See where ESPN ranked LSU football in latest SEC power rankings
The Tigers checked in at No. 4 on the list. Texas, Georgia, and Alabama take up the top three spots, respectively, while Texas A&M rounds out the top five.
"The Tigers are probably going to score a lot of points, and if Brian Kelly can figure out how to turn around his defense, they might be a legitimate SEC title and CFP contender. LSU has dropped five straight season openers, three under Kelly, and it plays at Clemson on Aug. 30."
Behind second-year starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, LSU's offense looks primed for another high-octane year under head coach Brian Kelly. His staff brought in multiple receivers with SEC experience as part of the nation's top transfer portal class in 2025.
Following a second full offseason with defensive coordinator Blake Baker, the defense filled critical needs in the secondary and at edge rusher to put together a unit with loads of potential. The question will be whether it can contain some of the nation's most potent offenses.
The Tigers will be tested immediately in a week one contest at Clemson. They'll need to contain professional-level talent at wide receiver as well as quarterback Cade Klubnik.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson blasts home run in 9th inning for 2-1 win over White Sox
CHICAGO — The Detroit Tigers parted ways with left-hander Tyler Alexander after the 2023 season. Since then, the former second-round draft pick has faced the Tigers four times with three teams during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In the latest clash, Alexander shut down the Tigers as a bulk reliever for the Chicago White Sox. But the Tigers took down the White Sox with a 2-1 win in the opener of a three-game series Monday, Aug. 11, at Rate Field. Spencer Torkelson provided the lead in the ninth inning with a solo home run off the left-field foul pole, then a sudden rainstorm delayed the game for more than an hour. JEFF SEIDEL: Tigers' July was awful — but it clearly set them up for success in August The Tigers (69-51) have won back-to-back games, including three of their last four games — and nine of their last 14 games, dating back to July 27. In the ninth, Torkelson crushed a middle-middle 90.4 mph fastball from left-handed reliever Brandon Eisert. The 25-year-old pulled the second pitch of the matchup down the left-field line, with the ball deflecting off the left-field foul pole. The homer put the Tigers ahead, 2-1. It was Torkelson's 26th homer in 114 games. To secure the win, right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan — whom the Tigers acquired from the Washington Nationals at the July 31 trade deadline — recorded the final two outs in the eighth inning, but before Finnegan could return for the ninth inning, the Tigers and White Sox experienced a 63-minute rain delay. The rain delay forced the Tigers to use right-handed reliever Will Vest in the ninth inning. Vest wasn't fazed by the rain delay. He slammed the door on the White Sox in the bottom of the ninth: Lenyn Sosa (strikeout), Andrew Benintendi (groundout) and Luis Robert Jr. (groundout). It was Vest's 17th save. [ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] Chris Paddack starts The Tigers acquired right-hander Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins before the trade deadline. The 29-year-old has made three starts for the Tigers since the trade. Paddack has been hit hard in all three starts: 96.4 mph exit velocity on 18 balls in play against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 94 mph exit velocity on 18 balls in play against the Twins and 95.5 mph exit velocity on 15 balls in play against the White Sox. That's a problem that could haunt Paddack. The good news: Paddack had success against the White Sox, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts across 5⅔ innings. He threw 71.1% of his 76 pitches for strikes, which helped him despite generating just five whiffs on 40 swings for a below-average 12.5% whiff rate. More importantly, Paddack threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of 20 batters. The White Sox scored their only run against Paddack in the fifth inning, courtesy of rookie Colson Montgomery blasting a second-pitch changeup in the middle of the strike zone for a solo home run to right field. Montgomery, a 23-year-old rookie shortstop who made his MLB debut in early July, has produced all 10 of his big league home runs in his past 18 games. Paddack has a 4.76 ERA in 24 starts. Scoring first The Tigers struck first in the second inning against right-hander Elvis Peguero, a reliever who started for the White Sox as the opener to Alexander. Riley Greene sparked the inning. Greene ripped a double to right field with one out, then advanced to third base on Andy Ibáñez's single. Dillon Dingler stepped up in the clutch by providing an RBI single on a down-and-away slider from Peguero with two strikes and two outs. The Dingler single put the Tigers ahead, 1-0. The Tigers failed to capitalize on an opportunity to put the game away in the fourth inning after loading the bases on Wenceel Pérez's single, Torkelson's single and Dillon Dingler's walk. Alexander escaped the jam. Zach McKinstry, a left-handed hitter, stranded the bases loaded when he struck out swinging on Alexander's three consecutive down-and-away sweepers. Alexander, who pitched for the Tigers from 2019-23, tossed 4⅓ scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The 31-year-old has a 4.27 ERA in 38 games (five starts) for the Milwaukee Brewers and White Sox in the 2025 season. Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers score: Tigers wait out rain delay for win over White Sox
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Detroit Tigers minor leaguer Kevin McGonigle named MLB Pipeline's No. 2 overall prospect
The Detroit Tigers' top prospect didn't land at No. 1 in MLB Pipeline's midseason Top 100 rankings. But No. 2 isn't bad. Shortstop Kevin McGonigle, currently at Double-A Erie, is one of four Tigers prospects to land in MLB Pipeline's midseason top-100. McGonigle (No. 2) joins outfielder Max Clark (No. 9), catcher Josue Briceño (No. 32) and shortstop Bryce Rainer (No. 35) as the four Tigers' prospects in the top 100. McGonigle recently ranked as baseball's No. 1 prospect in the midseason rankings from Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs. McGonigle, 20, has spent his 2025 season between High-A West Michigan and Erie, slashing a combined .332/.428/.577 with nine home runs and 57 RBIs across 63 minor league games. He also appeared in the 2025 MLB All-Star Futures Game, along with Clark and Briceño. USE YOUR BEST STUFF: After trade, Detroit Tigers' Kyle Finnegan flips pitch mix: more splitters, fewer fastballs MLB Pipeline's new midseason list also came with an update of the team's top-30 prospects, though that didn't provide many surprises at the top, with the team's top-five prospects (including catcher Thayron Liranzo at No. 5) staying in place. Some new additions from this year's draft made the list, however. Shorstop Jordan Yost, who the Tigers took with their first-round pick on July 13, debuts at No. 9 on the midseason top 30. Second-round pick Malachi Witherspoon, a right-handed pitcher, is at No. 12, while compensation pick Michael Oliveto is at No. 18. Other draft picks making the list include LHP Ben Jacobs (No. 19), outfielder Nick Dumesnil (No. 24), RHP River Hamilton (No. 26) and LHP Grayson Grinsell (No. 28). The Tigers came in at No. 1 among all organizations in MLB Pipeline's preseason farm system rankings, a sharp rise from their No. 25 position at the start of 2023. You can reach Christian at cromo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Kevin McGonigle named MLB Pipeline's No. 2 prospect
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Detroit Tigers' Chris Paddack explains obsession with throwing first-pitch strikes
CHICAGO — Detroit Tigers right-hander Chris Paddack is obsessed with throwing strikes — specifically, first-pitch strikes. The 29-year-old has achieved first-pitch strikes at an 83.1% rate in three starts since the Tigers acquired him from the Minnesota Twins on July 28, three days before the MLB trade deadline. Paddack delivered first-pitch strikes to 18 of 20 batters against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, Aug. 11, at Rate Field. His 76-pitch performance helped the Tigers to a 2-1 win, as he allowed just one run on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts across 5⅔ innings. "Overall, I felt great," Paddack said. "I felt like we did a really good job of executing with two strikes. That was my biggest plan today — executing with two strikes. I thought we did a really good job of getting out of the zone when we needed to." THE SHERIFF: New Tigers starter Chris Paddack praises 'amazing' facilities compared to Twins Paddack has allowed one run in three of his last four starts, with success against the Los Angeles Dodgers (July 23) before the trade and the Arizona Diamondbacks (July 30) and White Sox (Aug. 11) after the trade. Facing the White Sox, Paddack issued a rare walk on six pitches with one out in the sixth inning — his first free pass since July 18, when he walked two batters. "He's going to pound the zone," catcher Dillon Dingler said. "That's the kind of pitcher he is, and he does really well with it. He can throw strikes with any pitch in his arsenal. A big focus today was getting out of the zone with two strikes. He did a great job of it." [ Sign up for The Purr-fect Game, a weekly dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers, here. ] In 2025, Paddack owns a 4.76 ERA with 28 walks and 92 strikeouts across 126⅔ innings in 24 starts for the Twins (21 starts) and Tigers (three starts). He often gets hit hard for damage, but in his eight starts with zero walks, he has a 3.74 ERA. He has a 5.29 ERA in his 16 starts with at least one walk. "As pitchers, I feel like there are very few things that we can control," Paddack said. "For me, one of those is attacking the zone. We can control that. I love throwing strikes. Teams know that. I take pride in no free passes and first-pitch strikes." [ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] Celebrate 125 seasons of the Tigers with our new book! Paddack has thrown first-pitch strikes 67.4% of the time this season. His first-pitch strike rate ranks 14th among 105 pitchers with at least 250 batters faced in 2025, trailing only left-hander Tarik Skubal (69.7%) and right-hander Casey Mize (67.9%) in the Tigers' rotation. The MLB first-pitch strike average is 61.1%. Paddack is among the elite in July and August. Since July 1, Paddack has a 73.3% first-pitch strike rate that trails only St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas (75.2%) and Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (73.7%). Their season-long results: Paddack has a 4.76 ERA; Mikolas has a 4.97 ERA; Freeland has a 5.53 ERA. "It puts you in the driver's seat," Paddack said, "and then you can expand once you get to that two-strike count when you have a team or a batter that might be in swing mode after you get them to 0-2 really quickly. Get them in swing mode, and now you can leave the zone on purpose." Tigers manager A.J. Hinch explained the value of Paddack throwing first-pitch strikes, even though he relies on inducing contact due to below-average whiff rates. It's always best to be ahead 0-1 in the count. That is Paddack's speciality. "The reason he's so efficient is people try to ambush him because he is so effective in the strike zone," Hinch said. "It keeps his pitch count down because if they ambush him and get out, which the majority of guys get out, that's a good thing. If he gets ahead, then it opens up so many different strategies for him to get to the end of the at-bat." WHEN IT HAPPENED: Tigers grade for Chris Paddack trade: Nobody better to replace Reese Olson? Paddack learned to throw first-pitch strikes from Connie Cochran, his coach at Cedar Park High School — located 20 miles north of Austin, Texas — before the Miami Marlins selected him in the eighth round of the 2015 draft. First-pitch strikes have been his primary focus throughout his professional career. "Sometimes, we make the game harder than it should be," Paddack said. "Whenever I'm going good, most of the time, those first-pitch strike numbers are going to be north of 75%. You're not giving away free passes, you're getting your defense involved, and then the swing-and-miss and strikeouts will come." The biggest concern about Paddack is the amount of hard contact he allows. He has been hit hard in all three starts since joining the Tigers, allowing a 96.4 mph average exit velocity on 18 balls in play against the Diamondbacks, 94 mph on 18 balls in play against the Twins and 95.5 mph on 15 balls in play against the White Sox. For reference, the MLB average is 89.4 mph. Paddack is obsessed with attacking the strike zone. But that aggressiveness makes him vulnerable. The formula is dangerous, but he found success against the Diamondbacks and White Sox. "We definitely preach first-pitch strikes," Hinch said. "He fits that. He challenges the competition over the plate. The game won and lost over the plate. It's not won by being afraid of the strike zone." Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Chris Paddack obsessed with first-pitch strikes
