In eight days, the No. 5 LSU football team will battle against Wisconsin at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
The Tigers sit as a 9-to-10 point favorite, given the neutral site. This is disrespectful to a Badgers squad, which proved to be one of the country’s most consistent teams in recent years.
Wisconsin is unranked, but is No. 28 as a team in votes received (42), has a proven track record of success and should not be underestimated.
Wisconsin won at least 10 games in five of the last seven seasons, and, since 2009, has won the same amount of games as LSU: 70. This comes down to the Badgers’ consistently stout defense.
In 2015, Wisconsin was No. 2 in total defense, No. 11 in third down conversions allowed, No. 19 in red zone defense and No. 4 in rushing yards allowed.
That last stat is the most important because of LSU’s best player — junior running back Leonard Fournette. Fournette is the best player in the country, but Wisconsin has the players and defense to slow him down.
I’m a football addict – shocking, I know — and Wisconsin’s defense was one of the best I saw last season.
It didn’t have the best talent, but the unit bought into the coaches’ plan. They were a force to be reckoned with, as the defense returned seven of the 11 starters, including six of the front seven.
This is a start to the blueprint for success Alabama exposed against the Tigers last season. And if Wisconsin can reproduce it, the results would prove lethal. A stifled rushing attack would force the LSU passing game to step up, and I don’t think it can.
LSU’s passing game was mediocre at best last season. As a team, the Tigers gained fewer than 200 passing yards in six of their contests and tossed fewer than 100 yards in four of them.
Junior quarterback Brandon Harris’ accuracy – 53.8 percent – was problematic, and unless he has improved drastically, the Tigers’ passing attack may not be capable of carrying the team to victory.
What hurts LSU even more is its receiver depth.
Four Tiger wideouts transferred since the end of last season, leaving the team with only two receivers – junior Malachi Dupre and senior Travin Dural – with 10-plus catches last year.
The LSU defense could be its saving grace, but even that comes with its own set of issues.
Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda spent three years at Wisconsin, building the defense there. He obviously succeeded, but because of this, the Badger offense has had plenty of practice time against Aranda’s scheme.
This familiarity with the nuances of Aranda’s defense could give the Wisconsin offense enough of an edge to strike an early blow to LSU’s title hopes.
Experts are underestimating the Badgers, but my message to LSU and its fans is simple: don’t.