After such an underwhelming Brian Kelly era in Baton Rouge, Tiger fans are eager for more success in 2026 with Lane Kiffin at the helm of the LSU Football program. While the season doesn't get underway until September 5 against Clemson, professional oddsmakers and fans alike have sky high expectations for Kiffin and the Tigers.
Lane Kiffin’s QB room for 2026 sparks excitement among LSU fans
With odds of +1300 on DraftKings Sportsbook, LSU currently has the 6th-best odds to win the National Championship in 2026. Even with such high expectations, history is on Kiffin's side heading into 2026.
Lane Kiffin aims to bring LSU Football back to the College Football Playoff
LSU's win total for the 2025 season was 8.5. The Tigers finished the regular season with an underwhelming 7-5 record and the under was victorious. After such a program-defining change at head coach, LSU's over/under win total has climbed to 9.5 for 2026, which is among the highest in all of college football.
Kiffin has reached 10+ wins in more than half of his complete seasons as a college head coach. More specifically, Kiffin's teams have reached double-digit wins in 7 of his 13 complete seasons. Kiffin's first 10-win season came at USC in 2011. He then won 11 games in 2017 and 10 games in 2019 at Florida Atlantic. Kiffin then led the Ole Miss Rebels to 10-win seasons in 4 of his 6 seasons in Oxford, including the last 3 in a row. He enters Year 1 in Baton Rouge with an overall record of 116-53.
During his previous 4 coaching stops, Kiffin has reached 10-digit wins in his first season just once (Florida Atlantic in 2017). However, he's never been in a situation like the one he's currently in entering his first season at LSU. Kiffin has the No. 1 portal class in the country according to 247Sports, a pair of incoming 5-star recruits in Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson, several key contributors returning, and an expansive NIL budget that gives his roster seemingly endless possibilities moving forward.
Reaching the 10-win mark will be tough, as LSU's schedule has several daunting matchups in store including vs Clemson (Sept. 5), at Ole Miss (Sept. 19), vs Texas A&M (Sept. 26), vs Alabama (Nov. 7), and vs Texas (Nov. 14). But Kiffin has the Tigers in a great spot, and fans have a lot to be excited about.