Paul Finebaum expects LSU to beat Florida State, jokes about how game will end

The biggest game of college football’s first weekend will take place Saturday night with two preseason College Football Playoff contenders LSU and Florida State facing off at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

It is the lone top-10 matchup of Week 1, and one of the most interest early-season matchups of the 2023 season.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum thinks the game will have a similar feel to the matchup last season. Finebaum gave his prediction for the LSU-Florida State game to On3’s Andy Staples on his podcast Tuesday, even finishing off the prediction with a little tongue-in-cheek comment at the end of it.

“I like LSU,” Finebaum said. “Even though I’m exercised over Smith not being in the game, I think LSU should win. I’m troubled every time I look at Florida State’s roster, though, and I see first round picks across the board. It tells me that Mike Norvell has done a really good job down there. But I think it’s similar to last year in terms of the tightness. And what about this: maybe LSU actually makes a kick at the end of the game to win.”

The two teams faced off last year in a game with lesser stakes but ended up being a statement game for both. Expectations for both teams were much lower than they are now.

It was the first game of the Brian Kelly era, and he was expected to have a bumpy first year as the team rebuilt itself after a down two seasons in 2020 and 2021. The Seminoles entered with Norvell on the hot seat after two losing seasons.

The game turned into a memorable after at the Caesars Superdome as Florida State left the Boot with a 24-23 victory. It was the biggest win of Norvell’s tenure with the Seminoles as it alerted the nation that Florida State might have turned the corner.

As for LSU, although the Tigers lost the game, the team’s effort illustrated that it was going to be a team that fought throughout the season. That turned out to be the case and more as LSU made a surprising run to the SEC Championship Game.

Whichever team wins the game this year will see a major boost to its College Football Playoff hopes, while the loser will suffer a major setback. While one loss isn’t the end of the world, the loser and its margin for error will shrink.