EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the seventh in the series previewing the 2018 football season.
2018 could be a great years for LSU or if the experts are correct – the Tigers could 3-3 when the Georgia Bulldogs visit on Oct. 13.
Georgia is predicted to be undefeated heading to Tiger Stadium with wins over Austin Peay, South Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
The No. 4 Bulldogs should face a tough challenge from LSU.
Georgia fell to Alabama in overtime in the national championship game and will be the best team in the SEC East again this season.
The Bulldogs will be without running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel but will still have quarterback Jake Fromm.
Fromm threw for 2,615 yards as a freshman with 24 touchdowns.
D’Andre Swift will now be the feature back after gaining 618 yards as a freshman.
Riley Ridley and Terry Goodwin will be Fromm’s go to targets at wide receiver.
The strength of the Bulldog defense will be the line but the linebackers and secondary will be matured by the LSU game.
New Mexico State has left the Sun Belt Conference but is still on Louisiana Lafayette’s schedule.
The Aggies finished 7-6 last season including a 26-20 overtime victory over Utah State in the Arizona Bowl.
I am not sure how Liberty is on the Aggies schedule twice this season but that could help them reach six wins again the season.
UL is favored in only four games this season and New Mexico State is not one the Cajuns are expected to win.
But the Aggies graduated its three best offensive players including quarterback Tyler Rogers, running back Larry Rose and wide receiver Jaleel Scott.
Cajun fans will know a lot about Billy Napier’s team by October but at best UL would be 3-2 at that point after road losses to Mississippi State and Alabama.
If the Cajuns can defeat Grambling, Coastal Carolina and Texas State – then there is hope for a decent season.
Other games to follow that weekend include UL Monroe at Coastal Carolina, Texas El Paso at Louisiana Tech, Houston Baptist at Southeastern, Sam Houston State at Northwestern, Grambling at Texas Southern and Southern at Prairie View.
A lot will be known about the state teams by the middle of October –good or bad.