2014 SEC West Prediction: 5th Place LSU
Feb 16, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; LSU Tiger head football coach Les Miles talks with director Spike Lee before the 2014 NBA All-Star Game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
March is finally here, and spring practice for most schools is just around the corner. So why not go ahead and predict what each football team will do in 2014? It’s early obviously, and these predictions might change depending on any injuries, suspensions, or dismissals. Up next is 5th place, the LSU Tigers.
LSU had an unprecedented year offensively in 2013. The problem? Their defense had an unprecedentedly pedestrian year for the Bayou Bengals. They still had a good season, but it wasn’t the type of season that Tigers’ fans enjoy. They lose some major offensive contributors, like Zach Mettenberg, Odell Beckham, and Jeremy Hill. Will that amount of offensive production hurt the Tigers’ season? Let’s take a look at the schedule.
The Schedule
| LSU 2014 Schedule | ||||
| Win | Loss | |||
| Saturday | Wisconsin Badgers | 1 | ||
| Aug. 30 | Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX | |||
| Saturday | Sam Houston State Bearkats | 2 | ||
| Sept. 6 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | ULM Warhawks | 3 | ||
| Sept. 13 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 4 | ||
| Sept. 20 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | New Mexico State Aggies | 5 | ||
| Sept. 27 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | at Auburn Tigers | 1 | ||
| Oct. 4 | Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL | |||
| Saturday | at Florida Gators | 2 | ||
| Oct. 11 | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL | |||
| Saturday | Kentucky Wildcats | 6 | ||
| Oct. 18 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | Ole Miss Rebels (HC) | 3 | ||
| Oct. 25 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | Open Date | |||
| Nov. 1 | ||||
| Saturday | Alabama Crimson Tide | 4 | ||
| Nov. 8 | Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA | |||
| Saturday | at Arkansas Razorbacks | 7 | ||
| Nov. 15 | D.W.R. Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, AR | |||
| Saturday | Open Date | |||
| Nov. 22 | ||||
| Thursday | at Texas A&M Aggies | 8 | ||
| Nov. 27 | Kyle Field, College Station, TX |
2014 isn’t going to be a bad year for LSU, but I don’t think it is going to be a good year either. 8 wins will make most fan bases happy, but not the LSU fans. They will get off to a good start, but once they get into the teeth of their schedule, it will get a lot more intense for the Bayou Bengals. LSU could surprise me. They could easily pull their game against Ole Miss out, but on the flip side, I could see us going down to Baton Rouge in game #4 and beating them. The Texas A&M game at the end of the year could also go either way. In the end, I think there are just going to be too many growing pains on the offensive side of the ball for the this team to compete for the SEC West title.