True/False: High Level Strategy Edition

"We circle this game on our calendar every year"

LSU is obsessed with beating A&M. There's no question about that.

quote:

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Bama's obsession with beating LSU (and the resulting schematic and personnel decisions) has left them extremely vulnerable to others.

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Not sure if this is meant to be a flame, or serious, but:

I think so. Bama's built to be big and physical, and win low-scoring, defensive matchups. Stop the power run, run the ball with power themselves, and throw on play-action after the run is working.

Teams that suck you into shootouts (Oklahoma last night, A&M twice, Auburn in the Iron Bowl) expose them. Hard-hitting run support defenders like Mosley and the rest, they become irrelevant against spread teams. Defensively you have to play basically a nickel base (which is what LSU does, and why it has been more successful against that style), so the featured players on defense either ride the bench, or are chasing faster guys in space. Either way, the Bama edge is negated.

Offensively, there's so much emphasis on power in the lineup, the passing game suffers. Sure, you get play-action; but when forced to go straight shotgun, your linemen (who excel at run blocking) are exposed against smaller, more agile ends. There's not enough variety in the passing (or tempo) game, so you run out of plays to run. You end up showing the same plays, and defenses pick up on things and cover it better.