The college football season is just two weeks away from officially kicking off, and that means it’s time for preseason polls.
The initial USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was already released, and LSU ranks as the No. 5 team in that poll entering the season. We’ll have to wait until the preseason AP Top 25 is released on Monday to know where the media ranks the Tigers, but On3’s Jesse Simonton took a stab at predicting how those rankings will look.
Simonton ultimately agreed with the coaches and placed the Tigers at No. 5 in his predictions. To be clear, these are not Simonton’s personal rankings but instead are his predictions for how the media will vote.
The Tigers are among the most hyped teams entering 2023. Brian Kelly exceeded expectations in Year 1, upsetting Alabama and winning the SEC West. Now, he returns quarterback Jayden Daniels, the best set of wideouts in the SEC, all five starting OL and perhaps the best defensive player in the country in linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.
ONE THING TO KNOW: LSU ranked just No. 51st nationally in yards per play on defense last season, but in Matt House’s second year, plus the return of former 5-star tackle Maason Smith, the unit projects to be much improved this fall.
As Simonton notes, this team returns a lot of production and has a lot more depth than it did this time last year. Smith’s return should also help things on defense tremendously.
LSU is seeing a lot of hype this offseason, and the Tigers seem to be a consensus top-five team entering the 2023 season.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]
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