Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Program He Has No Faith In

Brian Kelly's first two seasons as the head coach of the LSU Tigers have been quite successful. During that time, the Tigers achieved a 20-7 record and competed for an SEC championship. Additionally, quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy last season.

Daniels has moved on to the NFL and is being replaced by Garrett Nussmeier. In his one start during the bowl game against Wisconsin, Nussmeier completed 68.9% of his passes for 395 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

With Nussmeier leading the team, there's hope that the Tigers will make significant progress in Year 3. This is reminiscent of Notre Dame's transformation under Kelly. Following two 8-5 seasons, Notre Dame improved to 12-1 and reached the BCS National Championship Game in Year 3. However, ESPN's Paul Finebaum doesn't think that the Tigers will achieve the same level of success.

“I don’t see any reason why they should be that great this year,” Finebaum on GoJo and Golic . “I mean, I think they’re good.”

Last year's defensive performance is a major reason for Finebaum's lack of faith. Finebaum blamed Kelly for the "embarrassing" defense last season, saying he hired the coordinator responsible. Finebaum also expressed confusion as to why the Tigers have not effectively utilized a standout player like Harold Perkins.

Kelly replaced Matt House with a new defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, who was at Missouri last season. The hope is his defensive scheme will unlock Perkins' freakish ability, and then maybe Finebaum will start to believe.

Related: Major SEC Team Will Miss College Football Playoff, Analyst Says