NCAA, the SEC, and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey as defendants. Because the CFP Selection Committee is a separate corporate entity and not a party to the Louisiana state lawsuit, the local state court order cannot compel the CFP committee to rank or invite LSU.

CFP Management Committee Authority: The CFP Management Committee—composed of the FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director—holds sole governance over playoff eligibility rules. If the CFP leadership adopts a formal postseason policy barring programs that field players with professional contract experience, that rule applies nationally across the entire playoff format regardless of local state court TROs.

Even if state court orders protect LSU from immediate SEC regular-season penalties within Louisiana, the CFP Selection Committee retains absolute legal authority to leave LSU out of the 12-team postseason bracket.