Lane Kiffin Blames SEC Schedule for LSU's Struggles
LSU's head coach cites the expanded conference schedule and its impact on team depth and injury as reasons for potential disappointment.
Lane Kiffin, head coach of LSU's football team, is preemptively addressing concerns about the Tigers' performance this season by attributing potential struggles to the SEC's new nine-game conference schedule. Kiffin argues that the expanded schedule inherently leads to more losses across the conference and impacts team depth due to injuries and player transfers.
LSU has already experienced a mixed season, with a dominant opening win against Clemson followed by losses to Kentucky and Ole Miss. The Tigers face a challenging remaining schedule, including games against Auburn, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Kiffin suggested that the nine-game SEC schedule is mathematically guaranteed to result in additional losses for conference teams.
"You're ... just seeing teams with more losses, more beat up," Kiffin stated in a news conference. "And there's so much into it more than just the losses. You know, it's at a time when because of it, I'm not complaining, I'm saying what it is, because of the [transfer] portal that you can leave every year and NIL, you see players going from teams for more money, and they go to another team in conference. And that's fine, it is what it is, but at the same time that you see that, that it's so hard for teams to build depth after their top players ... don't add more conference games. Because now you've got what you got."
Kiffin's comments contrast with the typical arguments made when the SEC previously benefited from an eight-game conference schedule, which was seen as an advantage for ranking and perceived strength. He expressed that there are no positives to the nine-game schedule.
Metrics such as ESPN's SP+ rankings, which assess team efficiency, show the Big Ten with more teams in the top 30 than the SEC this season. Despite this, the SEC has seen five teams with two losses ranked, with no other conference having a ranked team with a similar record. Kiffin's remarks suggest a critical view of the scheduling changes and their impact on competitive balance and player welfare within the conference.