Geaux Tigers
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news service
The phrase “Geaux Tigers” has been said, written, texted and tweeted many times by LSU fans since the 10-4 SEC Western Division Championship season for Brian Kelly in year one in Baton Rouge, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
With so many questions around the Tigers going into the 2022 season after the hire of Brian Kelly from Notre Dame, the Tigers answered in a big-time way with 10 wins, an appearance in the SEC Championship, and a victory against rival #6 Alabama thanks to a 2-point conversion in overtime.
That play call and poise from Brian Kelly answered many of those questions surrounding the Tigers and won Tiger fans over for Kelly.
Last season started in a historic way for LSU with it being just the 2nd time since the 1950s that the Tigers had both a new head coach and a new starting quarterback.
Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels took the reins of the offense and absolutely gutted thru the 2022 season for LSU. Battling thru a few different injuries thru the year (missing the second half of the SEC Championship game with a leg injury), Daniels had a quietly historic season for the Tigers.
The first-year signal-caller racked up the 2nd most total yards from an LSU quarterback (only behind Joe Burrow in the National Championship season), as well as setting the record for most rushing yards ever by an LSU QB.
2023 sees 8 starters return for the LSU offense including Daniels, for a team that averaged 34.5 points per game and over 450 yards per game. A big piece that gets overlooked for the Tigers is the O-Line.
Last season had a few growing pains with a lot of young faces on the line (including Will Campbell and Emery Jones to be the first time a freshman had started at both LT and RT in the same game in LSU History). This season, the O-Line returns 4 starters and looks to be a strength for OC Mike Denbrock.
The defense was nasty at times for the Tigers a year ago and looks to be more of the same in 2023, just maybe in a different way.
The D-Line for 2nd year Matt House will look a little different in 2023 after the departures of BJ Ojulari and Ali Gaye. However, House has restocked with five Power 5 transfers to go along with returners Mekhi Wingo and Maason Smith who missed the majority of 2022 with an injury in the season opener against Florida State.
The back seven for the LSU Defense returns many bright spots from 2022, with one of the main ones being rising sophomore Harold Perkins. Perkins burst onto the SEC scene last year garnering all-American honors at linebacker.
A big game for the Tigers kicks off the season with a rematch against the Seminoles of Florida State in Jacksonville.
Last year in the Super Dome, Florida State came away with a 24-23 win over Brian Kelly in his LSU debut.
The schedule is relatively favorable for the Bayou Bengals getting Texas A&M, Florida, Auburn and Arkansas all at Tiger Stadium.
The biggest test of the season, as is in most years, will be the November 4th matchup at Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Most believe that the meeting in Tuscaloosa will be a huge decider in the Western Division race again this year.
I was incredibly impressed with LSU and how they rallied around Brian Kelly in year one.
The Tigers look to be ahead of schedule from where most thought LSU would be at this point in the Kelly era, and will not only threaten for back-to-back West Division crowns, but will rival Georgia for the SEC Title in Atlanta.
