During ESPN’s “Get Up” show on Wednesday morning, Paul Finebaum was asked who won the offseason in college football, and his answer was one LSU football fans should be excited to hear.
“Lane Kiffin. How many times do I need to say that?” Finebaum answered. “You mentioned [Sam] Leavitt, that was a major acquisition. He desperately had to have a quarterback.”
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It’s hard to find an individual in the college football world who can be said to “win” more than Kiffin this offseason. He landed the No. 1 open job on the market with LSU and immediately went on a run in the transfer portal, signing 247Sports’ top-ranked class.
As Finebaum mentioned, Kiffin signed the No. 1 quarterback and overall player in the class, Sam Leavitt, but didn’t stop there. He also brought in the top-ranked offensive tackle in the portal, Jordan Seaton, as well as the No. 1 edge rusher, Princewill Umanmielen.
Kiffin did such an excellent job this offseason that Finebaum made what some would consider a surprising prediction for the Tigers’ 2026 season.
“He did so well in the portal,” Finebaum explained. “That could be a problem; he’s got so many new players on that team, but I think even with a difficult schedule, LSU is a CFP team.”
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Finebaum isn’t exactly the first to predict a playoff berth next season, but several media members have been more reserved in their expectations for the Tigers. On3’s Brett McMurphy recently projected that the Tigers will miss out on the CFP, so Finebaum is ahead of the curve to some extent.
It’s good to see one of the titans of the college football media landscape so confident in Kiffin and LSU this early in the offseason. It doesn’t mean things will go the way Finebaum is predicting, but it’s promising to see that sort of confidence early into the offseason.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Paul Finebaum makes bold prediction about LSU football and Lane Kiffin
