It’s officially game week as LSU prepares to start the 2023 season, and coach Brian Kelly’s team enters the campaign with high expectations after last year’s 10-4 finish which saw the Tigers win the SEC West.
Not everyone is high on LSU, however. Asked to name an SEC team that could prove to be a letdown this fall, he sees the Tigers as a possibility there.
“Well, I think LSU is probably the school that could be in that conversation,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic, per On3. “Because of the schedule. And we may be talking a week from today about what went wrong for them. I think that’s really the only major school in the SEC that will be in that conversation. Two weeks from now, the Alabama conversation comes back or could come back. So I think that’s the danger.”
The Tigers begin the year with a contest against No. 8 Florida State on Sunday night that could ultimately have College Football Playoff implications. LSU will be without star defensive tackle [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] for that game due to a suspension, and Finebaum said that could be an impactful injury.
“I really don’t like the ‘one player will not determine the game’ but the Maason Smith situation, I think that has to make them uncomfortable (against Florida State),” Finebaum said. “He’s an impact player and I think he’s the type of player that could play a huge role in that game next Sunday night.
“So I think that’s again, the schedule with Mississippi State and … Ole Miss later on, there’s just a lot of reasons that LSU could be disappointing.”
The schedule certainly has some tough spots, headlined by a trip to Tuscaloosa for a rematch in November. However, the Tigers could do a lot to put Finebaum’s concerns to rest with a Week 1 win over the Seminoles despite Smith being unavailable.
[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