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LSULSU's Lane Kiffin era gets a soft landing spot in Week 2, but a veteran Louisiana Tech team coming off its best season in years isn't walking into Death Valley to play dead.
Bush’s Picks
LSULSULSULSU rolling out a portal class this loaded against a Conference USA jump-up in Louisiana Tech isn't a real contest on paper. The only way this gets interesting is if Kiffin's new pieces are still gelling in only his second game, but that's a margin question, not a winner question.
Louisiana TechLSUEverything about Baton Rouge in September revolves around one name: Lane Kiffin. His debut comes against Clemson in Week 1 with College GameDay in town, and by the time Louisiana Tech rolls in for Week 2, LSU will already know a ton about who this team actually is. Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt, the crown jewel of Kiffin's No. 1-ranked transfer class, will have had a full game to settle into a new offense before facing a considerably lighter Bulldogs defense.
Louisiana Tech isn't a total pushover, either. Sonny Cumbie's group went 7-5 last year, its first winning season since 2019, and closed it out with an Independence Bowl trip against Coastal Carolina. New offensive coordinator Tony Franklin takes over the play-calling, and 6-5 junior Blake Baker gives the Bulldogs a legitimate arm when healthy, though he's still working back from a knee injury. It's a program stepping up into the Sun Belt with real momentum, just not remotely enough firepower to threaten an SEC roster loaded with transfer portal talent.
The history here isn't subtle: LSU is 21-1 all-time against Louisiana Tech. This one is being built as a tune-up sandwiched between Clemson and a Week 3 trip to Ole Miss, Kiffin's old stomping ground, which means expect backups getting run early and a coaching staff more focused on health and reps than any real threat of an upset.
