Heading into the 2023 season, there’s one clear roadblock in LSU’s way: the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Tigers managed to dethrone Alabama in the SEC West last season, but they remained a step or two behind the two-time defending national champions, falling 50-30 to UGA in the SEC Championship.
At SEC media days on Monday, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] discussed how his team can close that gap in 2023 and the years to come.
“You know, it’s a measurement for everybody in here to see it on the field,” Kelly said. “That’s how everybody measures is the gap closing. You know, what’s the score of the game, what’s the eye test tell me, what’s the competitiveness of that game. We’ll only have that opportunity if we get into the championship game against Georgia.
“I know that based upon how we’ve recruited and how we’ll continue to recruit that we’ll have a football roster that will be able to compete against Georgia. Is that right now? No, it’s not. But if we continue to do what we’re doing, we’re going to have a roster that can compete against Georgia, and then it’s just a matter of getting it done on the playing field so everybody then can assess they’ve closed the gap.”
LSU overachieved in Year 1, but this is still a program that’s building. It will take some time for to see the fruits of its talent acquisition strategy, and because of that, it may be another year or two before the Tigers are operating from an even playing field talent-wise.
But this team has a chance to take a step in the right direction this year, and LSU will hope it has the chance to return to Atlanta and get another shot at the Bulldogs this fall.
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