LSU Has Earned a Place In The College Football National Championship Discussion

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Louisiana can be an apprehensive place during the months leading up to the start of the college football season. There is an anxiousness in the air, which is compounded by extreme heat and constant 90-percent-plus humidity.

I know. I grew up there. I can remember listening to my dad talk about LSU football with friends.

"I think the Tigers will look good this season. We'll be close to the SEC championship game for sure this year," he would say. But his tone relayed doubt. Coach Gerry DiNardo was at the helm, after all.

While the Tigers improved under DiNardo (LSU had six straight losing seasons before DiNardo took over in 1994), LSU was never close to competing for a national championship. DiNardo's Tigers went 33-23-1.

Two BCS championships and top-10 recruiting classes have changed things. There is still a nervous anticipation for the first football kickoff. My dad still talks about the Tigers' chances. Only now he believes they can win it all.

LSU isn't a popular national, or SEC, champion pick for 2009. Tim Tebow's return makes Florida the consensus favorite to win the SEC (which almost guarantees a spot in the BCS title game).

The Tigers struggled last season; their 8-5 finish would be satisfactory in the 90's, but fans grow accustomed to BCS wins quickly. Here are the first three reasons LSU should be in the national-title discussion.

Schedule

The Tigers play Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas at home. While home field doesn't win games by itself (see Georgia and Alabama in 2008), Tiger Stadium is a tough place to play. LSU hasn’t lost to Auburn at home since 1999. The Tigers lost to Arkansas in Baton Rouge in 2007, LSU’s first home loss to the Razorbacks since 1992.

LSU played Florida at home in both national championship seasons. The Tigers lost to Florida (only loss of the season) in 2003, and won 28-24 in 2007.

LSU's toughest road games will be Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama. Strangely, the Tigers play better against the Tide when the game is played in Alabama (LSU has not lost in Tuscaloosa since 1999). 

Ole Miss will be tougher this season, the Rebels second under Houston Nutt, but LSU has won the last four meetings in Oxford. Georgia embarrassed LSU 52-38 at Tiger Stadium last year, so the Tigers will have extra motivation to play well in Athens this season.

John Chavis

LSU's defense struggled last season. The Tigers gave up 24.2 points a game (ninth in the SEC) and 325.5 total yards a game. Those numbers were up from the previous season, when the Tigers held opponents to an average of 19.9 points and 288.8 yards.

The defensive problems can be attributed to the loss of Bo Pelini, LSU's defensive coordination from 2005-07, or the loss of players to the NFL (nine players from 2006-08).

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