When news broke on Thursday that former Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly would be the new head football coach for the LSU Tigers, everyone's minds immediately went to one question…how will his coaching translate to the SEC? As a coach who has either not been in a big conference (he was the head coach at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, and Cincinnati) or not in a conference at all (Notre Dame), Kelly will be making the transition to the biggest conference of them all.

That is a tough move for any coach to make, let alone one who has as high of a profile as Kelly. No one knows how this marriage will work out, but lucky for you, we are in the prediction business over here! While we may not always be correct, the important thing is we try. So, without making you wait any longer, here are three bold predictions for Brian Kelly's first season at LSU.

Three Predictions for Brian Kelly's first season at LSU 

3. Kelly will start 4-0

With an extremely easy opening schedule that sees the Tigers host Southern, Mississippi State, and New Mexico while also traveling to the Superdome for a neutral-site battle with Florida State, LSU has the makings of a 4-0 team come October. The hardest game of the four is surely Mississippi State, especially since it is so early in the year (September 17th.)

If Kelly can get to October undefeated that will give his team some momentum even if they slip up once in October…see prediction number one for that, later. Your first season at a new school will always be judged harshly as you are expected to win with your system with players you did not recruit for the most part. That is no different for Kelly, especially with the type of money he is making. There are no excuses.

2. LSU will beat Florida and Ole Miss

These two games are huge for LSU because they ate the two teams that the Tigers are expected to be better than if they get their coaching situations settled. Both of these schools have the inferior talent to LSU but both have coaches who are young, offensive-minded coaches who can take advantage of even the toughest defenses.

With Billy Napier at LSU and Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, the SEC is starting to turn from a conference that is based on defense to one that can sling the ball around the field with anyone. Kelly and the Tigers must put their foot down on each of these teams in 2022 and we expect that to happen.

1. LSU will lose to Alabama and Auburn

Well, all the predictions couldn't be so rosy, could they? All jokes aside, with an SEC schedule that is packed to the brim with talent, it is going to be very hard for LSU to come away from the 2022 season undefeated. That theory will be put to the test early on in the season as LSU travels to the Auburn Tigers in Week five. That is where we are expecting the Tigers to get their first loss of the season.

Their second will come later on in the year in their biggest rivalry game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. While no one can blame Kelly for losing to possibly the greatest football coach of all time in Nick Saban, they certainly won't be happy down in the bayou.