I’ll go ahead and say it: I like LSU this year. A lot.

And a big reason why is Lane Kiffin.

I’ve always liked Kiffin as a football coach. I know some people don’t care for his personality, and he certainly has a way of rubbing people the wrong way. But forget all of that for a minute and just look at the football.

The guy can coach. And the guy can recruit.

What he did at Ole Miss proved that to me. He took a program that has traditionally had to fight uphill against the Georgias, Alabamas and LSUs of the SEC and turned it into a legitimate national contender.

Now give that same guy the resources, recruiting base and brand name of LSU.

That’s what makes this interesting.

Kiffin didn’t exactly ease into Baton Rouge, either. He basically rebuilt the football team in one offseason. LSU brought in a massive group of new players, including one of the best transfer portal classes in the country.

And sitting right in the middle of all of it is quarterback Sam Leavitt.

I really like Leavitt in this offense. He was one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal, and everything coming out of LSU’s fall camp so far has been encouraging. He’s healthy again, he’s added some size, and the reports have been good concerning his arm strength, accuracy and command of the offense.

Now put a quarterback with that kind of talent in a Lane Kiffin offense.

That could be dangerous as hell.

And it’s not like Leavitt is going to have to do everything himself.

LSU has talent all over the offense. There are weapons in the backfield, weapons on the outside and a potential matchup nightmare in Trey’Dez Green at tight end. They’ve also gone to work rebuilding the offensive line.

There is a hell of a lot of talent on this football team.

Now, I’m not going to pretend there aren’t questions.

There are.

When you bring in this many new players, you’re basically trying to build chemistry on the fly. LSU is also young in some important places defensively, particularly up front. There are freshmen who may have to play significant snaps, and that can be dangerous when you’re lining up every Saturday against grown men on SEC offensive lines.

But here’s why I’m willing to be optimistic:

Lane Kiffin knows exactly what kind of football team he wants.

He’s one of the best offensive minds in college football. He understands the transfer portal as well as anybody, and he’s shown that he can identify players who fit what he wants to do rather than simply collecting recruiting stars.

And now he’s doing it at LSU.

That’s the part I think people may be overlooking.

Kiffin was winning big at Ole Miss without having LSU’s resources. Now he’s sitting in Baton Rouge with one of the strongest recruiting brands in America, a loaded transfer class and a quarterback who seems almost tailor-made for his offense.

Does all of that mean LSU is going undefeated?

No.

This is still the SEC, and there are going to be some growing pains with this many new faces.

But I absolutely believe LSU can win 10 or 11 games, get into the College Football Playoff and be a team nobody wants to see once they get there. in fact, I’m predicting them to go 10-2.

And if Leavitt stays healthy and that young defense grows up quickly?

LSU can win the whole damn thing.

That’s how high I think the ceiling is in Baton Rouge.

Lane Kiffin didn’t go to LSU to rebuild it over three or four years.

He went there to win.

And I think he may do it a hell of a lot sooner than some people expect.