LSU Tigers Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players
LSU Tigers Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the LSU season with what you need to know and keys to the season.
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LSU Tigers Preview
Head Coach: Brian Kelly, 1st year at LSU
32nd year overall, 284-101, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 6-7, Conference: 3-5
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
LSU Top 10 Players | LSU Schedule & Analysis
LSU Tigers Preview 2022
Winning lots and lots and lots of games, being in the College Football Playoff and national title chases just about every year, and then have it all go horribly wrong with unremarkable performances when it really mattered worked at Notre Dame, for the most part, but …
You either win the national championship at LSU, or you don’t.
Welcome to the job, Brian Kelly. Did you win a national title yet for the Tigers?
Ha ha … very funny.
No, really. Did you?
Nick Saban – who won the 2013 national championship at LSU – could take this job and be totally immune from any critique before the era begins. He’s about it. Anyone else is supposed to step into this national-championship-or-bust gig full of suffocating expectations and win it all immediately – and that’s not totally wrong.
This is one of those programs that’s bound by nothing.
It has the resources, the history, the recruiting, the swag of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, and the recent memory of possibly the greatest season in the history of the sport.
Of course, there’s that little problem of needing to hit refresh while working in the best division in the best conference, all while that coach up in Tuscaloosa is on an all-time heater, and Jimbo is amassing talent by the bucket load down in College Station, and Kirby isn’t slowing down in the other division …
There’s a reason why one of the early win total lines was set at 6.5.
No, LSU fans aren’t crazy, and they’re not unreasonable considering the success of three national championships in the BCS/CFP era under three different head coaches. But by bringing in Kelly, LSU is making a statement that it’s time to win RIGHT NOW … or at least look great before it all kicks in next year.
Had it brought in Billy Napier or Dave Aranda – I’m more than prepared to eat it if Kelly wins multiple national titles, but I’m still screaming that either of those other two would’ve been the better long-term move – there might be some acknowledgement of a rebuilt/reboot after going 11-12 since the epic 15-0 2019 season.
You get Kelly – who bailed on his Irish team while it was still in the College Football Playoff hunt to get this all going – and you’re saying the grace period is defined as a strong winning season in Year One – with at least two big-name wins – and a national championship in Year Two.
And he might just do it.
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
LSU Top 10 Players | LSU Schedule & Analysis
LSU Tigers: Offense, Defense Breakdowns NEXT
LSU Tigers Preview 2022: Offense
New offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock worked for Brian Kelly for years, was Luke Fickell’s OC at Cincinnati last season, and now he’s got a whole lot of talent to work with – at least among the eventual starting 11.
Last year’s offense had nothing for the ground game, struggled to score, was painfully inefficient with the passing game, and couldn’t consistently move the chains. Other than that, everything was great. However …
The passing game has a whole lot of talent. Job One is to settle on a quarterback. If and when he can stay healthy, Myles Brennan is the reliable veteran and decent call for the gig, but Garrett Nussmeier will still get a long look and Jayden Daniels didn’t transfer over from Arizona State to sit on the bench.
No matter who’s under center, the main man might have the best wide receiver in college football to throw to – or a close second to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Kayshon Boutte is coming off an ankle injury, but if he’s right, it’s not too much hype to call him the next superstar NFL receiver from the program.
Most of the other top targets last year were freshmen, there’s more talent on the way, and Jaray Jenkins is a decent and reliable veteran who finished second on the team behind Boutte in receiving yards. However …
Everyone needs time to work. The offensive line couldn’t pass protected, struggled for the running game, and there were way too many breakdowns. That’s where the new guys come in with Will Campbell one the best looking new tackles in college football, and 6-5, 340-pound East Tennessee State transfer Tre’Mond Shorts ready to fill in at guard.
Even so, this will be a work in progress. The line wasn’t all that great last year, but there was talent. This group has a whole lot of skill, but it’s going to take time.
The running backs are fine if they get the blocking. John Emery is back in the mix after being dinged last year, and former Oklahoma transfer Tre Bradford should play a larger role.
LSU Tigers Preview 2022: Defense
The defense had its moments. It generated a ton of pressure in the backfield and was decent against the run, but the secondary struggled and there weren’t enough takeaways to help the cause. Defensive coordinator Matt House – formerly the linebacker coach for the Kansas City Chiefs – has a whole lot of pieces to put together, but …
The secondary has plenty of good players ready to step up and shine. It’s LSU – the defensive backs should be fantastic. That’s where the transfer portal kicks in with several new guys who’d fit right in for most teams.
Safety Jay Ward is the main holdover from last year – he finished third on the team with 70 tackles – and in comes the help with Greg Brooks (Arkansas) and Joe Foucha (Arkansas) along with corners Jarrick Bernard-Converse (Oklahoma State), Mekhi Garner (Louisiana), and Sevyn Banks (Ohio State).
The front six has guys who can get into the backfield. DE BJ Ojulari should once again be one of the SEC’s better pass rushers, sophomore Maason Smith is a rising star at tackle, and 2020 star pass rusher Ali Gaye is back and ready to go after missing almost all of last year.
There’s size and athleticism in the linebacking corps, but a big play thumper needs to rise up in the rotation. There will be plenty of tackles, but the plays in the backfield will mostly come from the line.
LSU Preview | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
LSU Top 10 Players | LSU Schedule & Analysis
LSU Tigers: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT
LSU Tigers: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats
LSU Tigers: Key To The 2022 Offense
Get the offensive line in place.
Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame teams always powerhouses up front. The O lines weren’t as celebrated over the years like programs with factories up front like Wisconsin or Alabama, but they were outstanding with a whole lot of next level talent able to take over games.
LSU’s offensive line needs to merely be better.
The skill parts will be terrific. There are too many good quarterbacks to not get a good season out of the starter, the running back rotation will be solid, and the receivers will all rise up around Kayshon Boutte. Now they need the line to do its job after a rough run.
There’s a lot to get excited about. Will Campbell is a special recruit at tackle, a few veterans are back and healthy, and the transfer portal is helping with the depth. Now the line needs to be better than 111th in the nation in sacks allowed and help the offense be stronger than 114th in rushing.
LSU Tigers: Key To The 2022 Defense
Run defense, run defense, run defense.
The pass rush will be even better, the revamped secondary should be fine with a little time, and overall the D will improve after finishing tenth in the SEC.
It has to be more consistent at stopping the run.
More takeaways are a must after grabbing just 13 – the team only came up with multiple takeaways three times – but the run D was the bigger tone-setter.
The defense that held Alabama to six rushing yards gave up 900 yards over the previous four games – the consistency has to be there.
Six teams were able to run for 140 yards or more against the Tiger defense. LSU lost all six of those games, and went 6-1 when it allowed fewer.
The 2019 national championship team allowed 140 yards or more just three times in the 15 games.
LSU Tigers: Key Player To The 2022 Season
OT Will Campbell, Fr.
No pressure, new guy, but get ready to step in and deal with all the NFL-caliber pass rushers the SEC is about to throw at you.
The 6-6, 310-pound superstar recruit is almost certainly going to be thrown to the wolves right away from his left tackle spot. If he’s good, the rest of the rebuilt line will have its key piece.
LSU Tigers: Key Transfer
QB Jayden Daniels, Jr.
There might be more important transfers – the secondary and O line are getting key parts – and two good quarterback options are already in place, but Daniels has the talent and upside to be an instant star.
Good at Arizona State for three seasons, he threw for over 6,000 yards with 32 touchdowns and 13 picks, and he ran for close to 1,300 yards and 13 scores. He regressed a bit last year as a passer, but he was great on the ground.
Again, he has to fight for the job, but if he doesn’t get it, that means someone else was fantastic in fall camp.
LSU Key Game To The 2022 Season
Alabama, Nov. 5
There are statement and marking point games all over the place. It starts with Florida State, the SEC opener against Mississippi State matters, the trip to Florida will be a fight, and …
Beat Bama. That’s how you make a statement as a new head coach.
It’s a home game, there’s a week to rest up, and there’s a big problem if there’s a loss with at Arkansas and at Texas A&M to close out the SEC season.
LSU Tigers: 2021 Fun Stats
– Points: Opponents 346 – LSU 345
– Penalties: Opponents 73 for 589 yards – LSU 56 for 443 yards
– Opponent 1st Quarter Scoring: 30 – Opponents 4th Quarter Scoring 113
LSU Preview | Offense, Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
LSU Top 10 Players | LSU Schedule & Analysis
LSU Tigers Season Prediction, What Will Happen NEXT
LSU Tigers Season Prediction, What Will Happen
No, the national title run isn’t going to happen right away, but LSU is about to be far better and far more consistent.
No, Brian Kelly didn’t win a national title at Notre Dame, but for all the rocky moments during his tenure, he never got enough credit for cranking out great teams each and every year – with one clunker thrown in there.
No, getting Kelly isn’t like getting Lincoln Riley, and no, this isn’t the year LSU rises back up and rolls through the West, but by the end of the season this might just be the proverbial Team You Don’t Want To Play.
However …
LSU has an end of the season schedule full of teams you don’t want to play.
Set The LSU Tigers Regular Season Win Total At … 8
It’s going to be doom and gloom from many who’ll freak out over all the holes that need to be filled, all the depth that needs to be developed, and all the nasty games to deal with.
LSU will beat Southern and New Mexico.
It will almost certainly beat UAB, and if we’re all being honest here, it’s going to beat Florida State to kick things off.
Can the 2021 version win at Florida, and at Arkansas, and at Texas A&M, and at Auburn, and at home against Alabama, and Ole Miss, and Mississippi State?
Yeah. It can win a lot of those.
Next year it’ll be expected to win all of them – again, it’s LSU – but this time around it should be strong enough to win three of them.
It’ll probably lose to Bama and at Texas A&M, but everything else?
For Kelly and the LSU program, it’s geaux time.
(Sorry for that.)
LSU Preview | Offense, Defense Breakdown
Keys To The Season | LSU Top 10 Players
LSU Schedule & Analysis
