LSU Football heads into the 2025 season with sky-high expectations, eyeing its first-ever College Football Playoff (CFP) appearance under head coach Brian Kelly. The Tigers return a solid core of veterans and bolster their roster with a top-tier transfer class and a Top 10 recruiting haul, positioning them as one of the nation’s most intriguing contenders.
One of the voices backing the Tigers is legendary SEC analyst Paul Finebaum, who—despite regularly hosting Brian Kelly on his show—is never shy about voicing criticism. However, this time, Finebaum is fully buying into the LSU hype.
On his Wednesday broadcast, Finebaum doubled down on his bullish stance:
“The hype for LSU Football is not hype, I think it’s real. The question I have is how does Coach Kelly navigate that schedule—it’s daunting.”
— Paul Finebaum
So just how confident is Finebaum? He currently sees LSU as a legitimate College Football Playoff team, placing them in the SEC’s elite group.
“Right now, I would have to think of LSU as a playoff team. It’s crowded. In the SEC, you essentially have Texas, I believe you have Alabama, Georgia, LSU — and who is next?”
— Paul Finebaum
One of the season’s biggest storylines is LSU’s season-opening showdown at Clemson. The Tigers are looking to snap a troubling trend of five straight season-opening losses, and Clemson, fresh off a CFP appearance, brings back nearly every key contributor. Finebaum believes LSU’s Week 1 challenge is even tougher than what Texas faces against defending national champion Ohio State.
“I mean, how can you have a more difficult game than going to Clemson on 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.”
— Paul Finebaum
Despite the high stakes of such an early heavyweight matchup, Finebaum argues it could actually benefit LSU in the long run. In today’s CFP format, early losses—especially against top-tier opponents—can be more easily forgiven.
“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 College Football Playoff team.”
— Paul Finebaum
There’s also the SEC Championship route: even if LSU stumbles early, winning the SEC title game could secure an automatic bid. With both of last season’s SEC Championship participants finishing with two conference losses, the door remains wide open.
In short, Paul Finebaum is all-in on LSU, believing they have the talent, depth, and schedule to make serious noise in 2025. For Brian Kelly, this could be the defining season that cements his legacy in Baton Rouge.
