LSU had the best player in college football in 2023 (Jayden Daniels), and an historically poor defense. LSU had one of the top five quarterbacks in college football in 2024 (Nussmeier), and a team that failed to consistently zero in on big games.

“That’s what you want, you want to play a good team,” said LSU linebacker Whit Weeks on Monday during SEC media days. “You don’t want to lollygag into the season. You want to get into a fistfight the first week.”