2021 LSU Football New Year's Resolutions

The last year brought many setbacks on the LSU program following its fourth national championship win. But now that the page has turned to a new year, there are plenty of areas that the team hopes will be radically improved in the months to come.

While many decisions still have to be made in terms of roster management and coaching hires, here are a few New Year's resolutions LSU should have entering a critical bounce back year.

Get the Defense Steered in the Right Direction

This should be first and foremost the biggest goal for the program heading into the offseason and step one will be finding the right fit at defensive coordinator. The Tigers fell well short of expectations in 2020, ranking 124th out of 127 in total defense and consistently being beat with plays down the field and busted coverages.

It's unlikely the team diverts away from the 4-3 after just one failed season but the key for Ed Orgeron will be finding a coach who not only knows when to dial up the pressure but be someone the talented players on the roster can relate to. Towards the end of the season, the Tigers certainly showed strides, forcing Florida and Ole Miss into a combined nine turnovers, which is a big emphasis in the 4-3.

Now it's about cleaning up the mistakes that beat yourself. Finding a coach who can teach that discipline needed to not give up those explosive plays is a good start. The next part will be about the development of some of the young stars on this defense, Elias Ricks, BJ Ojulari, Derek Stingley, Jaquelin Roy and Jordan Toles to name a few.

Fans would welcome an improved defense in 2021 and the good news is it'll be harder to get much worse than what just transpired in 2020.

Find Consistency in the Running Attack

This was one of the biggest head scratchers of the 2020 season because there are some talented backs on this roster. John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price both showed flashes of the players they could become but neither one was able to consistently get it done week in and week out.

In the 55-24 win over South Carolina, the duo rushed for a combined 223 yards, by far the best outing of the season. But then there were games like Texas A&M, Auburn and Missouri where the run game couldn't get anything going. All three ended in losses.

It's unfair to pin the inconsistency entirely on Emery and Davis-Price. One of the biggest problems this team had in 2020 was the offensive line not getting much push up front.

But if an offseason of development can help get the offensive line back on track, it should do wonders for the running backs. If one or both of Davis-Price and Emery can take major strides in dissecting and hitting the running lanes, LSU's offense becomes all the more potent in 2021.

Keep in mind, the backfield does get crowded with freshmen Armoni Goodwin and Corey Kiner coming to town looking to bite into the rushing attempts.

Get Back to a New Year's Six Bowl

Heading into the 2020 season, being the succession of a national championship season was always going to be a tough act to follow. But the Tigers fell well short of expectations and need to prove that they're program is one that can have sustained success.

That doesn't mean winning a championship once every 15 years and falling back into mediocrity. If you want to be a program like Alabama or Clemson or Ohio State or even an Oklahoma, you must follow up great years with good years. What all of those programs have in common is that typically if they're not in the College Football Playoff, they're playing in a New Year's Six Bowl.

Those are the kinds of goals LSU needs to set for itself if it hopes to reach that level. It was accomplished for two straight seasons by winning the Fiesta Bowl in 2018 and then the championship run the year after. But when's the last time the Crimson Tide, Buckeyes or Clemson Tigers weren't playing on New Year's Day?

Getting back to a meaningful bowl game would be a great New Year's resolution for this program to strive for this offseason and that all starts with immense improvement on the field in 2021.