LSU slots in just ahead of Auburn on this list as a result of their position as a third wheel in the SEC West. They are the school Nick Saban ditched before taking over a division rival. They are the school that has two national championships in the 21st century and played for another yet only got two because of three controversial BCS decisions.
The first championship came under Saban in 2003. Despite losing the Big 12 championship game in a 35-7 blowout against Kansas State, Oklahoma was selected to play LSU instead of 11-1 Pac-12 champion USC. The Tigers took down the Sooners 21-14, while USC beat No. 4 Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl. The Coaches Poll awarded the crystal pigskin to LSU, but the AP Poll diverged and kept the Trojans atop their top 25.
Four years later, LSU once again made it into the BCS national championship game. In a season filled with a slew of two-loss teams, the Tigers won the 2007 title thanks to the classic Les Miles argument that LSU had not lost in regulation. To be fair, this was absolutely true. LSU lost twice during the regular season, but both losses came in overtime. Prior to 1996 those losses would have been ties on the official record and the Tigers would have been undefeated entering the postseason.
Four years after that, the Tigers played Alabama in an all-SEC rematch for the BCS title. LSU won the first contest between the two teams, but Alabama rebounded with a 21-0 whitewashing in the season finale. That victory accelerated the move to the four-team College Football Playoff, and it also obscured just how consistently good LSU has been over the decades under various coaches.