Kirk Herbstreit Likes This SEC Team To Bounce Back In 2021
Kirk Herbstreit, one of the nation’s premier college football analysts, recently picked the LSU Tigers as his potential SEC sleeper team. Herbie should have called the Tigers a ‘bounce-back’ team, given the absolute ridiculous talent in Baton Rouge year in and year out. It’s difficult to 'sleep' on perennial top-10 recruiting talent and a steady stream of NFL draftees each spring.
Ultimately, though, Herbie commenting on the outlandishness of the Tigers’ 2020 campaign, in which they finished 5-5 on the heels of an overpowering national championship. Last year’s team often looked overmatched and out-coached, and their five wins is likely a testament to their raw athleticism more than anything.
After an offseason in which the coaching staff was heavily retooled, Herbstreit thinks that LSU is primed to hit the ground running.
“This is a team that not only had a bad year, they were embarrassed,” Herbstreit said. “They were humiliated a year ago. I got to believe there’s too much pride on that roster for LSU to go through what they went through last year. They open up with UCLA, and if there’s ever a team that needs a win to kind of recalibrate and get their confidence established in 2021 it’s LSU and Coach O. And that will not be an easy game against Chip Kelly. I think the Bruins are much better, and that’s not a slam dunk if you’re an LSU fan.”
Herbstreit specifically mentioned Derek Stingley, Jr., the third-year cornerback who was the most decorated freshman in LSU program history in 2019, as an example of elite talent that should lead the team back to its winning ways.
Vegas seems to be lukewarm on the Tigers, having set their win total at a respectable but underwhelming (8) games. FanDuel Sportsbook is giving (+1600) odds for LSU to win the SEC West. As always, the Tigers have the talent on the roster to compete for national championships, but how they come together as a team, especially in the SEC gauntlet, is anyone’s guess. If you want to ride with Herbie, the numbers certainly seem soft at the moment.
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