LSU football experienced a bit of a fall from glory in 2020, finishing the season with a 5-5 overall record after going undefeated and winning a national championship just one year before.
Of course, that wasn’t without reason, as LSU lost several pieces of both its roster and its staff after the historic success of that season.
LSU seems to have put all the right pieces in place to return to the national stage, hiring offensive coordinator Jake Peetz and passing game coordinator DJ Mangas — both of which bear a connection to Joe Brady — away from the Carolina Panthers this offseason.
LSU’s offensive coaches have a wealth of promising talent across the board to work with this season, and have a quarterback battle going on in the best of ways between Max Johnson, Myles Brennan and Garrett Nussmeier.
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The Tigers also replaced defensive coordinator Bo Pelini with Daronte Jones, and should expect to see more improvement across that front as well.
College football expert Phil Steele recently pinned LSU as his second-most improved team in an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show.
“Penn State’s my No. 1 most-improved team,” Steele said. “Last year, they were 4-5, had a losing record, but it’s the same team that came into the season ranked number seven in the country. You saw them last year outgain teams by 120 yards per game, despite their 4-5 record. I think Franklin’s got the talent there to really have them up there at the top of the Big Ten. And then my number two most improved team is the team I spoke of: the LSU Tigers. Coming off of a 5-5 season, I think they’ll be back towards double-digit wins this year.”
LSU has its first opportunity to prove it is returning to its winning ways on Sept. 4 when the Tigers take on the UCLA Bruins at 7:30 p.m. CT in Rose Bowl Stadium.
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