GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
ATLANTA – Get ready for another season-opening loss, LSU fans.
But also prepare for the first College Football Playoff game in Tiger Stadium.
It’s year four under coach Brian Kelly, who is 29-11 at LSU and 17-7 in the Southeastern Conference. That’s a .725 winning percentage and .708 in the league as he went 10-4 and 6-2, 10-3 and 6-2 and 9-4 and 5-3.
Not bad. In fact, pretty, pretty good, as Larry David would say. But the LSU Nation’s enthusiasm has been curbed, because there have been no College Football Playoff appearances, even with the new 12-team format last season.
This is the year. It must be, right? The media predictions will come out later this week at the SEC Media Days here, but we have one for you right now.
“There’s no hiding from the turnovers.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) July 14, 2025
– Garrett Nussmeier on making 2025 better than 2024:https://t.co/mZVAoo48wL
LSU has another senior quarterback with legitimate Heisman hopes in Garrett Nussmeier. He has a bevy of top-flight receivers and running backs, though there are questions about a rebuilt offensive line. But he does have a capable offensive coordinator in Joe Sloan, who should improve significantly in his second season.
The defense under second-year coordinator Blake Baker was decent last year and should be better, too, in his second season with the Tigers. The defensive roster may be the best Kelly has had. The overall roster may be his best, too, as he has said.
So, on to the game-by-game predictions. Disclaimer: The SEC Championship Game is not included here, because that game is more meaningless than ever with the 12-team playoff and should be abolished.
AUG. 30, AT CLEMSON (6:30 p.m., ABC) – Kelly has lost all three of his openers, and LSU has lost five in a row overall.
“I’m not going to make any other statements other than we need to win the opener,” Kelly said. “We’ve circled the game. I’ve never done that before for openers. We need to beat Clemson.”
But they won’t. Clemson returns a strong team from a 10-4 season, particularly along the defensive front. Really bad scheduling by LSU’s athletic department here. With a 12-team playoff, difficult season openers are not nearly as important as they were for strength of schedule numbers in a two- or four-team playoff. In the SEC with its mostly top-flight opponents, LSU should always open with breathers or mid-major opponents. Instead, LSU’s line will struggle to protect Nussmeier and provide a running game as Clemson never trails in a 27-13 win.
The natives will revolt, but they always do. The national media will call for Kelly’s head, but they’ve been doing that since he tried that Louisiana accent right out of the 1987 classic “The Big Easy” in 2021. Tigerdroppings.com begs LSU to hire Billy Napier.
SEPT. 6, LOUISIANA TECH (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+, ESPN+) – Nussmeier throws for 315 and four touchdowns in a 41-10 win, and there is hope on the bayou.
SEPT. 13, FLORIDA (6:30 p.m., ABC) – The Gators are 2-0 for the first time under Napier, but that’s over Long Island University and South Florida, because Florida knows how to schedule. LSU finds an impressive run game as Caden Durham gains 126 yards and scores two touchdowns in 31-14 win.
LSU’s Chris Hilton Jr. getting more – in Brian Kelly’s words – “F-ING COACHABLE.”https://t.co/0r1DjbeA6X
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) July 15, 2025
SEPT. 20, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (6:45 p.m., SEC Network) – Nussmeier throws for 310 yards by the third quarter and exits. Backup Michael Van Buren rushes for 73 yards and throws a 37-yard touchdown to Chris Hilton Jr. in a 51-10 win.
SEPT. 27, AT OLE MISS – The Tigers pull out their first win in Oxford since 2019 as Nussmeier moves LSU 80 yards in the final moments and hits Aaron Anderson on a 17-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left for a 28-27 victory.
OCT. 11, SOUTH CAROLINA – LSU goes to 5-1 and 3-0 and reaches No. 9 in the Associated Press poll as Durham shreds the Gamecocks for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
OCT. 18, AT VANDERBILT – Nussmeier is ready for Broadway as he completes 23 of 26 for 325 yards and four TDs in a 34-7 rout.
OCT. 25, TEXAS A&M – LSU’s defense makes a major statement by shutting out the Aggies in the fourth to erase the memory of last year’s debacle in a 24-13 win.
NOV. 8, AT ALABAMA – In prime time, No. 5 LSU (7-1, 5-0 SEC) plays at No. 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) in a classic. Nussmeier finds Barion Brown for an 80-yard touchdown to tie it 24-24 with 1:22 left. But Alabama wins it with a field goal at the gun.
NOV. 15, ARKANSAS – No. 1 LSU stumbles around in another Bama Hangover, but manages a 17-14 win with stout defense and Brown’s 66-yard punt return for a TD.
NOV. 22, WESTERN KENTUCKY – Nussmeier looks like the Heisman winner as he throws for 401 in a 44-17 win.
NOV. 29, AT OKLAHOMA – LSU caps off a 10-2 and 7-1 season with a 31-21 win in its first game in Norman to clinch its first playoff since the 2019 national championship, and Nussmeier wins the Heisman.
LSU FOOTBALL COACH BRIAN KELLY GOES ALL DEION SANDERS
Kelly distributes receipts to all LSU media members a year after saying, “We’re taking receipts, and we’ll see you at the national championship.”
This year, he exits stage right, saying, “We’re giving receipts, and we’ll see you at the national championship.”
Arch Manning Takes Atlanta ..,https://t.co/ckLa6o0s4P
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) July 15, 2025
LSU gets a first-round bye in the playoffs and will host Texas and Arch Manning in the CFP at Tiger Stadium.
Get your tickets now.
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