re: Phil Steele hates LSU

His preview magazine has always blown

I miss those days.

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What has LSU done to warrant a higher ranking?

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Hired Lane Kiffin and his offensive staff; retained its DC from the prior season; and signed the top transfer class.

That may sound silly, but that is the exact formula Kiffin used to take Ole Miss to the CFP last season. There are no guarantees, of course. But this isn't the first year Kiffin has fielded an SEC roster comprised of many new players from the transfer portal. History shows he can have success with that approach.

Last year's OM team was comprised of these key players. ALL of whom were transfers in their first year at OM

QB - Chambliss
RB - Lacy (leading rusher)
WR - Wallace, Stribling, Alexander (top 3 WRs)

Kiffin has earned the benefit of the doubt. That's why LSU spent a ton to hire him.

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Last year's OM team was comprised of these key players. ALL of whom were transfers in their first year at OM

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It wasn’t Kiffin’s first year at Ole Miss. There are too many unknowns at the moment and wouldn’t be surprised if Steele had some bias against Kiffin like everyone else.

I think 8 wins is the floor and probably finish 9-3.

There's not exactly a lot of high-level analysis going on at on3. I'd ignore it.

Phil Steele doesn't hate LSU. He doesn't think about LSU, or about anything other than his dumb predictions, which are always wrong

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He has ole miss #8 and LSU #21.

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While I disagree, I don't think this is a crazy take. OM has an established top 5 QB in college football and I'm not sure he's not #1. We have a really good QB that is coming off of a foot injury playing in a new system.

OM also has a top 10 RB in college football. Their offense should be legit as most of their guys were recruited by Kiffin. Their defense was never their strength but they should be respectable on that side as well.

LSU has the players on paper but they are all new. Its not crazy to think we might drop some games. Its also not crazy to think we will be very good.

Its not crazy to think OM will be very good in 2026. Long term, I think LSU is in a better position than OM but for 1 year, OM is in solid shape.

Now the reason I think Phil is wrong is because I think OM kind of punched above their weight class last year a bit. They were good but they also got some breaks. Its tough to play above your level 2 seasons in a row. Things tend to fall back to the mean. OM being a playoff caliber team again depends on how good Chambliss really is. Is he Superman? He will need to be for them to get back to the dance.

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OM has an established top 5 QB in college football and I'm not sure he's not #1

OM also has a top 10 RB in college football.

Their offense should be legit as most of their guys were recruited by Kiffin

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Here is the factor you aren't considering. NONE of those guys had that success under a different offensive staff. A staff that is now at LSU. There is a stronger argument to say Kiffin made Chambliss and Lacy great, not the other way around. How can we say that? Because 6 years of history shows Kiffin had great success with other QBs and RBs as well.

Ole Miss was terrible in 2019

Kiffin took over in 2020. IMMEDIATELY Ole Miss had a top 3 scoring offense, No. 1 rushing offense, No. 1 total offense, No. 3 passing offense. In fact, Ole Miss had a top 3 offense every season Kiffin was the HC.

The names changed....the production didn't. Who was the one constant during those 6 years? The guy who will be wearing an LSU visor this year

His opinions made more sense before he got Peyronie's

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Peyronie's

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What does having a bent tool have to do with football prognostications?