Why LSU Has Become College Football's New Measuring Stick

LSU has gotten more talk this offseason than it did during some seasons over the last decade, and now everyone wants to be the popular kids.

The Tigers added new head coach Lane Kiffin, a large load of transfers and many other assistants to try and get LSU back to becoming national champions. In all this work, LSU has become somewhat of a model for how to build a powerful football program, both on the field and in management.

Less than a year removed from a 7-6 season that saw LSU field one of its worst offenses in this century and its coach, Brian Kelly, get fired, LSU now has the attention again and has decent odds of making the College Football Playoff in 2026.

Take what you want

Lane Kiffin talks to Mansoor Delane in a 2025 game | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LSU has totally turned around its program in the last eight months because it outlined what it want and went out and got it. LSU promoted Verge Ausberry to the athletic director role in October, and he went out and got LSU's No. 1 head coach target in Kiffin.

And then in turn, Kiffin brought some of his smartest assistant coaches at Ole Miss with him to LSU while keeping elite coaches Blake Baker and Corey Raymond, the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach respectively.

Kiffin's ability to build an elite staff out of the best coaches from LSU and Ole Miss in 2025 was a unique occurance that not every coach or school can attain. Maybe Kelly was right when he said LSU was spoiled, because the money and the brand keep the elite talent in Baton Rouge.

Transfer portal dominance

Sam Leavitt reacts after a play against Texas in the 2025 Peach Bowl | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

In the same essence as with the coaching staff, Kiffin and Co. went out and got some of the best talent in the transfer portal, including the No. 1 and No. 3 players in the portal cycle, quarterback Sam Leavitt and left tackle Jordan Seaton.

The Tigers also added elite safety Ty Benefield from Boise State and edge Princewill Umanmielen from Ole Miss. These are just four of the highlights from a transfer portal class that led to a $40 million roster. Not every school has the resources to field a roster like that, so LSU has set the bar high.

LSU was far and away the biggest winners in the transfer portal. According to 247Sports, LSU's class was rated with 81 points, which measure the team's transfer class strength. No team was within 20 points.

It's somehow not over

LSU celebrates a play against South Carolina in 2025 | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 2027 class is Lane Kiffin's first full recruiting cycle, and LSU currently has the 16th ranked class, but many of its top recruits are arguably rated lower than they should be.

Five-star edge KJ Green, five-star tight end Ahmad Hudson and four-star quarterback Peyton "Pop" Houston highlight the class that stands at 16 members, with 12 of them being added since the start of June.

Kiffin and his staff have been on a heater with high school recruits, even though they gets some of their brightest stars from the portal.

LSU gets the best of it all and somehow always looks like it has more to spend.

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