LSU football predicted to miss College Football Playoff in 2026

[ASFN Admin]

On3’s Brett McMurphy released his prediction for the 2026 college football season on Tuesday, offering several intriguing opinions on how the year will unfold. Chief among them was McMurphy’s projection for LSU football's season, which he expects to end without a College Football Playoff berth.

Instead, McMurphy has LSU in the Citrus Bowl, facing Penn State. This result for the season is at least better than the Texas Bowl, where LSU ended up in three of the last five seasons, but it would still be a disappointing end to the year. The Tigers invested heavily in Lane Kiffin’s new squad this offseason, and as is always the case in Baton Rouge, reaching the postseason is the bare minimum expectation.

In all fairness, it’s only February, and much can change before September rolls around. LSU looks like a powerhouse heading into 2026, but the offense has been built almost entirely through the transfer portal. If that unit can’t get on the same page early — the Tigers face Clemson, Ole Miss and Texas A&M in the first four weeks of the season — they may not be able to claw their way into the playoff conversation.

That’s obviously not the hope, however. LSU brought in Lane Kiffin for a reason, and getting his offense to gel this offseason is only the beginning of the expectations for the Tigers’ new head coach. Blake Baker’s defense should be a similarly good unit to what it was in 2025, and if that’s the case, Kiffin and his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr., will need to hold up their end of things.

LSU football schedule​

LSU FOOTBALL​

2026 Season Schedule

Sat, Sep 5
HOME
vs Clemson
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Sep 12
HOME
vs Louisiana Tech
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Sep 19
AWAY
@ Ole Miss
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
Oxford, Miss.
Sat, Sep 26
HOME
vs Texas A&M
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Oct 3
HOME
vs McNeese
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Oct 10
AWAY
@ Kentucky
Kroger Field
Lexington, Ky.
Sat, Oct 17
HOME
vs Mississippi State
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Oct 24
AWAY
@ Auburn
Jordan-Hare Stadium
Auburn, Ala.
Sat, Nov 7
HOME
vs Alabama
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Nov 14
HOME
vs Texas
Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Sat, Nov 21
AWAY
@ Tennessee
Neyland Stadium
Knoxville, Tenn.
Sat, Nov 28
AWAY
@ Arkansas
Reynolds Razorback Stadium
Fayetteville, Ark.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football predicted to miss College Football Playoff in 2026

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