There are very few things in life that can stir emotions within you like college football. For four months a year, millions of Americans decide to put their mental well-being in the hands of a collection of 18- to 24-year-old men they do not know personally. All they know is that they've chosen to wear their preferred uniform.
Sometimes this decision brings joy. Other times it brings pain. But what it always brings as kickoff draws near every week is anxiety.
There's always the nervous energy of the unknown heading into a game. You can never be sure how things will go, and where the rollercoaster will take you. However, while we all feel it, some of us feel it more than others, and each week, The Anxiety Rankings aim to find the five most anxious places in the country.
You'll fail, but try all the same. This is the fourth edition of The Anxiety Rankings, and LSU has now been included in the No. 1 spot in three of them. What a roller coaster ride it's been for the Tigers and their fans, but at least this week they'll know they aren't carrying that anxiety alone.
This game, for all intents and purposes, is an elimination game. The loser will be 0-2 in SEC play, making it damn near impossible to climb above 14 other teams to earn the right to go to Atlanta and play for an SEC title. A second loss would also severely damage either team's chances at getting an at-large bid for the College Football Playoff.
LSU would be 2-2 with home games left against a newly feisty Mississippi State and conference powers Alabama and Texas. There are also road dates against a Kentucky team that just took down the Aggies in College Station, and an Auburn team that would be a tough out. If you're LSU, and you spent all that money to make Brian Kelly go away just so you could spend even more on bringing Lane Kiffin to town with a new and expensive roster, only to finish 9-3 or 8-4.
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