“LSU Football at The White House” Licensed Under CC BY-NC-ND 1.0
After an unspectacular 7-6 season that saw them move on from head coach Brian Kelly and eventually lose in the Texas Bowl, the future of the LSU Tigers’ football program appears to be back on track. From hiring Lane Kiffin to a strong recruiting class, the hope is that they can re-enter the fringes of the National Championship conversation at the very least.
Of course, not everyone believes they can complete such a quick turnaround. Most of the early lines at the top NCAAF sportsbooks have the Tigers landing somewhere between the seventh- and 11th-most likely National Championship winner. A healthy dose of skepticism is clearly being caked into their chances.
Still, the arrival of Kiffin, in particular, has many experts in and around college football believing LSU is barreling towards a massive leap in play quality.
To that end, The Athletic’s college football staff recently compiled their way-too-early predictions for next season. Just nine teams received at least one vote to win the 2027 National Championship. And wouldn’t you know it, LSU was among them.
The Tigers are Clearly Back on the Map
This will not come across as a big deal to many. And to be fair, LSU received a singular vote. That is nowhere near as many as Oregon (nine), Notre Dame (five), Texas (four), Ohio State (three) and Indiana (three).
At the same time, the college football playoff field is considered more wide-open than ever ahead of next season. The Athletic’s poll for this past year is living proof. Texas led the way with a whopping 15 votes. That was 11 more than the second-place finisher—which just so happened to be LSU.
The Tigers clearly did not deliver on that second-ranked promise. But they seem more poised to do so this year.
Never mind the addition of Kiffin. He’s a big name, but plenty around the sport believe he sews chaos. The acquisition of quarterback Sam Leavitt in the transfer portal is a huge freaking deal. His NIL rights valuation doesn’t clock in at $4 million for no reason. Through parts of three seasons—one with Michigan State, and two with Arizona State—Leavitt is completing over 60 percent of his passes and posting a QB rating north of 140.
LSU didn’t just stop at adding the 21-year-old, either. They don’t call Kiffin the master of transfer acquisitions for nothing. Among the top 100 recruits in the transfer portal, the Tiger bagged a whopping nine of them, according to 247 Sports. And Leavitt, it must be noted, is already being dubbed the Transfer of the Year.
LSU has Noticeably Raised Its Floor
Look, it’s fair not to buy the Tigers as a foremost National Championship threat last season. New players can take time to integrate, particularly when it comes to signal-callers. The offense overall has a long way to go.
Then again, the Tigers are working off such a low baseline, there’s almost nowhere to go other than up. They ranked outside the top 100 in points scored per game last season. Leavitt and LSU’s current crop of receivers can leapfrog last year’s placement with their eyes closed—so long as they are healthy.
This is reflected when looking at playoff predictions. While LSU received just one vote from The Athletic to win it all, they racked up nine votes in the “Team that missed the playoffs who will make it next year” category.
None of this is an end-all, be-all. Last season is proof of why we play the games. If nothing else, though, the Tigers have popped back on the college football playoff radar. Their tenure away from it was short, but the return was not guaranteed—which is why receiving this level of recognition matters.
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