Progrums

Bubble Trouble: LSU’s Tigers Teeter at No. 13

LSU opens its fall camp with a preseason coaches’ poll ranking of No. 13, matching Texas and Notre Dame as notable non-Playoff teams in the top 15. After a 7-6 season plagued by anemic offense, the Tigers have revamped their backfield by adding Wisconsin transfer running back Dilin Jones and bolstered their quarterback room with Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt, fresh off a College Football Playoff berth. Coaches seem bullish on LSU’s talent, despite the program’s history of underachieving when picked in that same slot. Now the Tigers must prove they can finally overcome past flaws—ineffective rushing attacks and inconsistent QB play—if they want to turn this bubble placement into a playoff bid.

Oh, look, the coaches have spoken—and apparently they’ve mistaken LSU for a Michelin-starred team when last season their offense resembled a drive-thru with no menu. Now they’ve shuffled in a couple of transfers like a bargain-bin pro shop and slapped a No. 13 sticker on the helmet, as if that magically fixes everything. And here we are, expecting Dilin Jones and Sam Leavitt to swoop in and solve eight years of one-dimensional misery. But hey, why let past failures dampen a good preseason narrative? Let’s all pretend that a coaches’ poll ranking is the same thing as a championship trophy. Go Tigers—at least until the first interception flies backward and reality sets in.