Tab LSU as the team with the brightest boom-or-bust glow in the SEC. Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers are perched right at the edge of a breakthrough. They’ve got the depth, the retooled staff, and even the cautious nods of rival coaches to make a legitimate playoff run. For all the stumbles and near misses over the past few seasons in Baton Rouge, this roster screams readiness. And with Clemson on deck in Week 1, there’s no easing into the water this time—LSU is diving headfirst into the deep end. Kelly knows it. Everyone around the program knows it. What’s less clear, though, is whether winning ten games will be enough to keep the heat off his seat.

The temperature is already boiling. According to Jake Crain and Blain Crain of Crain & Company, LSU fans are fed up—and the voices are growing louder. “I talked to plenty of LSU fans about this game over the weekend. They’re sick of losing openers. They’re sick of it with the talent that you had,” Blain Crain said.

“You have to imagine they watched that offense with Jayden Daniels and all those weapons not even make it to a playoff. Not even go win a national championship. Brian Kelly is in a really sticky spot this year.” The sticky part isn’t just about performance—it’s about perception. Crain added, “Brian Kelly can win 10 games or nine games, not make the playoff, and still be in extremely, extremely hot water. Just like Alabama fans, just like Georgia, LSU’s not willing to wait too long. They’re not going to wait too long with the talent that walks around in Baton Rouge day in and day out. If you can’t get it done, they’re going to find somebody who can.”

And while Brian Kelly’s contract makes any knee-jerk firing complicated—$61 million reasons worth of complicated—the expectations inside Tiger Stadium aren’t playing by legal fine print. “I think it would take an absolute disaster for LSU to fire Brian Kelly when you look at the contract situation and kind of where LSU is financially right now,” Jake Crain added. “But they win 10 games, they’re going to be in. But to your point, it’s not just the starting off that LSU fans are tired [of]. They’re sick of not being at the dance. And the reason you haven’t been at the dance is because you haven’t been balanced.”

That lack of balance—too often a feast-or-famine identity on either side of the ball—has been LSU’s silent killer. Crain didn’t sugarcoat it: “I would rather the seesaw be like this [balanced straight] than like this [tilted].”

And behind the scenes, LSU’s football ops have shifted gears. An anonymous SEC coach told Athlon Sports, “They have playoff expectations here, and it’s a better depth chart than he’s had in Baton Rouge. If they aren’t in the CFP, I think there’s some serious pressure here.” The coach continued, “The big talk here is the way they’ve restructured. This isn’t an autonomous coaching culture anymore. [GM] Austin Thomas has a huge role building the roster, and it showed this offseason. The internal evaluation of LSU football will look more professional; they’re going to build BK the best roster possible to go out and win games.”

This isn’t just Kelly’s program anymore—it’s a front-office machine trying to match Georgia and Alabama’s institutional precision. In essence, Brian Kelly has the toys. Now he has to prove he knows how to use them.

The Tigers’ X-factor in 2025? Garrett Nussmeier. The Heisman hangover cleared, it’s Nussmeier’s show—and the junior isn’t blinking. He enters the season ranked among the nation’s top QBs, and the buzz around his arm talent and pocket command has been nothing short of electric. His play alone raises LSU’s ceiling, turning the Tigers from dangerous to damn-near playoff lock if the defense holds up. Add in one of the strongest O-lines in the conference, plus a returning wide receiver corps that can stretch the field vertically, and there’s no excuse for LSU not to go 11-1 or better.

Brian Kelly named “dark-horse” playoff contender

Garrett Nussmeier isn’t just getting his shot—he’s getting it with a full arsenal behind him. After sitting in the shadows, LSU’s new QB1 might just be stepping into the best setup Brian Kelly’s had in Baton Rouge.

Making Nussmeier’s runway even smoother? LSU’s monster work in the transfer portal. “Nuss [Garrett Nussmeier] is a legit talent, and they did a really good job finally getting serious in the portal to put weapons around him,” said one anonymous SEC coach, and you can feel the excitement bubbling up in Baton Rouge.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg is also buying stock in this 2025 Tigers roster. “Kelly could have his best team as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier stayed, and LSU made a strong transfer portal push. He needs a good start at Clemson, though, after dropping his first three season openers with the Tigers,” Rittenberg wrote.

That opener at Clemson? Yeah, it’s going to be a tone-setter. And until then, the expectations for this LSU squad will keep ping-ponging between “dark horse playoff contender” and “wait and see.” But if Nussmeier delivers—and if those shiny new toys on offense click—this could finally be the year LSU shakes off the slow starts and goes full throttle from Week 1.