LSU football's dangerous weapon identified as star of 2024

Spring football is over. The transfer portal is closed. The calendar says June. Do you know what this means? College football is almost here. It's now been five months since Michigan beat Washington in the national championship game in Houston, and we've made it through the toughest part of the offseason. We're well past the halfway mark and now there's nothing but enthusiasm to get us to the finish line. We are less than three months away from the start of the college football season and LSU football is ready. Tigers fans can't wait to see their team take the field for the first time.

The 2024 college football season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting seasons in a long time, and that's because of all the changes coming to the game in 2024. Let's start with the expanded College Football Playoff.

It will be interesting to see how the first year of the new 12-team College Football Playoff plays out. The era of the four-team playoff is over, and having eight more teams participate will make a huge difference.

First of all, college football fans can breathe a little easier during the regular season. There's no worse feeling as a fan than seeing your team lose a huge game in the first few weeks of the season, before conference play even begins. In the era of the four-team playoff, that's as demoralizing as it gets. You know that one more loss is the nail in the coffin, and even with one loss (or in Florida State's case, zero), there's no guarantee you'll make it. Now, feeding five teams that go 10-2 should be pretty safe, and even some teams at 9-3 will probably be able to pull that off.

The other big change is more football and a longer season. The College Football Playoff Committee recently released the 2024 playoff schedule, and it's going to be an exciting month. Instead of three total playoff games played in the span of a week, we'll see 11 games spread out over a month. This is going to be a lot of fun.

Another major change in the world of college football this year will be new conferences. The Pac-12 disappeared as everyone except Oregon State and Washington State found a new home. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are now part of the Big Ten, Cal and Stanford have joined the ACC, and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are part of the Big 12.

The Big 12 lost two teams, however, as Oklahoma and Texas moved to the SEC.

Overall, big changes are coming to college football and it should make for an exciting season. Things are going to be different, and not everyone is a fan of the new changes, but there will be more football and more good matchups. It's a plus.

Can LSU football return to the College Football Playoff

The 2019 LSU football team is arguably the best team of the four-team playoff era. Joe Burrow led the way and the Tigers finished with a 15-0 record and dominated their way to a national championship. This was, however, the only season LSU made the playoffs. They've had some good teams the last two years under head coach Brian Kelly, but not quite playoff caliber. With the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams, it will be easier for the Tigers to get in this year.

Now that 12 teams are participating, the target win total for SEC teams should be 10 wins. It's certainly possible to go in with less, and a team that wins 10 games could be out. However, looking at the format of things, it looks like 10 wins from a team playing in one of college football's top two conferences will be on the cards.

LSU football has a tough schedule because the SEC is full of tough teams, but they have a decent draw compared to other teams. They have a tricky non-conference game against USC in Las Vegas to start the year, and they'll also play another Big Ten school in week four as UCLA comes to town (that whole sentence seems weird , is not it ?). In conference play, the Tigers have Ole Miss and Alabama, but they avoid Georgia and Texas. The Bulldogs and Longhorns should be the two best teams in the conference, and maybe even the country too.

The Tigers have a lot of upperclassmen expected to start next season, but many people also expect some sophomores and even freshmen to get starting roles. Either way, if this LSU team wants to win big next season, they'll need some players to step up. They should get that from a lot of their veteran players, but here's a young guy who could make some noise for the Tigers in 2024.

Aaron Anderson, WR

Aaron Anderson just finished his redshirt freshman season, and it was productive. Many redshirt freshmen still spend the year on the bench, but he's found a way to get on the field fairly regularly and he's gained a lot of experience. This should prepare him well in 2024. Last year was Anderson's first year with the Tigers as he transferred from Alabama.

Last season, Aaron Anderson had 12 receptions for 59 yards and no touchdowns. It wasn't a great year by any means, but Anderson made progress and he should now be a starting wide receiver for LSU football in 2024.

One big thing that will affect Aaron Anderson's 2024 campaign is the play of the quarterback. LSU football was fortunate to have the Heisman winner last year, as Jayden Daniels was the best player in college football, but the torch was passed to Garrett Nussmeier. It's rare for a QB to come in immediately without growing pains in his first season as a starter, so this is something to keep an eye on.

If Aaron Anderson gets good QB play, he should be able to have a big year. He has year one under his belt and he is ready to make year two a season to remember.