Over the course of the next several weeks, the SoBros Network crew will be going around the landscape of the SEC, team by team, previewing the upcoming American tackle football season. Up first, our 2022 LSU preview!
2022 LSU Preview
Well, well, well – here we are. Another summer, and another series of SEC season previews is kicking off here on SoBros Network with one of the biggest wild cards in the SEC in 2022. The LSU Tigers shocked the football world when they pried Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame with a boat load of cash and the opportunity to beat Nick Saban. But, they clearly felt like they needed to do something after Coach O was (allegedly) bringing his girlfriends to practice and such. Of course, that’s the stuff of legend and we would never ever do anything to validate such baseless claims here on SoBros Network. Just cracking some jokes here, obviously. Anyway, maybe Coach O flew a little too close to the sun. Maybe he didn’t. Regardless, the direction of the program began to feel a little aimless after two mediocre seasons since winning the National Championship. LSU looked for a spark, and they got one in Kelly.
I’ve been a fan of Kelly’s for quite some time. What he did with a Notre Dame program that is essentially built to fail in the modern landscape of college football is impressive. Now, there will be no more excuses for his prowess as a coach. In Baton Rouge, he’ll have ample opportunity to recruit five stars and get over that National Championship hump. In fact, that’s sort of the expectation when you’re paid that handsomely to take over at a program like LSU.
Change is the name of the game for this program in 2022. The LSU offense has a ton of talent to replace – it lost its top two rushers and practically the entire offensive line. Not to mention, there’s a new coordinator in place. And, the Tigers have quite the crowded quarterback room. A lot of analysts seem to think that Myles Brennan is the guy to unseat, but Garrett Nussmeier has a ton of potential, and Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels is an electric playmaker. Kelly may be inclined to stick with Brennan for his experience in a move that could steady the ship and offer some sort of consistency at the position. But, it should be an interesting battle to watch. The Tigers will once again field a deep and complete receiving corps. It’ll all come down to how quickly the offensive line can jell, protect whoever the quarterback is, and run block.
The defense is going to be a huge question mark as well. The Tigers lost a lot of talent to the NFL, but Kelly and company were hyperactive in the transfer portal, and it looks like there’s going to be some healthy competition in the secondary. Defensive end Ali Gaye figures to be the heart and soul of what should be a nasty pass rush and defensive front. If he returns to form after the torn labrum, he should be one of many Tigers to post some solid sack numbers. They have some cornerstone type of pieces on defense – to me, it’s just a matter of how quickly this unit can come together under a new regime. If they can jell quickly, then they just may boast one of the better defenses in the conference.
For lack of a more sophisticated vernacular, if LSU can get good in a hurry, they could have a surprisingly good season. The talent is there. I like Kelly as a coach. They just need to put it all together. The sooner they do, the better they will be.
2022 Tigers Schedule
Sunday, 9/4: vs. Florida State (New Orleans) – An interesting opener between two historical powerhouses that have been kind of down in recent years. I’m going with the Tigers on talent alone.
Saturday, 9/10: vs. Southern – If y’all ain’t gonna make a college football preseason, the teams are just going to keep scheduling glorified tune-up games.
Saturday, 9/17: vs. Mississippi State – The new-look Tigers secondary is going to be tested early with this Bulldogs offense. I’m high on Mississippi State this year – this team looks capable of going into Baton Rouge and winning.
Saturday, 9/24: vs. New Mexico – At the very least, the Tigers should wrap up September at 4-0 or 3-1.
Saturday, 10/1: @ Auburn – I don’t know how good Auburn is going to be this year. It seems like a program in a bit of an identity crisis right now. Then again, I underestimated them in 2021. If this game was in Baton Rouge, I think I’d be confidently picking LSU.
Saturday, 10/8: vs. Tennessee – The preseason hype train is carrying the Vols right now. They’re undoubtedly the sexy pick to be the SEC’s wild card team. I’m having flashbacks of Butch Jones and Joshua Dobbs that are keeping me from jumping aboard. This game going down in Baton Rouge actually makes me think this is one of the interesting swing games on LSU’s schedule that could go either way.
Saturday, 10/15: @ Florida – The Gators have plenty of changes to adjust to in their own right, but that’s a hard place to play. This one feels like it’s anybody’s ball game in the “who’s going to get right first?” contest.
Saturday, 10/22: vs. Ole Miss – You cannot stop the Lane Kiffin factor. You can only hope to contain it.
Saturday, 10/29: BYE
Saturday, 11/5: vs. Alabama – Nope. Not yet.
Saturday, 11/12: @ Arkansas – Love the Razorbacks this year too. Sam Pittman is doing some good things down in Arkansas. Maybe this is a hot take, but I think Arkansas will still be in the hunt at this point in the season.
Saturday, 11/19: vs. UAB – Another game the Tigers should win on talent alone, but damn it – I want to pick the Blazers so badly. Put some respect on that program’s name.
Saturday, 11/26: @ Texas A&M – Hell, the Tigers had no business beating the Aggies last year and they did. What makes 2022 any different?
Prediction
It’s hard to believe that we’re just a couple of seasons removed from LSU having one of the most prolific offenses in the history of college football. That 2019 season was truly special, and it concluded with Joe Burrow hoisting the Heisman and the Tigers holding their heads high as National Champions. But, we’re a long way’s away from that.
I fully expect this to be a rebuilding year for the Tigers, as Brian Kelly gets in and starts to put his fingerprints all over the program. But, the talent is so strong that I wouldn’t be surprised to see this Tigers team push the heavyweights in the SEC West. My official gun-to-my-head prediction is somewhere in the 5-7 to 7-5 range with a higher ceiling if they can iron everything out earlier than expected. I’ll say this – if they can get to their bye week at 8-0 or 7-1, they might have a real shot to make some noise in the SEC this season. I don’t think I’d be surprised by 10-2 or 4-8. This is going to be a fun team to watch in that regard.
More 2022 SEC Season Previews
Coming soon
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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