2016 SI college football preseason Top 25 team preview: No. 5 LSU

Led by Leonard Fournette and a veteran defense, LSU comes in at No. 5 in SI's 2016 college football preseason Top 25 rankings.

Team breakdown

Offense

Key returning starters: QB Brandon Harris, RB Leonard Fournette, WR Malachi Dupre, C Ethan Pocic

Bruising back Leonard Fournette, the nation’s most explosive rusher, returns to gallop behind a steady offensive line alongside wideouts Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural. But this group’s potential lies on the shoulders of inconsistent quarterback Brandon Harris, who completed just 53.6% of his throws in 2015.

Defense

Key returning starters: DE Lewis Neal, LB Kendell Beckwith, CB Tre’Davious White, S Jamal Adams

LSU’s deep secondary features five players with legitimate starting experience, including talented safety Jamal Adams (four interceptions in 2015). Expect more versatility up front in coordinator Dave Aranda’s 3-4 scheme, allowing skilled ends Lewis Neal and Arden Key to stand up in pass-rush situations.

Superlatives

Leader in rushing: Fournette. As punishing a runner as any in the country, Fournette set LSU single-season records for rushing yards (1,953) and rushing touchdowns (22) as a mere sophomore.

Leader in receiving: Dupre. The junior hauled in 43 catches last year, as well as six of Harris’s 13 touchdown passes.

Leader in tackles: Beckwith. The lone returning starter in a thin linebacker corps, Beckwith amassed 84 tackles and 10 tackles for loss last fall.

Leader in interceptions: Adams. The former Freshman All-America selection earned second-team All-SEC honors a year ago after snagging four picks, third-most in the conference.

Opposing coach's take

“New defensive coordinator Dave Aranda is renowned for using multiple looks, but he’s got so much talent that he could just play base defense if he wanted. A hulking line will once again rotate plenty of fresh bodies. Their linebackers are solid and have lots of speed. The secondary is as talented as it gets with future NFL picks in [senior] cornerback Tre’Davious White and [junior] strong safety Jamal Adams. Hopefully you can find a way to run the ball against them, but their front seven is so good that’s a tough task.

[Junior] Leonard Fournette isn’t just the best running back in the country—he’s the best to play the position in years. But they’re not only a run-the-ball-down-your-throat offense. They do a really nice job with the play-action pass, which is hard to defend when Fournette is always one broken tackle away from the end zone. They’ve got a talented receiving corps to go along with a massive, physical offensive line, but the biggest question is quarterback Brandon Harris [54% completions, 13 TDs, six INTs]. He’s a capable passer, and now that he’s got a year of experience as a starter, he should be better. From the start to the end of last season, he made a lot of progress.

I don’t see a lot of weaknesses in this team. They’ve got the talent to not only win the SEC, but also the national championship.”

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Schedule

Date	Opponent
Sept. 3	vs. Wisconsin (in Green Bay, Wisc.)
Sept. 10	Jacksonville State
Sept. 17	Mississippi State
Sept. 24	at Auburn
Oct. 1	Missouri
Oct. 8	at Florida
Oct. 15	Southern Miss
Oct. 22	Ole Miss
Nov. 5	Alabama
Nov. 12	at Arkansas
Nov. 19	South Alabama
Nov. 24	at Texas A&M

Top 25 rankings

1		Alabama
2		Clemson
3		Florida State
4		Michigan
5		LSU
6		Oklahoma
7		Washington
8		Houston
9		Ohio State
10		Tennessee
11		Stanford
12		Notre Dame
13		Michigan State
14		Iowa
15		Louisville
16		Georgia
17		Oklahoma State
18		Washington State
19		Ole Miss
20		TCU
21		Oregon
22		North Carolina
23		UCLA
24		San Diego State
25		Boise State