The Lane Kiffin era at LSU is officially here, and expectations aren’t exactly going to be low.
Nor should they be.
LSU went all-in this offseason, bringing Kiffin from Ole Miss and surrounding him with a roster packed with transfer talent. The biggest addition is quarterback Sam Leavitt, the former Arizona State star who was rated the No. 1 overall player in the transfer portal. Kiffin has even said he views Leavitt as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick.
If Kiffin and Leavitt click immediately, this offense could become dangerous very quickly.
But LSU’s roster is almost an experiment in the transfer-portal era.
The depth chart provided above shows transfers everywhere. Jayce Brown, Jackson Harris and Winston Watkins Jr. headline a rebuilt receiver room, while LSU also brought in several offensive linemen. Defensively, Princewill Umanmielen, TJ Dottery, Jordan Ross, Malik Blocton and Ty Benefield are among the transfers expected to play significant roles.
Early in fall camp, LSU’s defense has also generated some buzz. Freshmen Richard Anderson and Deuce Geralds have already earned first-team defensive tackle reps, while the unit has reportedly looked athletic and aggressive.
The problem?
Look at that schedule.
LSU opens at home against Clemson. Two weeks later, Kiffin returns to Oxford to play No. 9 Ole Miss. Then comes No. 10 Texas A&M.
And November is just ridiculous.
LSU gets No. 16 Alabama and No. 5 Texas in consecutive weeks before traveling to No. 25 Tennessee and Arkansas to finish the regular season.
There aren’t many easy Saturdays hiding on that schedule.
That’s why LSU might be one of the hardest teams in college football to predict. The Tigers have enough talent to make the College Football Playoff, and preseason evaluations generally have them in that conversation. But they also have a new coach, a new quarterback, a heavily reconstructed roster and one of the nastiest schedules in the country.
So what should the expectation be?
Nine wins should be the floor for a successful first season. Ten wins and a Playoff appearance should absolutely be the goal.
Anything beyond that would make Kiffin’s first year in Baton Rouge a massive success.
LSU didn’t bring Lane Kiffin in to slowly rebuild.
They brought him in to compete for championships.
And with this roster, there’s really no reason LSU shouldn’t expect to be in the Playoff conversation immediately.
