It started with the LSU football season of 2025 during coach Brian Kelly's fourth and last season, continued through the LSU lady's basketball season of 2026 and continued through the men's baseball season of 2026. The media displayed their lack of being objective in analyzing what those seasons might bring.
Most of the media predicted LSU would end the regular football season of 2025 with an 11-1 or 10-2 won loss record. They actually finished the regular season at 7-5, the worst of Kelly's time at LSU. Those in the media knew that Kelly's teams never improved on their won-loss record while he was there and that there was nothing there that would support their conclusions of such a turnaround. LSU also failed to make the CFP which they were predicting also. In fact LSU has only made the CFP one time in the past 11 years and that took place when they won it all in the 2019 season.
Next came LSU's women basketball season of 2026 with high hopes of returning to the NCAA playoff and on to the final four. Everyone knows of coach Mulkey's success in coaching and what she brought to LSU and the media reminder fans of her accomplishments many times. But the media let things fall a little off script when LSU qualified for the NCAA playoffs and reached the final 16. The reporting turned to how prolific the team was at scoring points and averaging over 100 points a game and used that as a sign the Tigers would be heading for the final four. Well, LSU lost the game, never scored 100 points and went home. Of course, they played a high seeded team which knew, when you advance in the playoffs that is who you have to play. And everyone who follows basketball knows you are not going to continue to score 100 points per game as you progress to the higher brackets.
Last up was LSU's men baseball season of 2026. The defending national champions started the season with high hopes of returning to the NCAA playoffs and another run for another championship. But the year turned out to be a disaster with a won-loss record of 30-28 overall and 9-21 in SEC play. It was the worst number of losses in SEC play since 1983 according to reports. But the sport's media handled the end of last year's team and started the beginning of this year's team with superlatives about coach Jay Johnson. After winning last year's championship it did not take long for the media to exclaim that Johnson could win as many national championships as Skip Bertman. Then early this season said Johnson was major league material. Comparing Johnson to Bertman at this stage of his career is a stretch and what does major league baseball have to do with college coaching since Johnson has already won two national championships and most of the top college coaches have never coached in the majors.
With all the changes taking place in college sports, sport's media should spend their time being more objective in their reporting. Everything is changing and just in the last two weeks the SEC said they would like to see the CFP adopt a 16 team format and days later the Big 10 said it should be a 24 team playoff. Last year it went to a 12 team playoff for the first time. There are no more lines that separates college from the pros, coaches are having a hard time dealing with the situation and the only sure thing that will take place in the future are uncertainty and a less competitive college sports. Expansion in sports has never improved competition. The sport's media should leave it to history to write the final judgement on coaches and be more objective in their reporting.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
