Is LSU a genuine National Championship Contender?

LSU has been one of the sexier conversations in the offseason. People loved the fact that they beat Alabama and got to the SEC Championship Game. They are talking about Heismans, Jayden Daniels, and the fact that they had an excellent transfer portal (it helps when your NIL fund is the size of the GDP of a small Arab state), and a can’t-miss linebacker in Harold Perkins.

But let’s be honest: LSU was somewhat of a mixed bag last year. There was the doofus loss (FSU), the one where they lost by three scores to a poor team everyone spent the whole season making fun of (Texas A&M), and the Atlanta Schellacking (Georgia). The Tigers beat who they were meant to beat, but the confidence going into this season seems a little high.

The good news for LSU is that they know what they are paying for: An outstanding coach in Brian Kelly, who now has the resources both financially and academically that he didn’t have at Notre Dame #Notsarcasm/#sarcasm

WHO’S GONE

BJ Ojulari, Michah Baskerville and Jay Ward are all gone from LSU’s defense, and Kayshon Boutte and Jaray Jenkins are gone from the wide receiving corps. Back-up QB Walker Howard has gone to Ole Miss, and former four-star DeMareo Tolan left for Auburn (he’s no longer with the team, but that’s apparently due to family stuff rather than bad behavior).

WHO’S ARRIVED

There’s been a lot of chat about the arrival of former 5-star Denver Harris, who transferred in from Texas A&M. Harris was in trouble at A&M and continued that thread by getting suspended by Brian Kelly even before Fall Practice had started, which took some doing. But he’s back and practicing, so that’ll solidify the secondary.

LB Omar Speights (Oregon State), Edge Ovie Oghufo (Texas), DL Jordan Jefferson (West Virginia) and CB Duce Chestnut (Syracuse) have been brought in to have an immediate impact on the defense. Offensively, former four-star sophomore Aaron Anderson has come in from Alabama. Also coming in is Logan Diggs, who ran for over 1,000 yards at Notre Dame.

Add to that the 5th-ranked recruiting class (per On3) in 2023, and you can see why the local are excited.

OFFENSE

Jayden Daniels can be the most exciting quarterback in football. He’s got the legs and the arm. He’s fun, talented, and can put a team on his back. Having said all of that, Daniels’ 2022 showed an on/off switch. People seem to banking on the fact that he’ll have the same game as he did against Alabama last year, where he threw for 182 yards and 2 TDs and rushed for another. He was box office viewing that day. But he was also suffocated against Georgia until the Dawgs brought the starters off and Tigers started scoring some points. Despite all that, Daniels was super-efficient (2nd in the SEC in pass completion percentage), and he didn’t have to be nearly the hero that he had to be at Arizona State to get sustained success…because LSU is that much better.

The arrival of Anderson should be a fun addition to a wide receiving corps that’s got one of the best wide receivers in college football (Malik Nabers) and best tight ends (Mason Taylor) around. There is also WRs Kyren Lacy and Brian Thomas. Know the name Jalen Brown, a four-star out of Florida. The kid can FLY.

Running backs-wise, Noah Cain, Diggs and John Emery will be a three-pronged monster behind an offensive line that features freshmen All-Americans Will Campbell and Emery Jones.

DEFENSE

If he remains healthy, Harold Perkins will be in the Heisman discussion. He’s going to be as good for LSU as Will Anderson was for Alabama, if his sensational 2022 (7 1/2 sacks, 72 tackles, 39 solo) is anything to go by. Greg Penn III alongside him will be great. There’s also Speights, who had 63 tackles and 35 solo stops at Oregon State and is ultra-experienced. That’s some 1-2-3.

Oh, and DT Maason Smith is going to anchor the defensive line. He’s considered to be future high first round material….if he stays healthy (he blew an ACL last season and was out for most of it).

Also get excited about freshman DL Da’Shawn Womack, LSU fans. He’s a five-star who considered the best player in Maryland and the 26th-best player nationally. He’s 6-5, 260lb and very, very fast.

If Harris can behave himself, then the secondary will be just fine. But there are injury worries. JK Johnson (transfer from Ohio State) has a fractured foot. Sage Ryan had to leave practice early a couple of days ago. S Matthew Langlois. And while it might not show up against Florida State because the team’s going to be healthy going in, what happens when the injuries start to hit?

PREDICTION

Florida State (in Orlando) – W
Grambling State – W
at Mississippi State – W
Arkansas – W
at Ole Miss – W
at Missouri – W
Auburn – W
Army – W
at Alabama – L
Florida – W
Georgia State – W
Texas A&M – W

It’s nuts that we’re predicted that LSU has an 11-1 season and could well miss the SEC Championship Game (if Alabama runs the table). But would we be surprised with 9-3 with losses to Alabama, Ole Miss and at home to Texas A&M? Nope. 

And would that mean that Brian Kelly’s second season in Baton Rouge has been an utter failure and he should brush up his resume? Nope.