As college football fans eagerly anticipate the 2023 season, there is a sense of excitement surrounding the LSU football program after finishing the season last year at 10-4 and making the SEC Championship. With a talented roster and experienced coaching staff led by second-year head coach Brian Kelly, LSU has the potential to make their presence known. While the Tigers face some severe challenges in 2023, they could surprise everyone yet again by making the College Football Playoff.
Building consistency
The key to LSU's success in 2023 lies in their ability to maintain consistency on both sides of the ball. The Tigers boast a wealth of talent, including standout players like sophomore linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Maason Smith, who have the potential to be game-changers. However, their true impact will be realized when they can consistently perform at a high level week in and week out. On offense, the development of a reliable passing game, led by senior quarterback Jayden Daniels and an improved receiving corps, will be crucial to keep the chains moving and putting points on the board.
Getting back to the SEC Championship
The SEC is a football juggernaut, the barometer in all of college football with perennial contenders like Alabama, Georgia, and now even Tennessee consistently vying for dominance. If LSU wants to be in the same conversation with those teams, Kelly will need to once again overcome the daunting SEC schedule ahead. The Tigers can, however, take advantage of a changing landscape within the conference, with Alabama going through a bit of a transition period (if anyone really believes that) and Auburn adjusting to a new coaching staff.
The LSU football team will begin their season much like they did last season, at a neutral site against Florida State in an out-of-conference matchup. Last year's showdown was a wild one, where FSU narrowly escaped out of the New Orleans Superdome with a victory. This year's game is a little farther from home for the Tigers, in Orlando, Fl, at Camping-World Stadium. FSU, like LSU, is on the rise, so this could be a game going either way.
But that's just an out-of-conference game in Week 1. They'll then have road games against Ole Miss and Alabama, while hosting Auburn, Texas A&M and Florida throughout the rest of the season.
Make no mistake about it — the SEC West still runs through Tuscaloosa and the Crimson Tide. Don't think that Nick Saban has forgotten last year's game where he and Alabama were upset by LSU.
If this schedule is even somewhat feasible to accomplish in year two for Kelly, he'll more than likely have to face the winners of the last two national championships in the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship.
“Heck, LSU could go undefeated, get to that title game, and then drop a game, and still find themselves in the College Football Playoff,” On3's J.D. PicKell said. “We’ve seen it happen before.”
The ability to rise to the occasion against top-tier competition will be crucial in solidifying LSU's College Football Playoff credentials. However, it shows that with them residing in the highly powered SEC conference, even an early season loss during the regular season and a strong performance in the SEC title game could still catapult LSU into the national conversation. That certainly bodes well for Kelly who enters his second year in Baton Rouge.
Don't be surprised, continue being the surprise
LSU was undeniably the most surprising team of 2022, exceeding all expectations by securing a spot in the SEC Championship game in Kelly's inaugural year. To surpass their achievements from last season, the Tigers must maintain their ability to defy expectations, while also ensuring they are not caught off guard by their opponents.
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