An honest tiger: Jbrau22’s LSU preview analysis of GOTC2

Hey fellas and their sisters (haha jk jk)! It’s that time again. I am definitely later in the week than I normally post this but I’ve been on vacation spending time with family since the day before Halloween. Here is my annual take on my opinion on the upcoming game. WARNING: LONG

To start off it was crazy to go back and read my preview to last years game and realize many of the same analysis and keys to the game were very similar...particularly on defense. I was woefully inept in my expectation of our offense last year but did predict a 2 td victory for the tide.

Same as last year analysis: 2 biggest issues/questions on the LSU defense...pass rush that is non-existent at worst and inconsistent at best & Kary Vincent being the single most important individual on our team. Last year both worries came to fruition although to be fair, Vincent was playing admirably before going down with an injury before the first half was over. Pass rush was non-existent and really even with Chaisson back, it hasn’t improved the way we expected. Now with missing divinity, we lose arguably our most effective blitzer. Could def spell trouble.

Much has been made of our secondary being down this year and honestly I think it’s a bit unfair. You or I could get open and catch a pass if the pass rush gives a qb 10 secs to throw. Also our corners on the outside have performed even better than the Fulton/greedy combo last year. Stingley has been a revelation. Our secondary is susceptible in the middle with our nickle and linebackers in coverage. Again enter kart Vincent. He was awful at the beginning of the year but has played much better the last 3 games (granted against worse qbs and wrs then we will face against you). We have tried multiple ways to address this issue with burst of success and failures including moving stingley inside vs number 1 receivers, starting another fresh cb Cordell Flott and shifting Fulton to the nickle/dime cb, using delpit in coverage more, etc. I expect to see a range of these options against the tide until we find one that works (if any do). Stephens and delpit make up a really solid safety tandem. I could go on about them but basically both are EXCELLENT in run support and delpit is a solid coverage guy with jacoby being a freak athlete that makes freak plays from time to time but coverage in general is not his strong suit. Delpit is our Swiss Army knife that will need to impact the game on many levels and hopefully he is fully recovered from an ankle injury he got at the end of the auburn game.

This is the deepest dline the Tigers have had in quite a while...at least 5 seasons. They are excellent run stuffers/stoppers and are fair at pressuring the qb yet terrible at actually getting to him lol. Shelvin at NT is the best I have seen at LSU since we made the switch to the 3-4. He eats double teams and gets push often at the point of attack. Rashard lawrence is probably the best of the de’s but has struggled to stay healthy. Hoping for a big game from Uncle Phil. Logan shows flashes and had a surprisingly strong year last year but has battled injury this year. Fehoko is a streaky player and IMO our best pass rusher and disruptive lineman. But he can also get out of position and give up the hole for running backs.

Linebackers are solid. Patrick queen and Jacob Phillips head the middle of our defense. Both are very good backers without being the impact players that Devin white was. Queen has great speed sideline to sideline and Phillips seems to always be in position and racks up the tackles. Chaisson is still skating by on high school tape and rating. We are still waiting on his breakout performance. God what a game this would be to have it. I think the other outside lb will be a bit of a revolving door with the loss of divinity. We sometimes drop Stephens or delpit down as the third backer depending on package and you will also see demone Clark who is a solid backer but not great in coverage and a host of others such as ray Thornton, Marcell brooks, and a few others who have yet to make a name as tigers.

On offense there really isn’t much more to be said then you’ve already heard. It feels weird to spend this much time on defense bc they are the lesser talked about unit of our team.

Our oline has been much better (couldn’t have been much worse) than last year thanks to the experience we have gained from the injuries forcing so many to step up last year. We took a bit of a depth hit with backup OT Dare Rosenthal suffering an injury in practice and not even making the trip. He would have been our first tackle coming off the bench if injury or poor play forced him to. But we are deeper here than I can remember in years as well. Charles has been unofficially serving a game by game suspension for a second failed weed test (6 game suspension) that has been classified as a “coaches decision” when he has been kept out of games. He still has one game to serve but I bet you can guess which game that won’t be lol. He is our best OL man and our left tackle. Guards are very good. Center is good. Right tackle deculous is the most improved player not named joe burrow. Our oline has played well but can get confused with stunts and pressures at times. Scheme has definitely helped this group as much as any other unit on our team but we have some maulers who can handle their own. Also look for Thad moss to chip on that awesome DE/LB finally healthy and wrecking shop of yours on his way out for routes in an effort to assist our OL.

WR would be talked about more if not for y’all having the best group in college football in the same division. We have 3 physical y’all Wrs who are excellent in routes and have great hands. Chase is the most talented but Justin Jefferson is the leader and most trusted by Burrow. He is unreal in his route running ability. Marshall missed a few games with injury but is our number one red zone target. He missed 3 games and is still only 2 off the the TD lead on the team. Moss at TE is a great option in the passing game. Also a great blocker. You will also see some of Sullivan and Dillon. Dillon is the only true speedster though Jefferson and chase can make housecalls if catching the ball in space. Physically the edge belongs to LSU here but speed/game changers are clearly the Bama receivers.

Clyde Edwards helaire was the least talked about rb until this week and now seems to be the only person talking heads want to talk about other than tuas ankle and burrows heisman chances. Lacks top end speed but his twitch, jump cut, and spin move are next level. It is more surprising when he gets taken down one on one in space than if he doesn’t. If you haven’t seen him yet, he’s a fun little back to watch. He has good hands and is great at pass blocking as well. Also being so short (5-8) helps him hide a bit behind the line. 2nd in line is fresh Tyrion Davis price. He is a one cut north and south bruiser similar to najee. He has good burst and can break one with a hole. Emery has played sparingly (other freshman) but has been in the doghouse and not sure if he will even see the field.

You know joe burrow. There isn’t much I can tell you you haven’t already heard. Next level leadership, intelligence, making reads, toughness. Can make every throw even if arm strength isn’t his strength. One thing to watch for is how much is he used in the rushing game. It was a bigger part of his game last year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it some this year.