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Paul Finebaum believes in LSU breakthrough under Brian Kelly

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp05/14/25
NCAA Football: Louisiana State at Florida
Nov 16, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Heading into the 2025 season, expectations are as high as ever at LSU. Coach Brian Kelly is going into his fourth season in charge and should have things the way he wants them at this point.

Are analysts buying the Tigers? ESPN’s Paul Finebaum certainly is.

“I can and I will. The only issue I have, and it’s a familiar one, it’s the schedule,” Finebaum said on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning radio program. “I mean how can you have a more difficult game than going to Clemson on the opening day? That’s a bigger task even than Texas has, because I don’t think Ohio State is quite what they were a year ago. They’re still a really good team.”

The schedule, though, as Finebaum notes, is absolutely brutal. In addition to that season opener against Clemson, LSU also hosts Florida and travels to Ole Miss in the first month of the season.

Fans should have a pretty good picture of how things are likely to unfold from there. Handle business and LSU is a clear-cut playoff team. Stumble once or twice and things get dicey in a hurry.

The Clemson game can be the tone-setter. That’s a big one.

“But going into that environment, you probably know what time the game starts. I don’t. It is going to be very tricky, and I think that Brian Kelly just has to be prepared in the event they lose that game just to hold on because the schedule is fairly difficult in September,” Finebaum said.

Past that there are road trips to Alabama and Oklahoma, as well as Vanderbilt. Alabama should be a stiff test, and Oklahoma could be as well. Shoot, don’t sleep on Vanderbilt either after 2024.

Still, you can start to see a path to the playoffs with a win or two in a key game. That’s the goal.

“Assuming they can get out of September, I think LSU is really in great shape,” Finebaum said. “I know they have to go to Tuscaloosa late in the year, but I don’t see a lot of losses on that schedule for them. And I think because of the Clemson game, here we go again, we did this with Georgia last year… LSU is one of those should they lose three games I think still is a CFP team.”