LSU Preview: Tigers in Turmoil
November 25, 2009 at 8:05am by Walking on Sunshine
Filed under Arkansas Razorbacks, Football
With the Cotton Bowl likely on the line, the Hogs travel south to Baton Rouge on Saturday to face the reeling LSU Tigers (8-3, 4-3). The game will be televised on ESPN at 6 pm.
In what amounted to the football version of the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” LSU’s end-of-the-game antics against Ole Miss last week will no doubt become legendary. With the loss, Les Miles — who all of the sudden is 7-9 in his last 16 conference games — has Tiger fans growling in a sea of discontent.
Paul Finebaum adequately summed up the situation in his column this week:
“There is no need to recant chapter and verse all that went wrong Saturday in what was easily the dumbest and most inept coaching performance (from someone not named Mike Shula) I’ve ever seen in the SEC. Even Miles’ dog would probably admit that his master makes Bozo the Clown look intelligent. The issue really is no longer whether Miles can outrun his colossal blunder. The question is whether LSU administrators and fans will concede that this program has fallen and can’t get up.”
Can the Tigers bounce back emotionally after a heartbreaking loss like that?
If they do, quarterback Jordan Jefferson will have to have a solid game. Jefferson (178.5 pass yards/gm, 14 TDs, 5 ints), however, has been hampered by an ankle injury that has slowed him since the Alabama game. He was noticably limping last Saturday in Oxford.
During that same game against the Tide, star running back Charles Scott (604 total yards, 5 TDs) broke his collarbone and is out for season. The absence of Scott has slowed the Tigers run game, forcing wide receiver Brandon LaFell (9 TDs) to carry more of the load on offense.
LSU has been good (not great) on defense in 2009. Ranking near the middle of the pack in total defense (322 yards/gm), the Tigers are led by linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, who has 96 total tackles including eight for loss.
Believe it or not, return specialist Trindon Holliday is still there and returning kicks. The track speedster is still one of the most dangerous return men in the SEC.
The keys to a Hog victory most certainly includes applying pressure to the hobbled Jefferson. The Tigers have given up an alarming 31 sacks this season. Many of those have been as a result of Jefferson ‘keeping plays alive’…sometimes too long.
And finally, Arkansas needs to score and get ahead early if possible. The LSU faithful will be ‘juiced’ and ready to go by 6 pm, so scoring early and often could help to neutralize the natives from the outset.
GO HOGS!!! Petrino has done a FANTASTIC job with this football team. What better way to springboard into the new year than a win over LSU and a bowl game win
There’s more riding on this game for the UofA than LSU.
In their arrogance, LSU fans have already conseeded there is nothing left to play for.
I don’t believe the LSU players are willing to put their best foot forward for this game. If they get behind early, they’ll fold bigtime.
It’s hard to believe that the Hogs are the underdog in this contest. Certainly there is home field advantage, but the turmoil in Tigerville must take some toll. Consider that the Hogs have the advantage at QB, RB, and receivers. Also the D line, so maligned in the running game, has pressured quarterbacks very well as opposed to the relatively ineffective rushes of the LSU D line. The O line has given Mallet time to wait for receivers to get open, and when they do they all have exceptional ability to gain yards after the catch. I disagree with Walking On Sunshine that the key is to harass Jefferson. It would be icing on the cake because the real key for the Hogs is in protecting Mallet. Petrino’s philosopy is to outscore his opponents with wide open offensive sets. Arkansas gives up big plays and gives up at least 21 points/p/g to almost everyone. Force the Tigers to play the pass and the Hog running game will break out. I think that LSU is operating on reputation right now, and this is from an LSU grad. I agree that the Hogs should get out quick and force LSU into a passing game. I figured the same for the MSU game but it didn’t quite go that way until the Hogs stopped the Dogs running game. For LSU the key is to stop Mallet, period, Using some innovative blitzes perhaps. However, Mallet has done well recently with rollouts and play-action sprints. Biggest problem with Arkansas will be overconfidence from their recent successes. Petrino and Co. also better be ready to counteract LSU strategy and not take as long as they did in the 3rd quarter with MSU.
I see where Wally Hall agrees with me on Mallet’s Heisman chances next year and that the Liberty Bowl would be a great showcase for Mallet. He also agrees with me in that Mallet is under the national radar right now and needs exposure. I think, and others will obviously not think the same, that Mallet has been under the radar this year with most opposing coaches. In other words,they didn’t believe Mallet is real. MSU was a good example of selling out the pass to defend the run. It will be interesting to see if LSU uses this approach also. Petrino is now giving Mallet more and more plays to take advantage of this. For example, before the MSU game I predicted to a couple from Fayetteville, based on this observation, that if the Hogs get the kick off and Dennis gets the ball to near the forty, then Mallet would open with a pass rather than the obligatory running play to check the defensive set up. Putting the game, more and more, into Ryan’s hands will be good until opposing coaches wake up.
Arkansas biggest weakness is not pass defense but in special teams. I was in Allen, Texas at a game where Allen’s smaller high school team was playing. Allen Lovejoy scored a lot and every kickoff was in the end zone. Lovejoy’s kicker was routinely kicking field goals in practice from the forty yard line. Lovejoy’s opponent’s punter obviously had a lot kicks and his distance was such that every one was over the receivers’ heads. So why hasn’t Petrino recruited similar talent. These 3 A Texas teams can’t be that exceptional. Tejada doesn’t seem to be able to get his kicks into the endzone. Add to that the kick coverage is so poor that if the opponent doesn’t get to the forty its a win for the Hogs. Arkansas’ punter maybe a good pooch punter but what the Hogs need is a long punter (fortunately our punter can tackle, since he saved a TD with MSU). It was pointed out to me that Arkansas was using RBs on kickoffs. Smart move. Somebody should have a chance to catch the returner if he breaks free. The amount of field position Arkansas gives up really puts the team into a major disadvantage. Also, when the other team team receives a punt, its hold your breath. LSU’s Trindan Holliday can’t wait to see the Hogs. The Hogs did a good job of reducing critical penalties in the MSU game except for running into the kicker, which did no real damage, but could have. Someone should explain to that young man that the most important thing is not to block a punt but to let Norton or Fish fair catch it to get the ball back in Mallet’s hands. Amost anywhere on the field is good field position for Mallet. Let’s hope the von Ryan express keeps on going.
Where the LSU prediction page?!?!?!?!
Typically, these come on Thursday before the game… not sure this week what the schedule will be due to Thanksgiving Day being Thursday.
But what about The Boot? And how come there’s only one of ‘em?
Don’t care if they are in turmoil or not, LSU still has a very talented defense that can man up on each player. We will not score as many points on these guys which puts the pressure on our defense and special teams.
They will be a bit pissed off after a week of being the butt of jokes for their finish at Ole Miss.
Great opportunity for our guys to play in an awesome environment in a Saturday Night game on TV. Fantastic for recruiting. Hope all the defensive recruits that place a lot of emphasis on playing early are watching.