LSU begins its title defense on Saturday when it hosts Mississippi State in Death Valley with an almost completely different look to the team that produced a perfect 15-0 season last year and plenty of questions to answer.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are one of four SEC programs starting the season with a new head coach as they begin a new era under Mike Leach.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Saturday.
- Kickoff time—LSU hosts Mississippi State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 26.
- TV channel—CBS
- Live stream—CBS All Access, fuboTV
- Odds—LSU is a 16.5-point favorite with DraftKings and 9/10 to cover the spread, while the over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 57. In moneyline terms, LSU is a 1/10 favorite and Mississippi State is a 27/5 underdog.
- Series history—LSU leads the all-time series 75-35-3 and have won the last two meetings against Mississippi State.
The world is a vastly different place to what it was in January and the same can be said for LSU. Eight months ago, the Tigers defeated Clemson in the College Football Playoff national championship game to record their 15th win of an extraordinary season during which they torched defenses across the nation and didn't lose a single game. Fast forward to the end of September, however, and a lot has changed in Baton Rouge.
Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow was the first overall pick of the NFL Draft in April after a record-breaking season, one of four Tigers to be selected in the first round of the Draft along with linebackers K'Lavon Chaisson and Patrick Queen, wide receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
LSU lost a total of 14 players to the draft and with star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin among those opting out of the season.
The personnel changes weren't limited to the players either, with offensive assistant Joe Brady moving to the NFL and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda taking over the head coaching job at Baylor. All in all, head coach Ed Orgeron has plenty on his plate ahead of this weekend and it's no surprise to see the Tigers entering the season as the No. 6 team in the AP Top 25 Poll, the lowest ranking for a defending champion since Auburn kicked off the 2011 season in 23rd place.
The omens aren't particularly good for LSU either, which went 8-5 the season after winning the national title in 2005 and ended the season outside the Top 25. At the same time, however, it is not all doom and gloom in the Bayou. In Derek Stingley the Tigers have arguably the best cornerback in college football, while safety JaCoby Stevens and North Dakota transfer linebacker Jabril Cox guarantee plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
On the other side the ball, the cupboard is far from bare for returning offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger. New quarterback Myles Brennan won't replicate Burrow's exploits but has plenty of weapons at his disposal in returning wide receivers Racey McMath and Terrace Marshall, who combined for 956 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. LSU may face an uphill battle to defend its title, but it's way too early to rule out the Tigers.
Mississippi State has plenty of questions of its own to answer, with Leach replacing Joe Moorhead after two seasons that returned a 14-12 combined record and two defeats in Bowl games. The Bulldogs have finished the season in the AP Top 25 just twice since 2010 and the chips are stacked against them bucking the trend this season. On the flip side, Leach's arrival combined with that of Stanford transfer quarterback K.J. Costello should make the Bulldogs more intriguing to watch, particularly as the new head coach has inherited one of the nations's best running back in Kylin Hill, who racked up 1,350 rushing yards in his junior season.
Costello's receiving corps are unproven but have plenty of options, namely former Alabama wideout Tyrell Shavers and senior wide receiver Osirus Mitchell. On the defensive side of the ball, new defensive co-ordinator Zach Arnett can count on highly-rated freshman cornerback Emmanuel Forbes but has just one returning linebacker who played at least 100 snaps last season—Errol Thompson—and Martin Emerson is the only returning cornerback who took at least 225 snaps last season.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he was a news and business reporter at International Business Times UK. Dan has also written for The Guardian and The Observer.
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