LSU football is midway through the most historic season yet, after head coach Lane Kiffin took over the program last offseason, seeing a full renovation on both the coaching staff and the roster.
Now that Kiffin's rebuild is in full swing of SEC play, the most important stretch of the season is just around the corner, featuring some of the conference's top-ranked teams.
The team's performance during this stretch will be the ultimate stamp of approval on Kiffin's takeover, especially as the team deals with the long list of injuries.
Program Improvement
The Tigers started this season with strong statements against Clemson and Louisiana Tech at home, with a 51-10 blowout win over Clemson and a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech.
Then the Tigers traveled to Oxford and suffered an unfortunate loss to the Ole Miss Rebels, the season's first setback of the season, followed by another road loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 6.
The team dominated McNeese State, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State at home, giving them an even conference record and a 5-2 overall record.
The road game losses and key players suffering injuries throughout the matchups have been the biggest struggle of the season, as the team has shifted to the next-man-up mentality to cover talent gaps on the roster.
But now that the team is in the most daunting stretch of the season, it's not just about backups emerging across position groups, but about how Kiffin's team is becoming a serious conference contender.
With high expectations for the Tigers to have a postseason run, the rest of the regular season has to bring much-needed success to put the team as a postseason contender on Selection Sunday.
Facing Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas on the road has now turned into proving the team's identity, being able to finally find success in the opponent's stadium, and not letting the intimidating SEC environment shift the momentum of the game.
For the last two matchups in Tiger Stadium, LSU will host Alabama and Texas for a must-watch talent show, being able to use the crucial home field advantage to find success over these top-ranked programs.
Because if the team can't secure critical wins, not only will they lose any hopes of a playoff run, but it will also raise concerns about Kiffin's historical rebuild in Baton Rouge.
The margin for error has quickly closed in on the Tigers, making the final four matchups of the season the most important, not only for this season's success, but for the overall reputation of the program.
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