At the very start of the 2015 season, LSU fans, the coaching staff, entire team, and, perhaps more importantly, running back Leonard Fournette, were prevented from picking up an easy victory in the opener against McNeese State due to inclement weather. The missing “W” from a cancelled game skewed how some fans, alumni and boosters viewed the Tigers’ 9-3 campaign and left Fournette 47 yards shy of the 2,000-yard rushing mark, which may have cost him an invitation from the Downtown Athletic Club as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
LSU won its first seven contests behind a stingy defense and the tough running of Fournette but hit a three-game skid in November that included losses to Alabama (30-16), Arkansas (31-14), and Ole Miss (38-17).