Where LSU Football ranks in ESPN’s FPI Top 25 summer rankings
By Zach Ragan
ESPN recently updated its FPI top 25 rankings for the summer, and they have LSU football in the top 25.
The FPI rankings from ESPN, which stands for “Football Power Index”, are compiled via projected results that are based on 10,000 simulations, among other methods.
ESPN has LSU at No. 18 in their latest update.
According to 247Sports, ESPN’s algorithm is only giving the Tigers a 1.8 percent chance of winning the SEC West.
Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, Iowa State, and Ohio State round out the top five of ESPN’s FPI top 25 (respectively).
LSU football is consistently viewed as a top 20 program in 2021
ESPN’s FPI ranking of LSU is consistent with how other publications are viewing the Tigers ahead of the 2021 season.
Athlon Sports recently ranked LSU as the No. 17 program in the nation.
This feels about right for the Tigers.
While I think LSU will outperform that ranking, it’s a fair ranking based on what we saw from the Tigers last season.
Look, everyone who follows LSU closely knows what we saw from the Tigers last season isn’t what we’ll see from the program in 2021.
LSU dealt with a mass exodus of players and coaches after their 2019 national championship run.
When a program loses 14 players to the NFL — plus its defensive coordinator (Dave Aranda) and wunderkind passing game coordinator (Joe Brady) — it’s going to cause some regression.
The Tigers, however, should rebound in 2021. LSU has plenty of talent (they recruit as well as any program in the country). And the coaching staff was upgraded via several key hires by head coach Ed Orgeron.
Bold prediction for Joe Burrow and the Bengals. dark. Next
LSU probably is the No. 18 team in the country right now. But by the end of the season, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Tigers in the top 10 or maybe even the top five.