Maybe it’s easier for Will Campbell to be confident about his LSU team’s chances this season.

After all, the preseason all-American is one of the anchors of the obvious strength of the Tigers, the offensive line.

True, he has somewhat of a baby face underneath that boyishly curly head of hair for a projected first-round NFL pick at tackle, and off the field is known as easy-going and laid back.

But while the 6-foot-6, 323-pound junior from Neville High in Monroe may be soft-spoken, he doesn’t mince words when discussing the Tigers.

And if you’re looking for optimism about the Tigers, Campbell might be your go-to guy.

“This year it’s time for us to do something instead of just winning 10 games,” he said. “Ten wins is cool at other schools. Not here. Ten wins gets people fired here. It’s time for us to do something different and win a national championship.”

That quest will begin Sunday in Las Vegas when the No. 13 Tigers take on No. 23 Southern Cal.

Campbell has started at offensive tackle since arriving on campus. His fellow junior tackle, Emery Jones, also started as a true freshman.

The Tigers won 10 games both seasons and, just to clarify, even LSU hasn’t fired a head coach for winning 10 games lately.

But you get his point.

A good start would be to open the season with a victory, something LSU hasn’t done in Campbell’s first two seasons. The Tigers, in fact, have lost four consecutive season openers, the last win coming in the 2019 national championship season.

“It’s not a good way to start the season,” Campbell said. “It kind of sets the tone the wrong way. We know we’ve got to come out fast. We can’t, like in previous years, take weeks to build up to our potential. We’ve got to come out rolling this year.”

Just don’t look for him around the slot machines or showrooms on the Vegas Strip.

“That’s not what we’re there for,” he said. “We’re there to play football. I’m not into that stuff. This will be my only time to go to Vegas (and) it’s to play football.

“We aren’t going just to go to Caesar’s Palace. We’re going to whatever the name of that stadium is to play USC.”

As a projected NFL first-round pick, likely the first offensive lineman taken, he no doubt someday will make a return trip as the Sunday’s game will be in the Allegiant Stadium home of the Las Vegas Raiders.

But first things first.

“USC is a good team,” he said. “If we don’t take care of business, they are capable of beating us, embarrassing us.”

A key will be how much the Tigers’ defense has improved from last year’s anemic group.

Campbell has seen it up close and personal, and had noted the improvement.

And he said he doesn’t expect that much drop-off from an LSU offense that led the nation in yards and scoring last season. But it also lost Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and a pair of first-round picks at wide receiver in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas.

“I know what this offense is, I know the type playmakers we have,” he said. “It’s like coach (Nick) Saban said on (ESPN) TV the other day. You can shake a tree and find players in this state.

“We’re going to reload. As much we love Malik, Brian and Jaylen, they’re not here.”

But he figures Kyren Lacey and Chris Hilton to step up at receiver and warned against sleeping on transfer C.J. Daniels.

More?

“I mean, we have the deepest tight end room in the country — not only the deepest, but the most versatile,” Campbell said.

Not to mention …

“We’re going to run the ball,” he said. “That’s not something we’re hiding or trying to keep quiet. I’m telling everybody right now we’re going to run the football, so you can take what you want with that.”

Few of the national prognosticators share Campbell’s enthusiasm for the Tigers. Most don’t even have the Tigers in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, let alone anywhere the national championship game.

No problem, said Campbell.

“Nobody’s expecting what they’re about to see Sunday night,” Campbell said. “But we’re excited for it. Everybody in this building knows what have here. I don’t think a lot of the country knows. I don’t think a lot of the country. I want people to be like that because then they’re going to be, like ‘Whooaa’ whenever it happens. And we’re going to be like, ‘Yeah, that’s what we expected.’”