October 28, 2025: LSU interim head coach Frank Wilson press conference after his first practice as head coach LSU Football Operation Building in Baton Rouge, LA. Michael Bacigalupi
By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s mission on Saturday is clear.
Interim Head Coach Frank Wilson laid it out Wednesday on Off the Bench. He was emphatic.
“We’re going to fight this team,” Wilson said to Jacob Hester and Matt Flynn. “We’re going to pick a fight and set the tone from the onset of the game. I’d like our fans at the end of the same to say, ‘ok, here we go. That’s what we’re used to. That’s our Tigers in style of play.’ I don’t know what the outcome will be. Here’s what I can tell you, though. We’re going to pick a fight. We’re going to talk with our helmets and our shoulder pads in the right way, the way that Tigers play.”
Wilson has suggested multiple times in the last week that LSU is committed to focusing on the running game, a facet of the offense that has been largely missing for two seasons.
The Tigers rank last in the SEC in rushing.
On the defensive side, LSU’s run defense has been gashed for 166 or more yards in each of the last four games after holding its first four opponents all under 86 yards. Vanderbilt and Texas A&M piled up 463 yards on the ground over those two Tiger losses.
Wilson expects a more physical effort in Tuscaloosa.
“I think what (fans) will see is a team that’s willing to fight, a team that’s willing to strain, a team that has no quit in them, that’s going to do everything in their power to position themselves to be victorious,” Wilson said.
While much of his focus has been on readying his current roster to compete in November, Wilson does have to have an eye on the future. As the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under Brian Kelly, Wilson has help assemble a class of 17 high school commitments that is ranked in the top 15 in the country.
LSU has not lost a single commitment in the last week despite Kelly’s firing.
Wilson’s message to the players, parents, guardians and agents has been direct.
“We can’t and won’t allow somebody to speak on our behalf that in the midst of all that’s going on,” Wilson said.
Opposing schools will surely continue to recruit negatively toward LSU while an interim coach is in place and the rest of the staff is on shaky ground as far as their future at LSU. Some may stay. Some may go.
“We have to handle the communication piece,” Wilson said. “We have to fill in. And then say to them, ‘you have a direct line, so you don’t have to wonder. They don’t have to speak for us. You have a direct line to the source. So, all your questions or your concerns, lay them here. Bring them here so that we can give you comfort and equip you with the knowledge base that I understand what’s happening with my school.’”
The early signing period for high school recruits is less than a month away.
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