With a Heisman-winning quarterback and an offense ranked No. 1 in the nation, LSU football’s 2023 season broke records. However, the Tigers were left without a trip to the conference championship or College Football Playoff.
This season, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will take the reins, along with new offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and an entire new coaching staff on the defense.
The journey to the new 12-team playoffs starts now, and the road begins in Vegas where LSU takes on USC on Sunday.
Here’s how The Reveille Sports Staff predicts the Tiger’s 2024 record.
Jason Willis, Sports Editor | @JasonWillis4
It isn’t hard to sell yourself into thinking LSU will be a Playoff team this year. The offense has reloaded, and the change in defensive intensity is palpable. The depth LSU has at linebacker, on the edge of the defensive line and in the secondary seems like it could make a serious difference.
However, I find myself thinking people are forgetting that not every great SEC team can make the Playoff or be a 10-win team. Teams like Ole Miss, Texas, Missouri, Georgia and Alabama all look like serious contenders for the conference crown or a CFP bid.
I’m skeptical LSU can emerge from that group. However, head coach Brian Kelly has overachieved relative to expectations in each of his first two seasons with LSU. I wouldn’t bet against it happening again, but I certainly wouldn’t feel confident projecting the Tigers as a surefire Playoff team.
Prediction: 9-3
Lizzie Falcetti, Deputy Sports Editor | @lizziefalcetti
Brian Kelly enters his third season with the Tigers, and after two 10-win seasons, he’s now tasked with taking this team to the expanded playoffs.
LSU’s Achilles’ heel last season was its defense. This year, however, the Tigers have all new staff on the defense. There’s hope this year with the secondary, led by Major Burns at the star position.
When looking at the talent on this team, my attention was mostly drawn to the trenches. LSU has one of the most experienced offensive lines, bookended with left tackle Will Campbell and right tackle Emery Jones Jr. On the defensive side, the pass rush and run coverage has extremely improved with talented linebackers and tackles.
I think the Tigers will start the season strong with a 5-0 start and then receive their first loss against Ole Miss. LSU will bounce back, but lose at home against Alabama. The Tigers could then receive an at-large bid to the playoffs with these two losses against skillful teams.
Prediction: 10-2
Tyler Harden, Senior Sports Reporter | @ttjharden8
It’s year three of the Brian Kelly era at LSU, and back-to-back 10-win seasons has the program in a good place. And now with a 12-team playoff, the opportunities for a national title are more convincing.
Even with the obstacles presented in LSU’s way, there are advantages that could be deciding factors.
For starters, the Tigers have Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma all at home. However, I think the Tigers fall to Alabama but pull off close wins over Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
I think the Tigers’ second loss comes on the road. Over the past three seasons, LSU has lost a conference game on the road. I don’t think the streak ends this season, and I think the Tigers will drop their road matchup against Texas A&M.
LSU’s offense will need to thrive for that not to happen, as Aggies’ head coach Mike Elko is defensive-minded. But I ultimately think the Tigers come up short in a close one.
Prediction: 10-2
Ava Hebert, Senior Sports Reporter | @avahebe4
Although LSU lost its Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier will start the season with a shocking performance, proving that he is equally as talented as his predecessor.
The Tigers will start the season with a five-game winning streak, dominating USC, Nicholls, South Carolina, UCLA and South Alabama. With a newly structured defense and Nussmeier as a leader on offense, the Tigers will be close to unstoppable.
Their supremacy will only come to an end against Ole Miss.
Ole Miss’ rivalry with LSU is always a highly anticipated one and is relatively back-and-forth. With Ole Miss returning 16 starters and a veteran quarterback, the Tigers will struggle to outscore the Rebels.
Besides the week seven loss, the Tigers will end the season without a hitch. They’ll pull off the upset against Alabama, dominate Florida and easily outscore Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.
With a new mindset and focus on mental performance as well as physical, LSU will finally end its 10-win season streak.
Prediction: 11-1
Tre Allen, Sports Reporter | @treday0314
It will be year three for Brian Kelly and his LSU Tigers. After an SEC championship berth and two 10-win seasons, Kelly aims for a Playoff berth with a brand new postseason setup.
LSU has lost and added pieces to this new team. On offense, they lose Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and his top two targets Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. Now Garrett Nussmeier is in control with returning targets Kyren Lacy, Mason Taylor and Chris Hilton expanding their role.
However, after a historically bad season, the defense added a new staff along with a new game plan as well.
This team is in an interesting spot. They have the talent and scheme to become a top team in the country, but there are still some things that remain a mystery. Obviously the defense can’t get much worse after last season, but how much improvement will they show? Also, how will the offense look without Daniels, who made numerous plays using his legs?
Looking at the Tigers’ schedule, there are a lot of games that can go either way, with ough home games against Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma and tough road games such as South Carolina, Texas A&M and Florida. However, I do think with home field advantage on their side for some of the big games they will have a respectable season and potentially play in the Playoffs.
Prediction: 10- 2
Ethan Stenger, Sports Reporter | @itsethanstenger
As we enter the third year of the Brian Kelly era, it’s time for his LSU Tigers to take the next step.
Through the first two years under Kelly, LSU finished with two somewhat underwhelming back-to-back 10-win seasons, including an SEC Championship loss to Georgia in 2022. The Tigers have not reached the postseason since 2019’s legendary squad won the National Championship nearly half a decade ago.
An expanded 12-team playoff should help with that. As long as LSU finds the postseason, even if they barely slip in, the purple and gold can catch fire late in the season to make a run for the National Championship game on Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Last year’s offense garnered many comparisons to 2019’s Tiger squad, including being even better in some metrics, but LSU’s atrocious defense kept them out of any serious playoff contention.
With Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, the Tigers’ all-time career receiving yards leader Malik Nabers and explosive deep threat Brian Thomas Jr. gone to the NFL, is it time for LSU to get on the Nuss Bus?
Junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier started last year’s 35-31 ReliaQuest Bowl win over Wisconsin, throwing for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns. Nussmeier has gained some attention as a dark horse Heisman trophy winner candidate.
How likely are the Tigers to have three Heisman quarterbacks in five years? Only time will tell, but Nussmeier has all the weapons around him to put together a magical season for the purple and gold.
While Kelly and the rest of the LSU staff have done their best to try and fix last year’s train wreck of a defense, this team will only go as far as Nussmeier takes them.
Looking at their schedule, the Tigers got somewhat lucky. Some of their toughest tests of the season take place in the back half of the season at home in Death Valley: No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 5 Alabama.
LSU has a 13-1 record in Tiger Stadium across Kelly’s first two seasons, with their only loss coming at the hands of a bludgeoning from No. 8 Tennessee in 2022.
If Kelly’s Tigers can continue to defend their home turf as they have in the past, they could build a serious resume just before the committee puts together college football’s first-ever 12-team playoff bracket.
Even if we give them a loss on the road against No. 20 Texas A&M at one of the toughest places to play in college football, Kyle Field, LSU can find itself on a prime path to the postseason.
Prediction: 11-1
Cabe Bond, Sports Columnist | @PrezBond
The Tigers are a pretty green team, and, although success isn’t new to them, both sides of the ball will be taking a step away from what they were last year. LSU’s schedule isn’t exactly optimized for their success either; the school will have to face several established programs, all set up for a championship run.
Despite the tough schedule, the Tigers still have a pretty serious chance to go undefeated. However, in the same breath, LSU also has an equally plausible chance of losing five games.
Ultimately, my prediction is that the Tigers will lose one game, with the single loss being handed to them by one of these three programs: South Carolina, Florida or Texas A&M. Each of these universities have favorable matchups against LSU’s biggest weaknesses; because of this, each bout should relatively display LSU’s progression. Should the Tigers go undefeated against all three programs, then LSU will most likely finish its season fighting for some hardware.
South Carolina: With the Gamecocks being a week three matchup, the Tigers get a very early look at a complex offense.
South Carolina’s starting quarterback, LaNorris Sellers, could finish his 2024 campaign as the best dual-threat passer in college football. On top of Sellers, the Gamecocks also have Raheim Sanders- who’s expected to go early in the NFL Draft- and four explosive WR’s, including two that are rushing threats. South Carolina also has two productive tight ends on roster, which allows them to confidently pass out of 12 personnel.
All of these layers are going to give LSU’s young defensive core a very tough time. Regardless of the outcome, this experience should allow the Tigers to later flourish against established offenses like Alabama and Ole Miss.
LSU should still be able to exit week three with a win, but don’t be surprised if the Tigers are given a run for their money.
Texas A&M: The Aggies are a pretty straight forward team: A couple strong defense pieces, and a lot of question marks on offense. Not to mention their starting lineup is almost completely composed of transfers. On paper, this should be an easy win for the Tigers.
However, two things make this game an uncertainty.
First, Kyle Field is an incredibly hostile environment. The ‘12th man’ could be strong enough to disrupt LSU’s reshaped team and cause the Tigers to lose. But, the most probable reason for LSU’s defeat will be housed in Connor Weigman’s potential.
If Weigman can play at his ceiling, he’ll be able to easily exploit LSU’s young defensive backs. His ability as a mobile passer has to be considered, and could easily be the lone reason for why the Aggies win.
The Tigers should be able to handle business in College Station, but don’t be surprised if Weigman starts to take over.
Florida: This is the program I have beating LSU. Regardless of team performance, Florida and LSU will always play each other close. The Gators don’t exactly have a stellar roster, which makes this matchup eerily similar to LSU’s 2021 victory against 6th ranked Florida. Except this time the Gators will be pulling off the upset.
Florida will be playing the game at home, deep enough into the season that highly-touted, freshman quarterback DJ Lagway could be the starter. That’s a change up that could seriously derail LSU’s defensive plans. And, the Gators have a fairly young program- meaning more unexpected stars could form before the week 10 matchup.
The hostile environment, unpredictable roster and historically salty rivalry will all combine to make this LSU’s most difficult game of the season.
Prediction: 11-1
