LSU Football: Do Tigers have enough talent to repeat in 2020?

How will LSU football fare in 2020?

• Sept. 26: vs. Mississippi State (W) — Mike Leach’s first game coaching the SEC against the defending national champs; not an easy start. The Tigers should win this one. It’ll take some time for Leach to implement his air-raid attack in Starkville.
• Oct. 3: at Vanderbilt (W) — Vandy will once again finish at the bottom of the SEC. There’s clearly a large talent gap between these teams. Tigers should roll in this one.
• Oct. 10: vs. Missouri (W) — LSU gets another easy win to start their season. Missouri will likely finish towards the bottom of the SEC as well. New head coach Eli Drinkwitz was great at App State, but the SEC is a whole other animal. LSU starts off 3-0.
• Oct. 17: at Florida (L)– Florida is a team I’m very high on this season. Dan Mullen is doing great things in Gainesville, this’ll be the Tigers toughest game to date. This game could have major implications in the SEC race, it’ll be a close game but I’m leaning the Gators here.
• Oct. 24: vs. South Carolina (W) — LSU has a much more talented roster than the Gamecocks and an advantage on both sides of the field and coaching. Tigers should take this game.
• Oct. 31: at Auburn (L) — Last year’s game against Auburn was the closest game all year, LSU won 23-20, I think Auburn gets some revenge in this year’s matchup. Another really close game, Auburn lost a good amount of talent like LSU. This game is really a coin flip, but I’m taking Auburn here.
• Nov. 14: vs. Alabama (L) — The Tigers finally took out some frustration and beat the Tide for the first time since 2011. I think Bama gets back to its winning ways this year. As long as Nick Saban is still in Tuscaloosa the Tide will be competing for national titles.
• Nov. 21: at Arkansas (W) — After back-to-back losses, the Tigers get back in the win column beating up on the bottom of the conference again. I like the Sam Pittman hire for the Razorbacks but it’s going to take a few years before Arkansas is competing with the top programs in the conference.
• Nov. 28: at Texas A&M (W) — The Aggies biggest issue under Jimbo Fisher has been folding against the big-time programs. They beat the teams they should but lose when it’s a tough game. Until A&M proves they can hang with the top-tier SEC teams, I’m siding with the Tigers.
• Dec. 5: vs. Ole Miss (W) — Ole Miss is trying to climb to the top level of the SEC with the Lane Kiffin hire, it’s going to take some time before that happens. LSU is more talented and should win this game to close out their season.

Final Record: 7-3

I think most Tigers fans would be pleased with a seven-win season given all the roster turnover and championship hangover. I’ve seen a lot of LSU hate over the offseason with a good amount of people thinking they won’t compete this season.

I just don’t see that.

Even with losing almost a full NFL roster, there’s still a ton of talent at almost every position. The loss of Ja’Marr Chase is huge and the Tigers are likely going to have to rely more heavily on their defense to keep them in games. A 7-3 record seems like the ceiling at this point.