Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is certainly not lacking in confidence heading into what could be a highly-anticipated 2026 season for the team. So confident that he is making comparisons to one of the greatest college football teams of all time, and one that Burrow happened to be a part of.
Burrow told the media during this week’s minicamp that the vibes around the team resemble those of the 2019 LSU team that Burrow led to a 15-0 mark and a national championship, putting together one of the most prolific offenses in college football history.
“You go back and watch what I said before the 2019 season at LSU,” Burrow said Wednesday, via ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I feel very similarly about this team. I’m so excited to get started and get moving. I wish we ramped this right into training camp so we can continue to improve. I feel like there’s so much greatness we’ll be able to achieve this year that I’m just excited to get going.”
It helps that Burrow is not the only player on the Bengals who was part of that historic LSU run. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was also a star player. Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns, tossing 20 of those touchdown passes to Chase. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson also had 18 touchdown catches. Chase finished with 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns, including nine catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the National Championship against Clemson, a 42-25 win for LSU.
Between the improvements on defense and the always-high-powered offense, the Bengals are favored in 15 of their 17 games this season, as expectations have begun skyrocketing, even coming off a 6-11 season. Could the LSU comparison bring even more pressure to the team to perform? Even if so, Burrow welcomes that pressure.
“Put pressure on guys,” Burrow said. “I love it. I thrive in it. We’ll find out who else does. I know we have the kind of people who want to be in that spot. I want everybody talking about the Bengals. I want everybody talking about what I’m saying in my press conferences.”
Comments like that will get people talking. Now it’s up to the team to start winning again and get people talking even more.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Joe Burrow compares Bengals’ vibe to 2019 national champion LSU
Reporting by Billy Riccette, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Billy Riccette, Bengals Wire | USA TODAY Network
