As LSU prepares for the 2025 season, coach Brian Kelly finds himself at a pivotal crossroads in his tenure. Now entering his fourth year leading the Tigers, Kelly faces mounting pressure to live up to expectations in Baton Rouge. The Tigers haven’t made the College Football Playoff since winning the national championship in 2019 under Ed Orgeron — and that drought looms large.
Kelly’s arrival three years ago brought renewed optimism, and his debut season included an SEC Championship Game appearance. But despite moments of promise, the program has yet to take the next step under his leadership and patience in the bayou is wearing thin.
“LSU is in that window now … where if you don’t win big, if you’re Brian Kelly, this fan base is done,” former LSU national champion Marcus Spears said Tuesday on Get Up. “And I’m just telling you, the wins and the success and all of the things, going to the SEC Championship your first year was great, but people still didn’t feel like that was like a big time accomplishment based on how it happened.”
LSU appears equipped for a breakthrough. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has generated preseason Heisman Trophy buzz, the program brought in the No. 1 ranked transfer portal haul and has had three consecutive top-10 recruiting classes. Spears pointed to those factors as further raising the stakes.
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“It doesn’t guarantee a championship, but it should guarantee you being a playoff contender,” Spears said. “And if they are not, if they are on the outside looking in in the playoffs, this fan base is going to quickly turn on Brian Kelly. And it’s almost like there’s been situations where they’ve been waiting to do it. This would be that inflection point if LSU doesn’t win big this year. I’m telling y’all what I know, not what I think.”
The schedule offers no margin for error. The season opener at Clemson — which seems like a College Football Playoff game itself — sets the tone. LSU has lost five straight season openers, and this might be the toughest of them all. The schedule doesn’t get any more forgiving from there. The first month includes matchups against Florida and at Ole Miss. Later in the season, LSU faces road tests at Alabama and at Oklahoma. Even the visit to Vanderbilt in October, sandwiched between home games against South Carolina and Texas A&M, is a potential trap spot.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists LSU at +130 to make the College Football Playoff, with +1600 odds to win the national championship — ninth-best in the country. The Tigers also have the fourth-best odds to win the SEC.
For a program that’s won three national titles since 2003 under three different coaches, the standard remains the same. Kelly has brought stability and recruiting momentum, but as Spears noted, fans aren’t interested in moral victories or incremental progress anymore.
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