2021 Preview: Can No. 21 LSU Get Back on Track?

Opt-outs and injuries decimated the Tigers' roster after their national title run, but optimism reigns entering 2021.

Seven months after the confetti fell on national champion Alabama, a new college football season is nearly here. As part of Sports Illustrated's 2021 preview content, we're rolling out scouting reports for all of SI's preseason top 25 teams, featuring all the names, storylines and big games you need to know. Starting with No. 25 Nevada and running through No. 1 Alabama, we'll be featuring five teams per day from Monday through Friday.

The Big Story: LSU

LSU has a chance to move forward from last year’s disappointment. Practically none of the magic from the Tigers’ 2019 national championship season lingered in Baton Rouge for 2020. LSU went 5–5 in the shortened, all-SEC schedule after opt-outs and injuries depleted its roster. The Tigers were able to get more veteran talent back for this year than they were in 2020, and now the task will be to build a more consistent offense and a far more competent defense—it allowed 492 yards per game in 2020, only one spot away from dead last in the SEC. Coach Ed Orgeron enters his sixth year at LSU with a new offensive coordinator (Jake Peetz) and defensive coordinator (Daronte Jones), seeking that perfect mix of fresh coaching and experienced talent that could call back to those recent golden days.

Can’t Miss

Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is one of the best players in college football, and he’ll likely spend much of this season in conversations as a top NFL draft prospect. He was a key member of the 2019 title team and led the SEC with six interceptions that year, but fell back a bit in 2020 after missing the season opener due to illness and the last two games due to injury. If Stingley is able to stay healthy, he has all of the potential to have another stellar year.

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Key Question: Will LSU bounce back from last year’s defensive disaster?

Even with one of the nation’s top defensive backs in Stingley, LSU’s defense was abysmal in 2020—especially against the run. The Tigers gave up 4.88 yards per run and 18 touchdowns in 10 games last season, and are hoping schematic changes in 2021 stop the bleeding.

X-Factor: Establishing the run

If LSU wants to bring itself back to SEC powerhouse status, it will have to do a much better job running the ball. While quarterback Myles Brennan was no Joe Burrow in 2020, he did pass for more than 1,100 yards with 11 touchdowns before he left the season with an abdominal injury (a recent broken arm will sideline him to start 2021 as well). The Tigers’ biggest problem on offense was that they averaged 122 rushing yards per game. They ranked 11th in the SEC with 1,217 total yards on the ground all of last year, but with running backs Tyrion Davis-Price and John Emery Jr. returning, there should be improvement on the ground this season.

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Date to Circle: Sept. 4 at UCLA

All of the pieces are there for LSU to show plenty of progress in 2021, but one of its most interesting tests will come during a Week 1 road trip to UCLA. The Bruins are in a somewhat similar rebuilding stage, and they’ll be bringing out all the stops when they host one of the SEC West’s most formidable teams. The UCLA matchup will be an early chance for the Tigers to show either the growth they’ve made or that there’s still plenty of room to keep building.

The Bottom Line

Conventional wisdom would suggest that LSU has nowhere to go but up, given its returning talent and influx of new coordinators. The question remains: Will the Tigers be able to rebound from their 2020 disappointment? 

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