Junior defensive end Louis Neal said the LSU defensive line must get University of Mississippi junior quarterback Chad Kelly “out of whack.”
Kelly leads the Southeastern Conference’s No. 1 offense in a home game against the eighth-ranked SEC passing defense, LSU, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Oxford, Mississippi.
Kelly’s atop the conference in total offensive yards per game at 349.6, passing yards with 322.4 per game, passing touchdowns with 23 and yards per attempt, 8.93.
But his play is sluggish at times, and he tends to be turnover-prone when facing heavy defensive pressure.
“He’s a competitor,” Neal said. “He’s going to compete. We have to go out there and compete harder and make him get out of whack.”
Sophomore defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said it won’t be easy to get the Ole Miss offense out of rhythm.
“Ole Miss is probably going to have the best offense we’ll play all season,” Godchaux said. “Hurry up offense, Chad Kelly is doing a great job over there and [Ole Miss coach] Hugh Freeze is a mastermind. We’re going to need to be on our Ps and Qs this week.”
After two straight losses against University of Alabama and University of Arkansas, LSU doesn’t have a potential playoff berth to play for, but its defensive linemen understand they will need to frustrate Kelly for LSU to save face.
The key to stopping the best offense in the conference is getting into the backfield and uprooting Kelly.
“We saw on film if you get after him a lot he’ll throw it to you,” Godchaux said. “He’s a great quarterback, and I respect the guy a lot. It’s going to be a tough challenge this week in Oxford.”
LSU is sixth in the SEC in total sacks with 23 thus far — four more than its season total in 2014.
First-year defensive line coach Ed Orgeron is credited for LSU’s successful defensive line play. But Godchaux said it’s the players’ new aggressive focus along with Orgeron that’s combined for a successful pass-rushing season.
“It’s been ‘Coach O’ and the players too,” Godchaux said. “We’re getting after it more than last season. It’s been a great thing having him coach us up.”
The LSU defensive lineman, and Orgeron, had the next two games circled on their calendars since the beginning of the season. Ole Miss and Texas A&M University are ranked No. 4 and No. 11, respectively, in allowed sacks in the SEC this season.
The two offenses are also two of the SEC’s top-5 passing offenses, so Godchaux and company are excited, he said.
“We’ve got two games left, Ole Miss and Texas A&M,” Godchaux said. “We know these teams are going to pass the ball the most. These are the type of games we look forward to.”