What it will take for LSU to win the SEC West in 2023

LSU certainly has a chance to win the SEC West once again in 2023, but the Tigers have to get through the likes of Alabama, which is certainly thinking about getting back to the top.

Brian Kelly, in Year 1, took the Tigers to the SEC Championship Game, but fell short to Georgia. However, it was quite the ride.

So can they do it again? Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon joined J.D. PicKell on the On3 Roundtable to discuss.

“I think one, they had to find a little bit more depth,” Dixon said. “And Brian Kelly’s done that through recruiting high school guys a year ago, they recruited and signed I think around 15 high school guys. They hit over 25 this year, but also staying active in the portal.

“This is a team that was gutted really when he took over and he went heavy in the portal a year ago, heavy in the portal again this year. I think you can make the case J.D. that the two teams that maybe hit the portal the hardest were FSU and LSU. And they open once again the season together, this time in Orlando.” 

Both Florida State and LSU were different a year ago but both have big expectations in 2023.

“I think that when you look at that game a year ago when LSU lost the game, it sort of put them out of sight, out of mind until suddenly they came back in November,” Dixon said. “Had a good record, beat Alabama to secure the West and obviously had to win a couple games after that. I think this year they really need to get off on the right foot. That means beating FSU in Week 1 and it’s a tall task.

That’s two top 10 teams we’re talking about. But if they do that, they can work themselves through a bit of the non-conference schedule, through the Mississippi States, the Auburn‘s of the world and then get themselves back to November, maybe on even more level footing than they did a year ago when they face Bama.”

However, if LSU is going to win the West again, it all goes through Alabama, according to Dixon.

“I think (Alabama) will be again that top team in the SEC West for them to battle with,” Dixon said. “Again Texas A&M looms large at the end of the year, but by then they were just so shallow on depth. So I think it’s depth and Brian Kelly has said it too.

“It’s the Achilles heel if anything ends up biting this LSU team. It’s that guys got injured or they didn’t have enough horses down the stretch to reach that full 12-game potential that they’re building towards.”