The 2026 college football season is almost underway, with teams gearing up for the start in just a few weeks.
One team that has made waves all offseason has been the LSU Tigers, who brought in Lane Kiffin to be the new head coach. Kiffin comes over to LSU after leaving Ole Miss in what ended up being a controversial exit for the veteran coach.
But Kiffin is now determined to bring more titles to Baton Rouge, with the Tigers coming in ranked highly entering the season. Kiffin has a lot of pressure on him to find success in his first season, partly due to the expectations at LSU, but also because of how he left Ole Miss.
LSU dominated in the transfer portal this offseason, with Kiffin doing what he does best in recruiting guys to play for him. But the Tigers do have a tough schedule this season, adding more stress onto Kiffin’s first year.
Ahead of the season starting, former Tigers head coach Brian Kelly broke down the schedule for LSU. Within, Kelly made a prediction for how the year would turn out for Kiffin in his first season in Baton Rouge.
Brian Kelly Predicts LSU Schedule
Within his prediction, Kelly had high praise for this team and Kiffin. The former coach doesn’t seem angry about how his exit was handled with LSU, and instead, he’s excited to see how Kiffin leads this team.
According to Kelly, the Tigers will finish the season with a record of 10-2, earning a playoff berth. Kelly had LSU losing to Ole Miss early in the season, in what should be a historically viewed game for the sport.
The former coach also had the Tigers drop a late-season game to the Texas Longhorns. But Kelly is overall high on the Tigers entering the new year.
How will @LSUfootball perform in its first season under Lane Kiffin?@CoachBrianKelly gives his game-by-game predictions for the Tigers ð pic.twitter.com/dEnRxiLZSu
â CBS Sports College Football ð (@CBSSportsCFB) August 10, 2026
Can LSU Tigers Survive Brutal Schedule?
Kelly, like many others, believes in this Tigers team heading into the season. But the schedule doesn’t do them any justice, much like any SEC team.
LSU opens the year against the Clemson Tigers, finishing off the home-and-home matchup with the ACC powerhouse. The Tigers beat Clemson on the road last season to open the year, in what ironically was one of the bigger wins for Kelly as the Tigers’ coach.
The team then hosts the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs before they travel to Oxford for the highly-anticipated game with Ole Miss. LSU then hosts the Texas A&M Aggies and McNeese State Cowboys before traveling to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs come to Baton Rouge next, followed by the team heading on the road to play the Auburn Tigers. LSU then comes home for two tough games against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns.
The Tigers then finish off the year with two straight road games against the Tennessee Volunteers and Arkansas Razorbacks.
LSU has the talent to succeed this year, and they’ll be in the news all season due to Kiffin being with them. But this team will have to fight to earn its keep, and proving themselves on the field will silence any doubts off of it.
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