Being in the SEC West — arguably the toughest division in all of college football — it’s a safe bet that no fall gauntlet is going to be a cakewalk for LSU.
Given the fact that it draws Florida annually as its cross-divisional opponent and will face Tennessee in its additional SEC East matchup in 2022, this year’s schedule is no different. Even non-conference matchups against Florida State in New Orleans and UAB, while not overly difficult, should provide at least some challenge.
Still, compared to the rest of the league, the schedule looks at least semi-manageable, though it features some tricky matchups. According to CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee, it ranks as the sixth-most difficult in the league.
Brian Kelly’s first year as the coach of the Tigers won’t exactly be a breeze. They open with Florida State in New Orleans in the opener, have road games vs. Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M and Arkansas, and get Tennessee at home as their rotating opponent in the SEC East. As if that wasn’t enough, a tricky UAB game is sandwiched between the road games vs. the Razorbacks and Aggies. Anything more than seven wins would be a minor miracle in Year One.
Despite ranking the strength of schedule near the middle of the pack, Sallee is clearly not incredibly optimistic about this team’s outlook. Exceeding seven wins may not feel like a minor miracle for Tigers fans, but this team has some talent and could take advantage, especially if matchups like those against the Gators and Volunteers aren’t as tricky as they look like they might be.
But this is the SEC, and nothing comes easy in this league. Coach Brian Kelly should learn that early in his first season.
[pickup_prop id=”25278″]
[mm-video type=video id=01g5sn82rjjs5cstkaaa playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g5sn82rjjs5cstkaaa/01g5sn82rjjs5cstkaaa-0db9a9e4189e5f7650a3df8fbb5d6a7c.jpg]
[listicle id=53966]
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno