NCAAF LSU Wire Roundtable: Predictions for Tigers’ season opener against No. 8 Florida State
The Tigers kick off the season with a top-10 matchup in Orlando on Sunday night as they look to avenge a season-opening loss from a year ago to Florida State.
Both teams enter the 2023 season with high expectations — potentially of the College Football Playoff variety — after significantly overachieving in 2022. The winner of this one will have a much simpler path, while the loser’s margin for error will decrease significantly.
The Tigers bring back a lot of key players, and we’ll see the debuts of several new starters, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense will look to play a cleaner game than it did last year.
On the eve of LSU kicking off its 2023 season, here’s how our staff sees Game 1 playing out.
Tyler Nettuno, Site Editor
The spread on this game has stayed within a field goal all week, and for good reason. It’s a top-10 matchup between teams with legit CFP aspirations, but one will leave the game feeling much better than the other. I think this one will be a lot less sloppy than last year’s affair was, but even without Maason Smith, I think the Tigers can slow down the FSU rushing attack. The offense, meanwhile, should have a much better game than it did a year ago in New Orleans. LSU wins a tight one.
Prediction: LSU 31, Florida State 28
Will Rosenblatt, Staff Writer
Here’s my roundtable: Expectations are high for Brian Kelly in Year 2. The Tigers enter the year ranked No. 5 with a QB second in Heisman odds. LSU heads to Orlando seeking revenge for last year’s heartbreaking loss. I think they get it. FSU is slightly more experienced, but LSU has stars at every critical spot. Malik Nabers and Harold Perkins do enough to get LSU a win.
Prediction: LSU 34, Florida State 28
Kyle Richardson, Staff Writer
I’m taking the Tigers in a high-scoring affair in Orlando. Both teams are coming into the first game of the season so my assumption is that there will be a mistake or two on the defensive side of the ball. With the amount of talent on both offenses, one mistake from a defense can turn into 6 points quick.
Prediction: LSU 35, Florida State 31
Patrick Conn, College Wire Senior Editor
I have been waiting for this re-match since last season ended. The LSU Tigers were caught off guard a bit given the trajectory of the FSU program ahead of the 2022 season. This time we get to watch two quarterbacks who could be fighting for the Heisman go head-to-head. This should be a high-scoring affair between this two historic programs but I give the nod to Brian Kelly, who is facing off with FSU for the third straight year to begin a season.
Prediction: LSU 35, FSU 27
