LSU achieved considerable success in the first two seasons under Brian Kelly, but after back-to-back 10-win campaigns, it now has to replace a ton of production on both sides of the ball entering 2024.
There’s still quite a bit of optimism surrounding the Tigers this fall, and they begin the year ranked inside the top 15 in both major polls. This team is expected to compete for a College Football Playoff spot, but not everyone thinks it will live up to those expectations.
In its preseason predictions for the SEC, CBS Sports listed the Tigers among the teams that are being most overrated. Here’s what CBS’ Shehan Jeyarajah and Will Backus had to say to back up that argument.
The Tigers lost their top passer, top two rushers, top two receivers and offensive coordinator from a team that finished outside of the top 10 last season. Defensive coordinator Blake Baker will help improve the defense, but flipping playcallers on both sides of the ball and relying on a host of unproven options to take on starring roles makes it difficult to see LSU seriously landing in the College Football Playoff discussion like a preseason No. 13 ranking might assume. A road slate featuring Texas A&M, Florida and Arkansas could also present some unexpected landmines.
Four of CBS’ panelists predicted LSU would finish sixth in the SEC, while three had the Tigers seventh. One had the Tigers finishing ninth.
That would certainly be a bit of a disappointment given the preseason expectations for this LSU team, but it’s also hard to know how things will shake out in an SEC that’s now pretty crowded at 16 teams with quite a few of them vying for postseason spots.
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