If there’s one thing I’m not fond of about being a college football fan at LSU, it’s the amount of whining that goes on about everything that deals with Les Miles’ football team.
 
Now that comes with the territory, and in no way am I complaining. In fact, I love hearing the “Les Miles is on the proverbial hot seat” talk. It makes my days go by smoother.
 
But sometimes you people (and by you people I mean LSU football enthusiasts) have got to look in the mirror, take a deep breath and calm down.
 
Be realistic. It’s not hard, I promise. Then you won’t be let down.
 
My friends and family have been asking me recently what LSU is going to do this year, what they have up their sleeve, etc., as if I have an inner connection with Les or some type of prophetic tongue.
 
I don’t have either of those. In fact, I bet Les couldn’t tell me apart from a timeout.
 
Too soon?
 
So when I answer these questions, I give realistic answers.
 
I’m sorry, but LSU won’t win a national championship this year. That’s just how it is. In fact, they won’t even win the Southeastern Conference Western Division. They will go 8-4.
 
Get over it.
 
But Saturday is the start of a new season, and that’s exciting.
 
ESPN’s College GameDay is going to make its first trip of the season to LSU’s game against North Carolina, which is good news.
 
Why?
 
We here at LSU have grown accustomed to excellence. With excellence comes GameDay. You just don’t see the orange Home Depot bus with Chris Fowler’s, Kirk Herbstreit’s, Lee Corso’s and Desmond Howard’s faces pulling up to the big Tulane-Houston game every season, do you?
 
The GameDay bus is a sign that LSU is still a top national powerhouse. So you LSU fans, be happy with that. Not many other universities can say GameDay makes annual trips to their games.
 
So let’s take a look at a few things about this game and this season.
 
The last time LSU lost its opening game of the season was back in 2002, when the No. 14 Tigers lost to No. 16 Virginia Tech, 26-8, in Blacksburg, Va.
 
My question: Will LSU keep the streak alive?
 
Now let’s dance around that question, starting with a fast forward to the future.
 
When I look at the schedule, here is what I see: Victories against Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Tennessee, McNeese State, Louisiana-Monroe and Ole Miss are all but guaranteed.
 
That leaves six games.
 
I don’t see victories against Florida or Alabama, to be honest. LSU will likely keep both games close, especially at home against the Crimson Tide, but both of those teams have had LSU’s number the past few seasons.
 
The games that are up in the air are North Carolina, West Virginia, Auburn and Arkansas.
 
West Virginia is a night game, and it’s at home, so that’s a victory for LSU.
 
Looking forward to Alabama, LSU will overlook Auburn and lose. LSU will use a last minute touchdown against Arkansas to get a win.
 
That leaves only one team: the Tar Heels. So let’s do a big reverse and jump back to the present.
 
To be honest, I can see this game going to four overtimes.
 
North Carolina looks to have a beast of a defense this year with at least two players who could be taken in the first round of the NFL draft, and LSU could possibly have a good offense this year (there is a certain want for such things to happen).
 
LSU looks to have a young but solid defense this year, while North Carolina will have a mediocre-at-best offense, and mediocre may be an overstatement.
 
If LSU’s offense can show up the way it is capable of doing with an outstanding group of wide receivers and bruising running backs, then LSU should be able to win this game without bringing it to overtime.
 
In addition, UNC has the cloud of potential violations hanging over its head that could be a distraction.
 
But not so fast, my Tiger faithful.
 
Defense wins games, and UNC has a very good one.
 
I’m putting on the Tar Heel cap for this one. LSU loses its season opener for the first time under Miles, and the hot seat talk starts to get hot.
 
I promise it will all be OK in the end, though. There’s always the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
 
 
Andy Schwehm is a 21-year-old psychology and English senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_ASchwehm.
 
Follow College GameDay on Twitter @GameDayFootball.
 
www.collegegameday.com
 
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Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]