Lane Kiffin, LSU receive bold prediction from ESPN analyst

LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lane Kiffin, LSU receive bold prediction from ESPN analyst

By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Aug 21, 2026 12:43 PM ET

Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers might just be the talk of college football entering the 2026 season.

Kiffin left Ole Miss right before the College Football Playoff to take the job in Baton Rouge in one of the more controversial moves in recent history.

However, all Kiffin did was hit home run after home run in the transfer portal, and there are a lot of reasons why the Tigers should be viewed as an SEC contender and College Football Playoff team in 2026.

Ahead of Week 1, former LSU star Marcus Spears, an analyst for ESPN, had a bold prediction, saying LSU could go undefeated if they defeat Ole Miss in Week 3 in Oxford.

Marcus Spears has the LSU Tigers going UNDEFEATED pic.twitter.com/tqiWkJTBGC
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 21, 2026

Now, Spears did say he was being a "little facetious" when it came to predicting a perfect regular season.

On the other hand, his point was this: If LSU beats Ole Miss in Oxford in Week 3, with everything that game means for both sides, that should be a statement for the rest of the season.

One week after that, LSU faces Texas A&M, which will be a tough showdown.

Can LSU finish the season undefeated?

LSU has a pretty easy schedule in October after two straight weeks against Ole Miss and Texas A&M. In October, the Tigers face McNeese, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Auburn before a Week 9 bye.

November is absolutely brutal with showdowns against Alabama, Texas and Tennessee (at Rocky Top) before concluding the regular season at Arkansas.

Truth be told, anything is possible in college football, and LSU's roster is one of the best in the country, at least on paper.

So, only time will tell if Spears' prediction is anywhere close to being correct.

Matt Wadleigh

Matt Wadleigh is based in California and born and raised in the San Diego area. He studied print journalism at Fresno State for college and got to watch Paul George, Derek Carr and Davante Adams play in a Bulldogs uniform. His work has been featured at ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Sporting News, and various USA Today sites, including UCLA Wire, where he was the first managing editor

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