College Football

2025 LSU Football Predictions: Tigers Ranked 8th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:06 p.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

Who do I think is good?
Why do I think they're good?
What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where LSU lands in my Ultimate 136.

LSU Tigers ranking: 8
Last year’s ranking: 7
Top player: QB Garrett Nussmeier: Finished fifth in FBS in passing yards last season with 4,052; finished tied for eighth in pass TDs with 29.

[LSU's 2025 schedule]

RJ's take: LSU was active in the transfer portal and in retention of its roster. Not only does Tigers coach Brian Kelly get Nussmeier and LB Harold Perkins back for 2025, RB Caden Durham emerged as the bell cow back with 753 yards and ought to be a 1,000-yard back. He also added nine top 100 transfers, including former Florida State EDGE Patrick Payton, Kentucky WR Barion Brown and Oklahoma WR Nic Anderson.

Nussmeier ought to feel good with a 4,00-yard passing season behind him and reinforcements on the perimeter.

But 9-4 ain't gonna cut it for Kelly in 2025. The roster was bought and paid for to go CFP hunting, and no one will feel that more than him. Apart from their opener against Clemson, LSU ought to be favored in every game it plays.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

LSU Win Total Odds: Over 8.5 (-142) Under 8.5 (+116)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.