2023 LSU Tigers Football Predictions and Betting Odds
2022 Record: 10-4 overall, 6-2 in SEC
Head Coach: Brian Kelly, 2nd year: 10-4; 20th year overall: 179-76
LSU is at least back in the mix under Brian Kelly. He might be a fish out of water, and too many parts of his game are cringeworthy, but the man is one whale of a head coach who has the program perfectly set up for the 2023 and beyond.
Remember, the game is about to change. It takes a whole lot of things to go right to finish in the top four and get into the College Football Playoff, but next year the thing expands to 12. Realistically, with a Group of Five champ getting a bid, you need to be in the top 11 -- and there’s absolutely no reason why LSU can’t and shouldn’t be in the tournament each and every year. But first, don’t take for granted just how amazing last season was and what this season could be.
The epic 15-0 run in 2019 sort of made everything else okay, but LSU -- this supposed power program among power programs -- had just two double-digit win seasons from 2014 until last year. Kentucky and Ole Miss did that, too. And then, in what was expected to be a bit of a reloading campaign, LSU beat Alabama, got to the SEC Championship, and the offense gave Georgia a bit of a ride in a 50-30 loss.
There was the brain cramp at the end of the opener against Florida State, and the team inexplicably didn’t show up in double-digit losses to Tennessee and Texas A&M. However, if you told LSU fans last year at this time that the team would win 10 games, play for the SEC title, knock Bama out of the CFP picture, and crank the Big Ten runner-up 63-7 in the Citrus Bowl, yeah, they would’ve been amped up.
LSU is beyond loaded with NFL talent and experience, and it has a head coach coming off his sixth straight double-digit win season and with seven in the last eight years.
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Tigers Offensive Outlook for 2023
Jayden Daniels bulked up to 205 pounds on his 6-4 frame, and he’s still wiry. The former Arizona State star stepped in and was brilliant, throwing for over 2,900 yards with 17 touchdowns and just three picks. Slippery, he led the team with 885 rushing yards and 11 scores. However, the less he takes off, the better. He’s a fifth-year starter who might just be the SEC’s best quarterback.
The running backs have to take over. LSU has them, and now they need the ball more. Daniels ran 186 times, but no one else got to 100. Josh Williams and Noah Cain are solid backs who each averaged 5.4 yards per carry, and transfer Logan Diggs (Notre Dame) is added to the mix after running for 822 yards and four scores last season for the Irish.
Kayshon Boutte is gone, but Malik Nabers is soon to be NFL bound -- he led the team with 72 catches for 1,017 yards and three scores -- and TE Mason Taylor is coming off a whopper of a true freshman season with 38 catches and three scores. Former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun Kyren Lacy added 24 catches for the Tigers will take over a bigger role on the outside, and 6-4 Brian Thomas Jr. -- who finished second on the team with five touchdowns on 31 grabs -- will once again be one of the team’s biggest targets.
Tigers Defensive Outlook for 2023
The defense didn’t get into the backfield enough, the run defense was spotty, and overall it allowed 31 points or more in five of its last seven games of the SEC season. Now it’s about to be a whole lot better as long as everyone up front is healthy and ready to go.
At 6-6, 310-pound Maason Smith is the team’s best player and a future NFL franchise anchor of a defensive tackle, but he missed most of last season with a torn ACL. On the plus side, it happened right away, and he’s going to have almost a full year to heal. If he’s right, he’s the difference-maker up front who can raise the entire D. Combined with veteran Mekhi Wingo -- a 6-1, 295-pound interior pass rusher -- and West Virginia transfer Jordan Jefferson, the Tigers have the tackles.
LSU Tigers Season Prediction, Win Total, Best Bets
There were moments last season when it seemed like LSU forgot it was supposed to be in the midst of a rebuild, and then other times it decided to stay on the bus. This year it should be favored in every game but the road trip to Alabama. That doesn’t mean it’s going to win everything else, but it might. The hype will be off the charts for the opener against Florida State in Orlando, but LSU is better. That doesn’t mean FSU won’t be able to find the running game to take over, but the SEC team has more overall talent in this. There’s nothing else in nonconference play to worry about, and there’s a gigantic break in the SEC slate missing Georgia and Tennessee. Not playing Kentucky and South Carolina isn’t bad, either, but there’s no Vandy. Florida, Arkansas, and Texas A&M have to come to Death Valley, the road games against Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Missouri are beyond manageable, and at least there’s a week off before facing Alabama. There will be a blown tire somewhere -- like in Oxford, or possibly at home against a far improved Auburn -- but anything less than another nine-win regular season will be a big disappointment.
2023 CFN Preseason Prediction: 10-2
2022 Record: 10-4
Aug 26 OPEN DATE
Sept 3 Florida State (in Orlando) W
Sept 9 Grambling State W
Sept 16 at Mississippi State W
Sept 23 Arkansas W
Sept 30 at Ole Miss L
Oct 7 at Missouri W
Oct 14 Auburn W
Oct 21 Army W
Oct 28 OPEN DATE
Nov 4 at Alabama L
Nov 11 Florida W
Nov 18 Georgia State W
Nov 25 Texas A&M W
Best Bets
Over 9.5 wins -115
To win the SEC Championship Game +450
To win the National Championship +1100
Jayden Daniels to win the Heisman +1200
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