With Les Miles' LSU Tigers fielding yet another uber talented and strong team, expectations are high for this year's Bayou Bengals. Coming off a somewhat disappointing three-game skid that saw the Tigers fall from number two in the country to outside the top 10 at 9-3, Leonard Fournette and the rest of the team will have high aspirations with a College Football Playoff spot in the distance. 

2015 Season

After starting out 2015 on fire and coming into the annual early November grudge match against Alabama ranked number two in the country, a spot in the College Football Playoff looked very likely for the LSU Tigers. But after a crushing 30-16 loss to the Crimson Tide, things went from bad to worse for Les Miles' team, with losses to SEC West foes Arkansas and Ole Miss clouding the team's head coach's future. Miles' job was saved in the regular season finale against Texas A&M, but with such high expectations for the Tigers coming into November, many fans in Baton Rouge saw 2015 as a major disappointment. 

Leonard Fournette and LSU walk off the field after their 30-16 loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa/Getty Images
Leonard Fournette and LSU walk off the field after their 30-16 loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa/Getty Images

Despite finishing the season on a high with a blowout 56-27 Texas Bowl win over Texas Tech, Miles and LSU will be looking for a much better time around in 2016 with expectations sky high as usual with the nation's best running back leading the charge for the Bayou Bengals in 2016. 

2016 Schedule

In one of the marquee opening weekend matchups, LSU will venture up to historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to face the Wisconsin Badgers, the team they beat in the 2014 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff Game. After the September 3rd matchup against Wisconsin, LSU plays their home opener in Baton Rouge, with 102,321 Tiger faithful set to support their Bayou Bengals against Jacksonville State. In their first SEC game of 2016, LSU hosts Mississipi State, a team coming off a very successful 2015 campaign lead by quarterback Dak Prescott

After a two-game home stretch, LSU travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama to face off against another SEC West team in the Auburn Tigers on September 28 to round out their September schedule. In October on the first, the Tigers play the newest team in the SEC, Missouri, for the first time, with LSU hosting the Missouri Tigers on homecoming weekend. Les Miles' squad then travels to Gainsville to face off against bitter rival Florida, with Ben Hill Griffin Stadium posing the biggest challenge to LSU early on in their 2016 season. 

Leonard Fournette runs the ball against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa/Getty Images
Leonard Fournette runs the ball against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa/Getty Images

The Bayou Bengals then hosts two straight teams from Mississippi, with the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss and the Rebels of Ole Miss coming to Tiger Stadium here in Baton Rouge. A bye week then comes before the Tigers' biggest game of the season, the annual SEC West smackdown between LSU and bitter rival Alabama. The Crimson Tide come to raucous Baton Rouge this year, and with junior running back Leonard Fournette leading an incredibly strong team this year, the Tigers definitely have a good chance to knock off their number one rivals this time around. 

Finally, the season wraps up with bouts against rival Arkansas in Fayetteville this year, before an easy game versus South Alabama all culminating in the regular season finale in College Station against the Aggies of Texas A&M. 

LSU Football lifts the Golden Boot after defeating Arkansas at Tiger Stadium in 2013/Getty Images
LSU Football lifts the Golden Boot after defeating Arkansas at Tiger Stadium in 2013/Getty Images

What to expect from LSU in 2016?

With LSU fielding another very strong and talented team loaded with top-tier juniors and seniors, expectations are very high, and rightfully so, for the LSU Tigers. The Tigers have one of the tougher schedules in the nation by nature of being in the SEC, but if they remain healthy and on-course, a College Football Playoff birth could be near.

Les Miles' team should defeat Wisconsin with relative ease in their opening game of the season, and with Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Missouri all far less talented than the 2003 and 2007 national champions, the Tigers should get out to a solid 5-0 record early on. From there on though nothing will be easy, with the Tigers going to Florida to face off against the Gators, a game that could go either way realistically. Assuming that LSU's greater talent flat-out out plays Jim McElwain's team, the Tigers should be out to a 6-0 record heading into mid-October. 

Malachi Dupre catches a touchdown vs. Florida at Tiger Stadium in 2015/Getty Images
Malachi Dupre catches a touchdown vs. Florida at Tiger Stadium in 2015/Getty Images

An easy game against Southern Miss should leave the Tigers at 7-0 and in good stead going into a big game against Sugar Bowl champions Ole Miss. After another tough loss to the Rebels last year at Vaught-Hemingway, the Bayou Bengals should be motivated to take revenge for their late November loss last year. 

After a bye week, the game that a whole year's success is based upon comes up, with the reigning national champions Alabama Crimson Tide rolling into Baton Rouge for what is sure to be another slugfest in the Bayou. Unlike last year when Alabama featured a team full of experience and talent, this year's team is far less experienced, and with LSU's vast talent and many returning seniors, the Tigers should have the upper hand over the Tide as of now. 

The Bayou Bengals wrap up their season with games against Arkansas, South Alabama, and Texas A&M, and aside from the Razorbacks, the Tigers should have a fairly routine end to their season to help make their case for a College Football Playoff selection. 

Brandon Harris throws against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa in 2015/Getty Images
Brandon Harris throws against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa in 2015/Getty Images

With LSU having such a strong and veteran team coming into 2016, a College Football Playoff selection should be a very realistic target for the Tigers. An SEC Championship is very much in sight for them, and with that, a spot in the semifinals of the playoff becomes a very close reality. 

Les Miles' team most likely will finish 11-1 with maybe one blip from Alabama, Florida, or Ole Miss, and despite that potential one loss, a spot in the semifinals at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is a realistic target for LSU. Expect the Tigers to win their semifinal and come up just one game short of the national title falling in the third ever College Football Playoff National Championship to last year's runner-up Clemson

Predictions:

Record: 11-1 (7-1)

Conference: SEC Champions 

Bowl: College Football Playoff Semifinal- Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (win), College Football Playoff National Championship (lose). 

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About the author
Thomas Cluck
Thomas Cluck is an avid tennis fan who loves to share his passion for the sport through writing. Thomas is from Dallas, TX, and is an tennis agent and PR person. Thomas has been watching tennis for many years and covers the sport daily on his Instagram page @atpwta_tennis.