5 college football teams that will be better than you think in 2021

Maybe the sour taste of 2020 will be washed out of their mouths?

Let’s be real. The 2020 college football season could not have been any worse for the LSU Tigers. Coming off one of the greatest single seasons in the sport’s history, LSU went from undefeated national champions to arguably the worst team in its own division. Neither coordinator Ed Orgeron hired is returning, putting a ton of pressure on him to make the Bayou Bengals strong again.

The good news is LSU has recruited very well throughout the Orgeron era and second place in the SEC West is very much up for grabs. We all know that the Alabama Crimson Tide are destined to get back to Atlanta again, but maybe a resurgent team like LSU can have a season like Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies did a season ago? I mean, who saw LSU winning it all back in 2019?

Odds are that Texas A&M will pull back a bit with quarterback Kellen Mond turning pro. However, you could argue for the five other teams chasing Alabama in the SEC West to be much improved. What LSU has in favor over the rest of their division rivals is the recent championship pedigree, combined with one top-five recruiting class after another. It means LSU is poised to bounce back.

So how good can LSU be in 2021? This is a dark horse contender to win the SEC crown, but very likely one that will finish inside of the top 25 and could be one of four teams to make New Year’s Six bowls out of its conference. Look for LSU to be closer to what it was during Joe Burrow’s first season as their starting quarterback back in 2018. This team could win close to 10 or 11 games.