LSU is a shell of the same team that ran roughshod through the 2019 college football world en route to a 15-0 record and national championship.
Departures from that star-studded team included a program record 14 players drafted by the NFL, 12 of which earned roster spots, another landed on a practice squad and another on injured reserve.
The attrition on LSU’s roster would later include transfers and the ability to opt out of the 2020 season because of coronavirus concerns. Four players chose that route, most recently the team’s top offensive weapon in wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and defensive line centerpiece in nose guard Tyler Shelvin.
LSU lost a total of 33 players from arguably the greatest team in college football history, thinning the Tigers’ roster to 70 players. Yet that didn’t deter the program from receiving a pair of preseason Top 5 rankings from both the Associated Press poll and the Amway Coaches poll.
However, skepticism from national pundits began showing up when it began to handicap the favorites in this year’s race for a national championship which will be conducted in a truncated season where in some cases, teams are playing conference-only schedules, while two of the major Power 5 Conference brokers (Big 10 and Pac 12) aren’t expected to play until next spring.
There’s not only very little support for LSU being able to hold onto its national crown, but the Tigers aren’t a trendy selection when it comes to repeating as Southeastern Conference champions as well.
“I think it’s going to be a natural tendency for them to predict us not having the success that we would have if we would have a lot of guys coming back,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Tuesday during his weekly Zoom conference. “But that doesn’t bother us. I think we have a great team and we’re going to use that as an advantage. We’ve been picked high; we’ve been picked low and none of them usually pan out.
“This time last year nobody picked us to go 15-0 and had a great season. We’re going to have to block out that. I think those guys have legitimate reasons to say they lost this, they lost that, (they have a) new quarterback. I can understand where they may pick us not to have the success that we think we’re going to have. I think we are underestimated because they don’t know the young talent that we have. They don’t know the new coaches that we have. We have to go and prove it week in and week out. (We have) 10 SEC games, buckle up. It’s going to be fun.”
With LSU nearing the start of its season on Sept. 26 at home against Mississippi State, the Tigers went through their first fall scrimmage last Friday with an expected mixed bag for a team with a bevy of new starters and inexperienced players vying for playing time.
Orgeron praised the play of projected starting quarterback Myles Brennan, all three of LSU’s running backs expected to contend for playing time and the Tigers defense that applied pressure throughout the scrimmage.
“All of these preseason games are designed, although we’re going against each other, to give the feeling of a game,” Orgeron said. “To get prepared for a game to see how we do in live action. I thought our team did very well on both sides of the ball.”
Freshman tight end Arik Gilbert continued turning heads with the former Gatorade national player of the year scoring two touchdowns, Orgeron said.
“The offense made some big plays,” he said. “There were some huge plays made by some young players, especially Arik Gilbert who looked phenomenal on a couple of big-time plays.”
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