Last week, we rolled through the SEC highlighting one positive for each team that isn’t getting enough attention heading into 2026. This week, we’re shifting gears.
We’re not taking a trip to Negative Town, but we are starting a new series examining the biggest concern and most important question facing each SEC team before the season kicks off. And there’s no better place to start than with the LSU Tigers.
Continuity, offensive line, and falling asleep at the wheel when they shouldn’t
This is a hard one for me because I’m admittedly very high on LSU and for the most part I think there are very few questions. I think the offense will be electric thanks to Charlie Weiss Jr. and Lane Kiffin. I think the defense will be elite at every level. I’m not sure what to be more excited about on that side of the ball: Ty Benefield and DJ Pickett in the secondary or a trio of elite freshmen across the defensive line.
There’s talent everywhere on this roster, and everyone in that football ops building knows they need to win and win right away.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns, though. Perhaps the most obvious one being discussed is the health of incoming quarterback Sam Leavitt.
It’s not that I don’t view that as a concern. I just don’t rank it as high as some of the other questions facing this team. Part of that comes from my confidence that his recovery is progressing as expected. The other part comes from watching quarterbacks of all shapes, sizes and skill sets thrive in Lane Kiffin’s offense over the years.
My biggest concern is continuity. LSU added 41 transfers and 19 high school signees, bringing 60 new players into the program. Add in several new coaches, and that’s a lot of moving pieces that need to come together before Clemson arrives on Sept. 5.
The other concern is the offensive line. On paper, Lane Kiffin did everything he was supposed to do in terms of rebuilding that offensive line. He hired Eric Wolford, who has 30 years of experience at the collegiate and NFL level. He’s spent the last decade in the SEC at South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky.
As someone who followed Alabama closely in 2023, I can tell you the offensive line was the team’s biggest issue. The Crimson Tide allowed a program-record 49 sacks, more than Oregon, Washington, Michigan and Georgia combined that season, and 11 more than Georgia allowed over its previous three seasons combined. That Alabama line was littered with future NFL players, including three future first round draft picks.
There’s a lot to prove there in comparison to every other position unit. That’s primarily because of the skill, talent and depth at every other unit on the roster. It’s also been the weak link of the offense over the past two seasons, as LSU hasn’y been unable to run the football and protect the quarterback at times. If they want this offense to flourish like we all expect it to, it will have to start up front.
My final concern is a little nitpicky, but it’s a fair one in the SEC: Can LSU avoid a trap game against a team it should handle comfortably?
LSU’s schedule is challenging enough on its own. The Tigers face Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas, meaning half of their regular season games come against teams that have reached the CFP in the last two years, including three from last season.
Navigating that schedule will be hard enough without a blemish against a bottom dweller. That can happen in this league. It does every year, and now they’ll be playing nine conference games instead of eight.
This isn’t a problem that has followed Lane Kiffin nearly as much as some suggest, but it’s still difficult to reconcile the talent Ole Miss had in 2024 with home losses to a 4-8 Kentucky team and a seven win Florida squad when a playoff berth was on the line.
There’s still a ton to like about this LSU team, and with 95 days until the season starts, I still think they’re a playoff bound team. If there are concerns to dissect however, these three are at the top of the list.
