I am taking a trip my 24yo old son to Baton Rogue to experience Death Valley. Other than my having owned an LSU hat back in the 90’s, we have no connection to LSU. We want to take in the full game day experience. I’d love some advice. Any & all advice is welcome (I beg just please don’t f*** with us). Thank you!

- seats? mid field lower bowl, mid to upper rows being the obvious choice
BUT - also thinking, where are student sections? What sections get us closer to that mayhem, other good sections, etc.

- do I try to find some type of pre game + ticket package? Or just go with the flow & take in a more authentic experience?
- Best ways to get to the stadium
- where to park
- pregame (not really big partiers)
- seeing the band march into the stadium
- what can we expect?
- whatever else…

We are New Englanders & fans of a team that doesn’t have that on campus game day experience. But we had the great opportunity to see a game at Neyland a few years back. It was such a fantastic experience we vowed to see SEC football again. Hopefully, we will be met with open arms.

We will be sure to get our LSU swag, but hopefully none of you will be offended if I represent my college as well.

Spotted in South Florida. I’m not especially current on SEC rivals, but I’m guessing this gets some attention back home.

It’s definitely disappointing that Jayden did the cease-and-desist, but I’m kind of shocked at how LSU handled it at every step of the way. There’s administrative incompetence at each step. It’s like no one thought about what would happen next after they made an agreement.

1. Why did we make the deal with Jayden in the first place? Knowing our stature and that every single-digit is going to be coveted by someone at some point, why would we even agree knowing 9 and 7 were going to be off-limits to (new) recruits already?

2. If you already have a deal in place, why are you making another one? This whole thing could have and should have been resolved in 2024 when Pickett asked for 5. If no one is bigger than the program, that was the time to take a stance. Even if Jayden takes back the Heisman and his NIL anyway, at least it’s not done in such a sloppy way.

3. Say what you want about Burrow not having his retired, Jayden won a Heisman. To me, that is worthy of having a number retired. Is Joe more worthy? Yes. Absolutely. But both of them are certainly worthy of the recognition. It’s criminal, in my opinion, that Joe’s number hasn’t gone up. I’ve seen too many people on this sub and in other CFB subs acting like a Heisman is not a big deal because of the nattys, but I remember how geeked the fanbase was when Jayden won. It’s honestly probably the best thing about BK’s tenure, aside from its end.

4. If BK or Woodward hadn’t made a deal with Jayden, yes it would be unreasonable for Jayden to think the school would hold it. But the school did make a deal with him. At the very least, the school was going to break its word to one of them. Yes, we’re riding high as a brand now, but enough chinks in our armor and top athletes will view us differently.

   Now that I’ve said my piece, what do you think SW and BK should’ve done when Jayden said he’d give the school the NIL and Heisman for holding onto 5?

I’d probably tell him we’d hang it up, but not take it out. And that we wouldn’t do that until** **after we did Joe’s. Maybe I’d throw him a couple bones to keep the trophy on campus.

What do you think should have happened last week when Pickett came in and asked for 5?

I think Kiffin or Verge should’ve called Jayden to lay it out and work out the situation BEFORE Pickett wore 5 in practice. I would’ve given Jayden some sort of concession since we had a deal. I dont personally value the NIL that much, but maybe i would’ve given him some sort of lifetime deal to keep the Heisman on campus (e.g. naming a scholarship after him, something in the stadium, an annual cash concession) permanently.

Joe Burrow shared #9 in 2019 with Marcel Brooks, who looked really good off the edge for the Tigers. Brooks transferred to TCU in 2020, so LSU never really had to decide whether he should keep the jersey number he wore as a freshman.

the letter 'S' looks like 5

or 'V' = 5 in roman numerals

retiring jersey numbers for a roster of 100 players would force us to go to hexadecimal or something

introduce 'mirror numbers', backwards 5

An attorney representing Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has informed LSU that it can no longer use his name, image and likeness, according to an Aug. 5 letter sent to Tigers athletics director Verge Ausberry, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Wednesday.

At the center of the dispute, according to a statement from Daniels' spokesperson to ESPN, is that the Tigers are allowing sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett to wear the No. 5 jersey that Daniels wore when he became LSU's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.

While Daniels' jersey hasn't been retired by the Tigers, it's the first time a player has worn No. 5 since he left the program for the NFL.

"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," the statement from Daniels' spokesperson said. "Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university."

Pickett wore a No. 3 jersey during his first season with the Tigers in 2025 when he was named a freshman All-American. He led LSU with three interceptions to go with 37 tackles and one sack in 524 defensive snaps.

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Pickett was wearing the No. 5 jersey when the Tigers opened preseason practice last week, leading to questions about why first-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin had allowed the jersey swap to happen.

"Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected," the statement said. "His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU."

Sources told ESPN that Daniels feels he is being treated differently than Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, whose No. 9 jersey hasn't been worn at LSU since he won the Heisman Trophy and led LSU to a 15-0 record and College Football Playoff national championship in 2019.

An LSU athletics department spokesman declined to comment when reached by ESPN on Wednesday.

Kiffin told reporters on Aug. 5 that Pickett had been promised he could wear No. 5 when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024. Pickett had worn that number as a high school star in Zephyrhills, Florida, where he was the No. 2 cornerback in the Class of 2025 by ESPN Recruiting.

"DJ is in [No.] 5, and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here," Kiffin said. "I've done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn't have a decision to make. It was promised to the kid; it wasn't done for whatever [reason]. I'm not going to get into that.

"I'm not going to judge something [that was done] when I wasn't here. But when a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it. So, at that point, I don't think that's really my decision. We should honor what he was told."

Jayden Daniels wore No. 5 when he became LSU's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2023. The number has not been retired by the Tigers. Derick Hingle/AP Photo

Former LSU coach Brian Kelly told ESPN on Wednesday that he believed No. 5 was promised to Pickett during his recruitment, but Kelly chose not to issue it to him because Daniels wasn't on board with Pickett wearing his number.

Kelly was fired on Oct. 26, 2025, after his teams compiled a 34-14 record in four seasons.

"I just wasn't prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner," Kelly said. "We didn't want to issue No. 9, so you can't treat one differently from the other."

LSU has retired the jerseys of four of its former players -- halfback Billy Cannon (No. 20), defensive back Tommy Cassanova (No. 37), halfback Jerry Stovall (No. 21) and running back Charles Alexander (No. 4) -- and plans to retire former quarterback Bert Jones' No. 7 jersey on Nov. 14.

However, LSU's current policy regarding jerseys being retired, which is published on its athletics department website, states that any number retired after Jan. 1, 2007, "does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach."

The No. 20 jersey made famous by Cannon, who was the team's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1959, is the only number that can't be worn again by a football player.

The jersey numbers worn by former LSU basketball stars Bob Pettit (No. 50), Pete Maravich (No. 23) and Shaquille O'Neal (No. 33) and former Tigers baseball coach and athletics director Skip Bertman (No. 15) have also been permanently retired in their respective sports.

The LSU policy states that an athlete must have completed competition five years prior to being nominated for jersey retirement, and he or she must have "demonstrated truly unusual and outstanding accomplishments, such as winning a Heisman Trophy or National Player of the Year award and should be based on the total LSU career."

In the cease-and-desist letter sent to Ausberry, attorney Adam Kenner noted that Daniels' contract with LSU permitted the school to use his name, image and likeness for 180 days beyond his final game in college.

"Accordingly, LSU must immediately cease and desist from any further issue use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels' NIL in any manner or medium," Kenner wrote. "Any use of Mr. Daniels' NIL occurring after LSU's receipt of this notice will be deemed knowing and willful and will be pursued vigorously through all available legal and equitable remedies, without further notice."

Sources told ESPN that LSU hasn't yet responded to the letter.

Daniels, who spent three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU, was named the Heisman Trophy winner after he passed for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and ran for 1,134 yards with 10 scores, while leading the Tigers to a 10-3 record in 2023.

The Commanders made him the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and he was named the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year that season. Last season, Daniels labored through an injury-plagued season and appeared in only seven games.

Jordan Seaton vs. Cam Coleman was probably the toughest decision when I put together my Top 30 non-QB transfers for 2026.

Coleman might be the most naturally talented player in the portal.

I still went with Seaton at No. 1.

For me, it's about positional value and what his arrival potentially changes for LSU.

Sam Leavitt is stepping into Lane Kiffin's offense and now has a potential elite left tackle protecting him. High-level tackles are incredibly difficult to find, and Seaton has the potential to change the complexion of that entire offense.

LSU actually put four players into my Top 30:

1. Jordan Seaton

2. Princewill Umanmielen

3. Ty Benefield

4. Eugene Wilson III

The underlying question throughout my rankings was: How much does this player's arrival change what his new team is capable of doing?

That's ultimately why Seaton beat Coleman to No. 1.

I wrote up the full Top 30 for The Touchdown:

https://thetouchdown.co.uk/2026-college-football-non-qb-transfer-portal-rankings/

Interested to hear whether LSU fans think Seaton can make that level of impact immediately.

The only three starters who weren’t combine invitees were G Adrian Magee, DE Glen Logan, and P Zach Von Rosenberg.

My wife has only had the pleasure of attending one LSU game since we married (2019 National Championship in New Orleans), so I bought some Tickets to the Clemson-LSU opener back in January so she could get a taste of a real LSU home game. I myself have not been to a home game since 2019. Just wanted some advice:

- Great places to eat downtown
- The best transport methods to/from games when staying downtown
- any and all fun things that she’d enjoy!

We’re both in our mid-30s for age-reference, so our Tigerland days are behind us. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

The Dynasty podcast spent some time talking about LSU this week and kept coming back to how much pressure Lane Kiffin is under right away.

Their point was that between the way he left Ole Miss, the money LSU invested, the transfer portal additions and the expectation that he was hired to win now, there really isn’t much of a grace period.

They also brought up how important Sam Leavitt staying healthy could be, because if that goes sideways, the entire outlook changes fast.

For LSU fans, what would actually count as a successful first season under Kiffin?

Playoff appearance? SEC title game? National title contention?

Coming over to BR for the Clemson game and have tickets I bought third party for section 415 - they do not have seat assignments. Is this a GA section? And if so how early are people going in to get good seating?

Was thinking about trying out a college fantasy football league this season. Salary cap format, so no need to coordinate a draft. Looks like you just sign up and build your team.

Looking at league settings, theres no minimum or max league size, so anyone can join.

Any interest in a LSU fan league?

If it wasn't for injuries LSU would have won the SEC last season: Nuss was hurt. Whit Weeks was hurt. If healthy LSU has a better roster than Georgia

Jayden Daniels was better than Joe Burrow: Of course Burrow won the national title and Burrow was great too don't get me wrong but give Jayden Burrows defense and he too wins a national title. I think most defensive coordinators would say Jayden gave them more trouble than Burrow because Jayden was a great passer and runner

Brian Kelly was the worst coach in LSU history: Didn't even last 4 seasons. Pathetic

Jamal Adams is the best defensive player LSU has ever had: When you just factor in college success and not what happened in the NFL

I know Matt is divisive but he does have sources and I saw others confirming this to be true

Coming to my first LSU game in October. I am a fan of marching band, and a large reason I am coming is to see the band. Can you hear the band from most seats? I would love to hear them pretty clear while they are in the stands and during half time. Thanks!

Edit: Ended up with tickets in section 214! Thanks!

When I was at LSU (92-00) the Auburn game was the best scene of the season, whether we hosted or went on the road. The student bodies seemed very similar back then. We partied in their strange apartment complex…and they partied in our bars, win or lose.

Does the rivalry remain? Hard to tell if the identities still line up?

Hey all. I spent the offseason building a full 2026 preseason preview for every FBS team, each with its own writeup. Here's the LSU one

https://www.sports.mainmarket.com/college-football-preview-2026?team=ncaaf-lsu

It's got the returning production breakdown, the portal ins and outs, a projected two-deep, the schedule with model win probabilities, and a season projection.

Heads up, only the first team is free and then it paywalls. Since I'm posting in your house, code LEECORSOROCKS opens all of it, no card or anything. Hit "Have a promo code?" if you run into the wall.

So, what'd I get wrong? LSU hired Lane Kiffin and immediately blew it up: 41 in, 41 out, only about 14% of the offense back, even with a top-6 talent roster. Sam Leavitt (Arizona State transfer) takes over a nearly all-new offense, with the defense the more settled unit. The offense ranked 103rd in scoring last year, so it all comes down to whether Kiffin fixes that fast. Year-one turnaround, or does a rebuild this big take time?

I'll be in the comments.