CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2024 LSU

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Brian Kelly.

Schedule and results

LSU in 2024, game by game: lost vs. No. 23 USC 20–27; won vs. Nicholls 44–21; won at South Carolina 36–33; won vs. UCLA 34–17; won vs. South Alabama 42–10; won vs. No. 9 Ole Miss 29–26; won at Arkansas 34–10; lost at No. 14 Texas A&M 23–38; lost vs. No. 11 Alabama 13–42; lost at Florida 16–27; won vs. Vanderbilt 24–17; won vs. Oklahoma 37–17; won vs. Baylor 44–31+32−29Lost 20–27 vs. No. 23 USC-7No. 23 USCWon 44–21 vs. Nicholls+23NichollsWon 36–33 at South Carolina+3South CarolinaWon 34–17 vs. UCLA+17UCLAWon 42–10 vs. South Alabama+32South AlabamaWon 29–26 vs. No. 9 Ole Miss+3No. 9 Ole MissWon 34–10 at Arkansas+24ArkansasLost 23–38 at No. 14 Texas A&M-15No. 14 Texas A&MLost 13–42 vs. No. 11 Alabama-29No. 11 AlabamaLost 16–27 at Florida-11FloridaWon 24–17 vs. Vanderbilt+7VanderbiltWon 37–17 vs. Oklahoma+20OklahomaWon 44–31 vs. Baylor+13Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs23USCL 20–⁠2761%
Sep 7vsNichollsW 44–⁠2189%
Sep 14atSouth CarolinaW 36–⁠3349%
Sep 21vsUCLAW 34–⁠1773%
Sep 28vsSouth AlabamaW 42–⁠1071%
Oct 12vs9Ole MissW 29–⁠2653%
Oct 19atArkansasW 34–⁠1063%
Oct 26at14Texas A&ML 23–⁠3852%
Nov 9vs11AlabamaL 13–⁠4248%
Nov 16atFloridaL 16–⁠2760%
Nov 23vsVanderbiltW 24–⁠1773%
Nov 30vsOklahomaW 37–⁠1761%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsBaylorTexas BowlW 44–⁠3154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Baylor 44–⁠31 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 16
  5. Wk 5: 14
  6. Wk 6: 13
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 8
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 14
  12. Wk 12: 21
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 8
Points
396–⁠316
Coach
Brian Kelly
Elo
1668 +30 this season
SP+ rating
15.9 No. 15 of 134; offense No. 11, defense No. 33, special teams No. 46
SRS
12.9 No. 17 of 134 in FBS
Returning
20% of last season’s EPA, No. 120 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 7 roster talent No. 9 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton
Defensive coordinator
Blake Baker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense39th of 134
  • Defense67th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted21st of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted36th of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1543%1.3339th of 134
Defense0.1042%1.3567th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.06 def		46% off
39% def		—21st off
36th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.0own 2813% allowed
Defense3.4own 3018% caused

CORE rating 8.7, 38th of 134 (offense 6.4, defense -2.3).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsGarrett Nussmeier QB4,039 yds
Passing touchdownsGarrett Nussmeier QB29 TD
Rushing yardsCaden Durham RB754 yds
Rushing touchdownsCaden Durham RB6 TD
Receiving yardsAaron Anderson WR875 yds
Receiving touchdownsKyren Lacy WR9 TD
TacklesWhit Weeks LB111 tkl
SacksBradyn Swinson DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsZy Alexander CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Dominick McKinley DL★★★★★No. 14
Trey’Dez Green TE★★★★No. 40
Caden Durham RB★★★★No. 88
Dashawn Spears S★★★★No. 96
Weston Davis OT★★★★No. 111
Kylan Billiot WR★★★★No. 139
Tylen Singleton LB★★★★No. 151
Jelani Watkins WR★★★★No. 167

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.900
Running backs14.00.956
Receivers34.00.950
Offensive line63.70.902
Defensive line53.80.917
Linebackers44.00.909
Defensive backs63.50.900
Athletes and specialists23.50.862
Whole class283.80.910

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 1Will Campbell OTNew England Patriots
Rd 2Mason Taylor TENew York Jets
Rd 3Emery Jones Jr. OTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 3Sai’vion Jones DEDenver Broncos
Rd 5Bradyn Swinson DENew England Patriots
Rd 5Miles Frazier OGDetroit Lions
Rd 7Garrett Dellinger OGBaltimore Ravens

Roster 110

The 2024 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2024 portal
Jardin Gilbert S★★★★from Texas A&M
C.J. Daniels WR★★★★from Liberty
Zavion Thomas WR★★★★from Mississippi State
A.J. Swann QB★★★from Vanderbilt
Jyaire Brown CB★★★from Ohio State
Gio Paez DL★★★from Wisconsin
Jay’Viar Suggs DL★★★from Grand Valley State
Austin Ausberry S★★★from Auburn
Blake Ochsendorf Pfrom Louisiana Tech

Transfers out 26

Lance Heard OT★★★★to Tennessee
Jalen Brown WR★★★★to Florida State
Jaxon Howard DE★★★★to Minnesota
Quency Wiggins DL★★★★to Colorado
Denver Harris CB★★★★to UTSA
Logan Diggs RB★★★★to Ole Miss
Christian Brathwaite LB★★★to Houston
Darian Chestnut CB★★★to Syracuse
Jackson McGohan TE★★★to Wisconsin
Ryan Yaites S★★★to California
Jeremiah Hughes CB★★★to Michigan State
Khai Prean WR★★★to Tulane

And 14 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2024 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠113–⁠34
Georgia6–⁠211–⁠36
Tennessee6–⁠210–⁠39
Missouri5–⁠310–⁠322
Ole Miss5–⁠310–⁠311
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠419
Alabama5–⁠39–⁠417
LSU5–⁠39–⁠4
Texas A&M5–⁠38–⁠5
Florida4–⁠48–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠57–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠57–⁠6
Oklahoma2–⁠66–⁠7
Auburn2–⁠65–⁠7
Kentucky1–⁠74–⁠8
Mississippi State0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.