And The Valley Shook Staff Record Predictions

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Week 1 for the Fighting Tigers of LSU has finally arrived. After a long, drama-filled offseason, the anxiety surrounding all of the potential of this staff and roster is finally about to be put on full display. After months of speculating about what each player will be or should be based on what they were before and who is now coaching them, we’ll finally get our first look this Saturday against Clemson.

Even at this moment, we still don’t know what kind of team LSU will be by the end of the season, but some of the staff members at And The Valley Shook and I are going to provide you with our record predictions for the 2026 season.

Zach Nunez has the Tigers at 10-2 with losses to Auburn and Texas. Very intriguing picks from Zach, and I almost wanted to choose those two myself. Even with the two losses, the ten wins should be enough for LSU to be in the college football playoff.

Matt Miguez has the Tigers at 10-2, with losses to Ole Miss and Texas. As an LSU fan, seeing Ole Miss and Texas as the two losses hurts my heart, but at 10-2, this should still be enough to get the Tigers into the playoffs.

David Billiot has the Tigers at 10-2 as well. David believes LSU will lose to Auburn and Texas. These are both very reasonable losses, and I will dive into both of those games later. Still, at 10-2, LSU makes it into the playoffs and should be a host for a playoff game in Baton Rouge.

Our managing editor, Tina Howell, has the Tigers at a respectable 9-3. Tina believes LSU will lose to Ole Miss, Auburn, and Texas. Talk about a soul-crushing record prediction. Nine wins in Lane Kiffin’s first season is still a very good result for a first-year head coach, but this is, as Kiffin himself says, “just different.”

The investment in this roster and staff has led to the expectation that this team should at least make the playoffs. Missing the playoff is one thing; losing to those three teams is another. The only thing worse might be replacing the Auburn loss with a loss to Texas A&M. I feel like all LSU fans would agree that they don’t want to see the Tigers finish with three losses, especially if they come against those three teams.

My record prediction for LSU is 10-2 as well. The two losses I could see LSU having would be Auburn and Tennessee.

The Auburn game is the most intriguing game on the schedule if LSU is undefeated through October. LSU would be coming off games against Clemson, Ole Miss on the road, Texas A&M, Kentucky on the road, and a Mississippi State team that should have a pretty good defense. Not to mention, the Auburn game will be LSU’s eighth consecutive game without a bye week.

It’s also on the road at Jordan-Hare Stadium, where things can get very strange. On top of that, kickoff is at 11:30 a.m. A game starting at 11:30 in the morning will be outside the norm for LSU because the entire game-day routine will have to be moved up by a significant amount of time. That means something.

The Tennessee game presents almost the same type of scenario. Neyland Stadium is one of the toughest places to play at any time of the day. LSU will be coming off back-to-back games against Alabama and Texas, which could potentially be the two most physically taxing games of the season, and then will have to go on the road to Neyland. That alone makes this an uphill battle.

Then there’s the added intensity of LSU going back to Knoxville with Lane Kiffin as its head coach. That fan base always looks forward to welcoming Kiffin back to Knoxville in the only way they know how.

Even with those two losses, I still believe LSU will have marquee wins against opponents that are ranked at the time they play and will find itself as one of the highest-ranked two-loss teams in the country. I don’t think LSU will get a first-round bye, but I do think the Tigers will get a home playoff game in Death Valley.

Baton Rouge has seen a lot of things, but I can only imagine just how intense a playoff game in Death Valley would be. It would be the perfect representation of what home-field advantage is supposed to mean in the College Football Playoff.

This will certainly be a fun and entertaining season to watch for LSU.

What do you think the Tigers’ final record will be? And if they lose, who do you think they’ll lose to?

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