Lane Kiffin and LSU see doubters in full force already with coaches poll ranking

With college football around the corner, the subjectiveness of predicting which programs are the best in the nation without having played a game has begun. The coaches top 25 poll was released Tuesday, and it spurred a lot of opinions.

For one, the sheer enormity of teams from the SEC and Big Ten (17) considered among the upper echelon in the sport rekindled the yearly debate over whether the pair of leagues are superior or simply overhyped. Yet one SEC squad was placed smack dab in the middle of the rankings despite a highly coveted new head coach and strongly rebuilt roster.

The LSU Tigers, led by Lane Kiffin, are ranked No. 13 entering the 2026-27 campaign, indicating there's still a significant amount of uncertainty felt by the former Ole Miss boss' peers. Kiffin's program is seen as the seventh-best in the SEC behind Alabama (No. 11), his old friends the Runnin' Rebels (No. 10), Oklahoma (No. 9), Texas A&M (No. 8), Texas (No. 4) and Georgia (No. 3). That feels like a serious underestimation.

CFB coaches doubt Lane Kiffen and LSU at their own peril

It's natural to be apprehensive about a college football team beginning a new era under a brand new regime. However, Kiffin is no first-time head coach nor is inexperienced in the SEC. He knows how to recruit and he went to town in the transfer portal to assemble the squad he wanted.

Starting with the quarterback, former Arizona State standout Sam Leavitt is more than capable of leading the LSU offense. Leavitt threw for 4,513 yards and scored 44 total touchdowns while in Tempe. He minimized mistakes with nine interceptions in two years and his skyrocketing profile benefitted from having 2026 first-round NFL Draft pick Jordyn Tyson to throw to for two seasons. Now he gets to ball with guys that could have him in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Leavitt's weapons will be all transfers -- except for a handful of players that decided to remain -- including wideouts Jayce Brown (Kansas State), Jackson Harris (Hawaii), Winston Watkins Jr. (Ole Miss), tight end Trey'Dez Green, and running back Dilin Jones (Wisconsin). That group combined for 2,781 scrimmage yards in 2025 but their collaborative 27 touchdowns indicate a lot of upside potential with Leavitt distributing the ball.

Watkins is one of just a surprising four total players that followed Kiffin from Oxford, Mississippi to Baton Rouge, Louisiana but there were plenty of better options for him to consider in the portal. That mostly came along the offensive line where Kiffin managed to land former Colorado tackle Jordan Seaton -- a preseason All-American -- to protect Leavitt and open lanes for Jones.

The Tigers are also projected to have one of the top defenses in the country with their shutdown secondary. Multiple starters from 2025 trust Kiffin to lead them, mostly because of his decision to keep defensive coordinator Blake Baker around. Cornerbacks DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland will be nuisances for opposing receivers while the pass rush was revamped with three transfer linemen.

The coaches that decided LSU will be an unproven commodity entering the season are likely betting Kiffin can't take that many individual stars from different programs and get them to play cohesively under one banner. They're likely to be painfully reminded why Kiffin was so sought after in the first place. Don't be surprised if the Tigers enter the Top 10 quickly after things kick off this season.

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