What does a successful 2024 season look like for LSU?

The LSU Tigers enter their third season in the Brian Kelly era with very high aspirations. They should be a top-15 team to start the season and they believe they can contend for a national championship as soon as this year.

Brian Kelly took over a team that had 39 scholarship players and had gone 5-5 and 6-7 in the two previous seasons. Despite that, he brought in some transfers and built a roster that was good enough to win the SEC West and make it to the SEC Championship game in year one. A year later, he helped field the best offense in the sport, which produced the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner. In two seasons at LSU, he boasts a 20-7 record, but that's not good enough for him or his team.

“10-win seasons are very difficult to come by, no matter what you do in this business," said Kelly. "But at the end of the day I let go of my entire defensive staff, and those were good coaches, and they were good people, and they’ve been successful, so I must have seen that as a need to get better."

Entering year three, Kelly thinks this year's team is the deepest roster he's had since arriving in Baton Rouge back in 2022. With their new additions to the defensive coaching staff, they feel they have the talent - both on the field and on the sidelines - to contend not only a playoff spot, but a national title.

So, this begs the question: what would a successful 2024 season look like for LSU Football?

I think, in order to have a successful season, the absolutely need to make the College Football Playoffs. This is the first year that 12 teams will make it, and after finishing 13th in 2023 and 17th in 2022, their eyes need to be on a top-12 spot. However, I don't think their goals need to end there.

Kelly has said himself, being at a program like LSU, you need to contend for championships every single year. Making the top-12 doesn't necessarily mean you're contending, it just means you had a really good season. I think they need to at least win one playoff game to show that they're capable of winning the big game.

It kind of feels like this is the first season since coming to LSU that Kelly really has a shot at contending for a title. He has a veteran quarterback who, even though he doesn't have a ton of playing experience, has been around the building and has a lot of experience learning from someone like Jayden Daniels. They have playmakers at every position on offense, including one of the best offensive lines in football. On defense, they have some very talented players, and they're hoping that their new defensive staff can come in and find the right scheme to fit them and help them improve. Yes, they have their holes at defensive tackle and defensive back, but this roster is as good as it's been since he arrived.

I think the bare minimum expectation needs to be a playoff berth, and most ideally a playoff win. 10-win seasons are great, especially when you're trying to establish a base for your program, but that's not the standard anymore, and he and his team know that.

This is the year for them to make a push at the national championship, and I think they have the roster and coaching staff to at least make the CFP.

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