If there was ever a time for the highly scrutinized defense of LSU to get things going in the right direction, it would be now. Last week against Texas A&M, LSU had its best defensive outing of the season, surrendering only 13 points to the fifth-ranked Aggies. If the Tigers are going to have the slightest chance to contain the high-powered offense of Alabama, they are going to need an even better outing than they had in College Station.
In its game against Texas A&M, LSU exemplified the best defensive performance of the season, but at the same time showcased the worst offensive performance since you can guess when: the Alabama game in 2018 where they were shut out in Tiger Stadium, 29-0.
The 2018 meeting pitted the top-ranked Tide against the No. 3 ranked Tigers, who at the time were both vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The highly anticipated game quickly turned into a dumpster fire — for LSU, that is.
Fast forward two years, and the Tigers have found themselves in all-too-familiar territory. If LSU is not able to pick up where it left off defensively against Texas A&M and make the necessary adjustments offensively, they could very well see history repeat itself.
Alabama has once again found themselves on top of the college football world heading into its annual date with LSU. On the other hand, the 3-4 Tigers are seemingly in uncharted waters, as they are struggling to find much consistency on either side of the ball.
The Tide come rolling into Baton Rouge sporting one of the best offenses in the Southeastern Conference, led by Heisman front-runner quarterback Mac Jones. Jones leads an offense that is averaging 48.5 points per game, looking unstoppable while doing so.
With starting quarterback Myles Brennan being sidelined with a lower body injury, it opened the door for a pair of true freshmen in TJ Finley and Max Johnson. Finley has been on the upper end of the reps, getting every start in Brennan’s absence, but Johnson’s reps have been ticking upward. In last Saturday’s game against Texas A&M, LSU utilized its pair of quarterbacks. While neither had an up to par outing, one, or both of them, are going to have to find something that will work — and they are going to have to do that quickly.
It’s important to note that you can’t put all the weight on the shoulders of a pair of true freshmen quarterbacks. Much of the lack of execution offensively can be credited to the poor play of the offensive line. The Texas A&M defensive line absolutely manhandled the offensive line of LSU. Limiting Tiger runningbacks to 1.4 yards per rush, Texas A&M made the Tigers’ offense one-dimensional, thus forcing the freshmen quarterbacks to make a play. Neither quarterback was given an adequate amount of time to scan the field and make its reads to do so.
All season long, the success in the ground game for LSU has been vital to its offensive production. Lack of consistency has led to dominating and disastrous outings. In games where LSU has established its run game, such as in its wins over Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Arkansas, Tiger runningbacks have had a frenzy, opening up the playbook for Steve Ensminger and easing the pressure off Finely and Johnson. When they have failed to do so, the offense becomes stagnant and you get performances like you saw in College Station.
In its three wins, the Tigers have averaged 208 yards rushing. In the four games they have lost, they have rushed for a combined 197 yards. On the season, Alabama is allowing an average of 148 yards on the ground to opposing teams. If LSU wants to avoid another heartbreaking shutout disaster to Alabama in Tiger Stadium, establishing the run game will be crucial, but that will require vast improvement from the offensive line.
On the other side of the ball, the defense has also shown inconsistency.
Opposing quarterbacks have been putting on a field day against a struggling Tigers’ secondary. LSU has surrendered 300 passing yards or more to opposing quarterbacks in four of its seven contests, losing three of them. The Tiger secondary has been prone to blown coverages, which has led to numerous explosive plays downfield. They limited Aggie quarterback Kellen Mond to just 105 yards passing on 11-of-34 attempts. In addition, LSU held the nation’s top-ranked team in third down conversion percentage to just 2-of-16.
The LSU secondary is going to have its hands full with the talented wideouts that Alabama possesses. The Tide receiving core is not going to be at full strength, as they lost Jaylen Waddle to a season-ending injury; though, you probably would not know that, as their production hasn’t dropped. In his absence, Louisiana native Devonta Smith has taken over as WR one. All he has done this season is haul in 72 receptions for 1,074 yards and 12 touchdowns, placing him third in receptions and yards and first in touchdowns — not to mention the junior quarterback for Alabama who is averaging a tick over 340 yards through the air per game, putting up 40-plus points against each of its ranked opponents this season.
On a Saturday night in Death Valley, under the lights, the pressure is going to be on. How will Ed Orgeron and company respond? Time shall tell.
