ESPN’s latest look at the Top 25 heading into the 2026 college football season puts LSU in a familiar spot: under a bright spotlight and carrying a massive question mark.
The network’s writers were asked to identify one lingering issue for every ranked team, and for the Tigers, the focus landed squarely on first-year head coach Lane Kiffin. The central issue, as ESPN framed it, is whether he can produce right away in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers are listed at No. 10 after finishing 2025 with a 7-6 record and a 3-5 mark in SEC play. But the record only tells part of the story. The real issue, according to ESPN, is whether Kiffin can do more than simply stabilize the program.
“Can Lane Kiffin deliver the goods?”
ESPN then sharpened the point even further, saying, “We can just take "lingering" out of the subject line and go with the only question that matters: Will Kiffin transform LSU into a national title contender in his first year on the job? He did not jump from Ole Miss to the Tigers just to be OK.
There is a championship pedigree in Baton Rouge, and though Kiffin has never won it all as a head coach, the expectation among LSU faithful is national title or bust. Kiffin went into the portal and put together a roster that is capable, given its talent.
Maybe his newly hired special assistant for recruiting and defense, Ed Orgeron, can give him a few pointers. -- Adelson”
That’s the bar in Baton Rouge. Not improvement.
Not respectability. LSU wants a run at the top, and ESPN made clear that Kiffin’s first season will be judged against that standard.
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For LSU, the interest in Sales comes with some familiar recruiting frustration. The Tigers got a June visit from the standout receiver and remained in the mix for a while, but the momentum has shifted away from Baton Rouge as the process has narrowed. With a decision expected soon, LSU is left waiting to see whether it can still make a late move in a race that now appears to be centered elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]