LSU Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2022
By Kathryn Rose
Dan Mullen is out, and Billy Napier is in.
The Gators have seen tons of change this offseason. From a new coach to a new, more run-based, mauling scheme, the Gators are going to look like a whole new team.
But, don’t mistake that for bad talent. Quarterback Anthony Richardson is getting a lot of hype from NFL Draftniks, and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter may hear his name called on the opening night of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Whether the rest of this team works well is another question. They’ve brought in some Louisiana transfers on offense to help smooth the transition. On defense, they’ve lost Mohamoud Diabate to Utah, but return a few other pieces from a unit that wasn’t terrible last year.
Does that net them a win against LSU? Probably not, as the team still has too many bugs to work out at this point.
Projection: LSU 31, Florida 26 (6-1, 3-1)
Ole Miss lost virtually every piece from last year’s 10-3 Sugar Bowl squad. That includes Matt Corral, who is now with the Carolina Panthers. In his place, they’ve found Jaxson Dart, a USC transfer who showed some good arm talent in Los Angeles last year.
On that tangent, Ole Miss has tried to backfill its roster as best it can with transfers. Lane Kiffin declared himself the Portal King over the offseason, and it’s hard to argue against that. They finished second to USC in the portal rankings this offseason and managed to sign some real top-end talent.
This is a tough game to predict. Ole Miss lost both coordinators last year, and are breaking in a new team, essentially. Meanwhile, this is an LSU team that may struggle for depth and also has a first-year head coach.
Projection: Ole Miss 34, LSU 30 (6-2, 3-2)