Brian Kelly spent four seasons at LSU before his tenure ended in 2025, with Lane Kiffin replacing him. As Kiffin will debut as the Tigers’ head coach in the 2026 season, Kelly’s prediction about LSU’s upcoming season drew some reactions from the college football community.
Brian Kelly’s Prediction for Lane Kiffin’s LSU Has College Football Fans Talking
Kelly left Notre Dame to take over at LSU, hoping to build another successful chapter in his coaching career. While Marcus Freeman has now continued to make the Irish a strong program, Kelly’s time in Baton Rouge ultimately fell short of expectations. LSU fired him after the Tigers opened the 2025 season with a 5-3 record.
Advertisement
The 2026 season will mark a major change for Kelly, as he will not be on the sidelines wearing a headset for the first time since beginning his coaching career in 1983. Kelly has now moved into the broadcast booth, joining CBS Sports as a college football analyst for the upcoming season.
As part of his new role, Kelly offered his game-by-game predictions for Lane Kiffin’s LSU squad, projecting the Tigers to finish the regular season 10-2. If that prediction comes true, LSU would record its first 10-win regular season since the 2019 national championship season.
Meanwhile, Kelly’s assessment generated plenty of reaction from college football fans.
“This feels like an Eighth Amendment violation,” one said.
“This is cringe,” a person said.
Advertisement
‘CBS College Football and Brian Kelly are a perfect pairing. Both were once proud fixtures in the sport, but now they’re irrelevant. Time to mute them both,” another wrote.
“That’s crazy they made this man do this,” one said.
In Kelly’s projection, LSU starts the season with a win over Clemson. He also expects the Tigers to come out on top in big games against Texas A&M and Alabama. However, he believes LSU could stumble against Kiffin’s former team, Ole Miss, due to the potential impact of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Kelly also predicted LSU to lose to Steve Sarkisian’s Texas in November. He also acknowledges that he views the Tigers’ defense as stronger than their offense, but remains confident in what Kiffin and new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis can accomplish.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, fans have a range of reactions to Kelly’s overall prediction.
“Interesting because the last time Alabama played in Tiger Stadium was against Brian Kelly’s LSU, and we went 42-13 so it can’t be that crazy difficult, Mr. Kelly,” one said.
“I agree with the Ole Miss game. It’s a very big toss up of which QB comes out and plays but it’s also going to be a big defense of battle. I think it’s going to be low scoring and whoever has the ball last wins that game,” a person said.
Kelly’s LSU tenure was far from a complete failure, finishing his four-year run in Baton Rouge with a 34-14 record and leading the Tigers to the SEC Championship Game during his first season in 2022. However, LSU expects consistent contention for major postseason success and ultimately a national championship, something Kelly was unable to deliver.
Advertisement
LSU is hoping Kiffin can become the coach who takes the Tigers to that next level. According to PFN, LSU currently has a 31.3% chance of reaching the College Football Playoff during the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
