LSU enters the 2026 college football season fresh off a rollercoaster of an offseason.
Head coach Lane Kiffin held his previous employer (Ole Miss) hostage during its College Football Playoff run before bolting to Baton Rouge with many of his offensive understudies.
The Tigers flirted with numerous quarterbacks in the transfer portal before securing the services of former Arizona State signal-caller Sam Leavitt. Then the Portal King flexed his muscles by hauling in the sport’s top transfer portal class.
Crazy is woven into the DNA of LSU football. That’s just how the folks in the Bayou like it.
This season, Kiffin has a tall task on his hands. The Tigers’ faithful have sky-high expectations that Kiffin and company can hit the ground running and propel LSU back into the national conversation.
Here are five bold predictions for LSU in 2026.
5 Bold Predictions for LSU for the 2026 College Football Season
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LSU Will Make the 2026 College Football Playoff
A lot is riding on Leavitt’s health, fresh off offseason foot surgery, but it’s hard not to like what LSU has assembled on paper.
Leavitt was a dynamite quarterback for CFP team Arizona State in 2024 before injuries derailed his 2025 season. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge after a pair of standout seasons calling plays for the Rebels. Couple all of that with the No. 1 transfer portal class in college football and you have a recipe for winning football games in Year 1.
Last season, LSU came up small in big spots under Brian Kelly. I don’t suspect that’ll be an issue under Kiffin in the long term. The Tigers play a loaded schedule and face an early-season matchup against Kiffin’s old team, but all Kiffin does is win.
LSU will surprise a lot of teams in Kiffin’s first season at the helm and will be part of the 2026 College Football Playoff field after tallying nine or 10 wins in the regular season.
- Related: Don't Judge Sam Leavitt on 2025 - Here's Why LSU Got a Steal at QB
LSU Will Have One of the Best Offenses in College Football
Death, taxes and Lane Kiffin-led offenses scoring points in bunches.
Last season at Ole Miss, Kiffin and Weis Jr.’s offense scored 30 or more points 12 times. They hung 40 on Tulane twice, scored 35 on Georgia in a loss and scored 34 in a win over Brent Venables’ vaunted Oklahoma defense. All that group did was light up opposing defenses.
This season, Kiffin won’t have superstar quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, but he has a good player in Leavitt. Left tackle Jordan Seaton should protect Leavitt better than any LSU lineman protected Garrett Nussmeier in 2025. Sprinkle in some new-look receivers on the outside, and it’s hard not to be intrigued by what Kiffin is building in Year 1.
So much of what LSU hopes it can be hinges on the health of Leavitt. But if he stays injury-free this season, the Tigers’ offense should be absolutely box office.
- Related: SEC Football Predictions for 2026
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Linebacker Whit Weeks Will Spearhead Another Great Defensive Season
Whit Weeks was the emotional leader of a good LSU defense in 2025. He did a little bit of everything for coordinator Blake Baker’s unit. When he went down with a nagging injury late in the season, the defense took a sizable step back.
For all the talk about the transfers Kiffin hauled in this offseason, perhaps the biggest move he made was convincing Weeks to stay. Weeks likely could’ve tested the NFL waters, but chose to run it back and make one last push for an SEC title and College Football Playoff appearance.
Weeks tallied 76 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season, despite the late-season injury. The LSU defense hits different when he’s on the field leading the charge. Another year in Baker’s system will do him good, and I expect him to flourish on the big stage in 2026.
- Related: College Football 2026 All-America Team
LSU DC Blake Baker Will Get Serious Head-Coaching Looks by Season’s End
At the tail end of last season, there was serious buzz linking Baker to the Tulane opening after Jon Sumrall left for Florida. In the end, Kiffin knew he needed Baker to stick around and convinced the rising star DC to stay another season in Baton Rouge.
This season, Baker has more weapons than he’s ever had at his disposal. Weeks is back after battling injuries last season. Ole Miss transfer Princewell Umanmielen should add serious juice from the edge rusher position. If the Tigers can plug some holes left in the secondary, this unit should be dynamite once again.
If LSU has as good a defense as it does on paper, Baker will undoubtedly be able to parlay that into a great job if he wants it. He turned down a prime G6 job last season. Perhaps he’ll get a shot at a P4 coaching job next offseason if all goes to plan.
- Related: Lane Kiffin Says LSU Is ‘Different.’ Is He?
Left Tackle Jordan Seaton Will be One of the Best Pass-Blocking Linemen in College Football
Jordan Seaton was a lone bright spot on a largely terrible Colorado team in 2025. He was a dominant force at the left tackle position, allowing zero sacks through nine games last season.
He commanded a hefty price tag this offseason, but in my opinion, he was worth every penny.
The LSU offense had a myriad of issues last season, chief among them was that the o-line unit couldn’t protect Nussmeier. Opposing pass rushers feasted on the left side of the Tigers’ offensive line, but that won’t be the case this season.
Seaton sported a slimmed-down, muscled-out frame during spring ball. At six-foot-five, he looks like the kind of tackle you’d build in a top-secret laboratory. If he stays healthy in 2026, he’ll be the best left tackle in the SEC and will skyrocket up NFL Draft boards.
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