Entering Week 5 of the 2025 college football season, LSU is ranked No. 4 after its first 4-0 start since 2019.
Former quarterback Joe Burrow led the Tigers to their first national championship since 2007, boasting a historic 15-0 record.
So how does this team’s 4-0 record stack up against some of LSU’s best starts in history?
The 2003 season opened 5-0, topping Arizona, ULM, Western Illinois, Georgia and Mississippi State. This team went on to win the national championship over future SEC foe Oklahoma, and the season was the highlight of Nick Saban’s time as LSU’s head coach.
In the 2007 championship-winning season, LSU began 4-0, including wins over Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida before falling to Kentucky and Arkansas, both in triple overtime.
The Tigers finished the season 12-2 and were the only team to win the title in a two-loss season.
What connects each of these teams besides their success stories is the connection between the players. These athletes connected better than those of other seasons.
In an interview with Tiger Rag, quarterback of the 2003 team, Matt Mauck, said that the entire team was genuinely friends. There wasn’t a single problem-causer in the group.
“I can’t name a single guy on the team that I didn’t like,” Mauck said. “There were certain people you bonded with a little more and that you were closer with, but I couldn’t tell you one guy that you didn’t like or that was a cancer or a problem or anything like that. Which I think is why we had so much success.”
This aligns with the story arc that the 2025 team has put together so far this season. The team dynamic played a significant role in the first four games of this season.
The Tigers have gelled nicely, and even head coach Brian Kelly has commented on the unity of this group. In a press conference leading up to the matchup with Ole Miss, Kelly said that this group is completely different from the one they entered Clemson with in Week 1.
“We’re a much more cohesive group,” Kelly said. “The roster is better, the players are better.”
Former head coach Les Miles said that his 2007 national championship team of Tigers was an ultimate fighting team. It didn’t matter if they struck early or late; they were going to find themselves on top.
“I knew this team was competitive, and I knew they would fight like heck,” Miles said after winning the national championship.
Although years have passed, who’s to say the trends will die in 2025? The mentality might be 1-0 each week, but as the season draws on, these stats prove that maybe losses won’t be the nail in the coffin for LSU.
Only time will tell if there are truly similarities between these LSU teams, but there is a reason the motto is “Forever LSU,” and football isn’t the end-all, be-all.
“[LSU] is a great place to get an education and a great place to win championships,” Miles said.
