First let me preface this by saying I'm not some football whiz, and I'm not going to pretend to be one. But with this being such a pivotal game, and me having a little bit of spare time, I've watched some LSU film to get a better idea of what we're up against on Saturday. So, I wanted to offer up some thoughts.
LSU Offense
- I would describe their offense as more finesse than physical. They're not a line up and hit you in the mouth type of team. They do a lot of quick passes which reminds me of Missouri. They know their O-Line is not a strength, so by getting the ball out quickly helps limit the damage done by opposing D-Lines.
- Their entire offensive success is predicated by how much their QB (Johnson) can get the ball to his #1 playmaker, Kayshon Boutte (who is also #1). Boutte is a great route-runner and is DANGEROUS after the catch. Dort and Valentine will have their hands full with him Saturday. Aijan and Corker will probably be in 1-on-1 situations in the open field with him, so they must get him on the ground when those occur.
-Their running game is almost not existent due to their lack of physicality up front. I would be really, really surprised if they had any success at all running the football despite Bully McCall being out. Their leading rusher averages 3.1 yards per carry which is abysmal.
-Max Johnson (LSU QB) is probably the best QB we will face this year. He's thrown 16 TD's this year and only 4 INT's. He's surgical in the short passing game and gets the ball out really quickly on most plays. He much like Bazelak from Mizzou in that he's got a quick release and is very accurate with the football. Where he runs into trouble is when he has to get off his spot and improvise. There were multiple times on film when he was flushed to his right (he's a lefty) and made a poor decision and/or pass. Getting him off his spot with pressure in his face. When the DL don't make to him, having them get their hands up to deflect some passes at the line would be helpful. I would be surprised if Weaver and Wright are able to get to him off the edge due to how quickly he gets the ball out. Getting interior pressure from Paschal, the other interior D-lineman, and blitzing LB's will be key. UCLA blitzed the hell out of him up the middle and had some really good success.
LSU Defense
-I would describe LSU's defense as fast and aggressive, and at times, to their own detriment. That's when they become undisciplined. They have the athletes to play with anyone, but appear to be somewhat poorly coached and schemed.
-Where LSU's defense is lacking is physicality up front, and tackling is a persistent issue. You cannot watch LSU and not notice all of the missed tackles. This should really work in the favor of Wandale who is so difficult to get on the ground, especially on the move.
-Something that Auburn and UCLA both did extremely well was run A LOT of shallow and deep crossing route concepts. Because the opposing players would catch the ball on the move, that forced a ton of missed tackles. I think they will also have their hands full trying to get Rodriguez on the ground. If he gets going like has before, he might break LSU's will and spirit. If that happens, game over.
-Because LSU knows they need their second level defenders to help stop the run, sometimes they are really out of position on play action boots. Hopefully Coen will see that and we will see a healthy does of that from our offense. Ball security from our receivers will be huge because like Missouri, sometimes their players substitute a sure tackle with trying to get the ball out. We all know how much Ali has struggled with ball security after the catch. Definitely needs to be a point of emphasis.
-It will be very important for UK to play with a lead most of this game. If they were to get behind by 2-3 scores, I do not believe UK has the offensive weapons in the pass game the catch up. LSU has some really talented DB's that I expect to lock our WR's up in obvious passing plays. LSU did look to be susceptible to QB runs, so Levis will need to make some plays with his legs to keep UK in favorable down and distances when nothing is there.
LSU Special Teams
-They have a really good kicker who is perfect on the year in FG's and XP's. He nailed a big 51 yarder against Auburn.
-Their punter is only averaging 40 yards per punt. Goodfellow for comparison, is averaging 44.5.
-Their return man hasn't done anything of significance with their kick and punt returns, but Trey Palmer was the #2 athlete in his 2018 class and was a 5 star guy, so the ability is there.
Overall, I think this is a favorable matchup for the Cats. Keys for the Cats will be getting some interior pressure on Johnson and not turning the ball over.
LSU Offense
- I would describe their offense as more finesse than physical. They're not a line up and hit you in the mouth type of team. They do a lot of quick passes which reminds me of Missouri. They know their O-Line is not a strength, so by getting the ball out quickly helps limit the damage done by opposing D-Lines.
- Their entire offensive success is predicated by how much their QB (Johnson) can get the ball to his #1 playmaker, Kayshon Boutte (who is also #1). Boutte is a great route-runner and is DANGEROUS after the catch. Dort and Valentine will have their hands full with him Saturday. Aijan and Corker will probably be in 1-on-1 situations in the open field with him, so they must get him on the ground when those occur.
-Their running game is almost not existent due to their lack of physicality up front. I would be really, really surprised if they had any success at all running the football despite Bully McCall being out. Their leading rusher averages 3.1 yards per carry which is abysmal.
-Max Johnson (LSU QB) is probably the best QB we will face this year. He's thrown 16 TD's this year and only 4 INT's. He's surgical in the short passing game and gets the ball out really quickly on most plays. He much like Bazelak from Mizzou in that he's got a quick release and is very accurate with the football. Where he runs into trouble is when he has to get off his spot and improvise. There were multiple times on film when he was flushed to his right (he's a lefty) and made a poor decision and/or pass. Getting him off his spot with pressure in his face. When the DL don't make to him, having them get their hands up to deflect some passes at the line would be helpful. I would be surprised if Weaver and Wright are able to get to him off the edge due to how quickly he gets the ball out. Getting interior pressure from Paschal, the other interior D-lineman, and blitzing LB's will be key. UCLA blitzed the hell out of him up the middle and had some really good success.
LSU Defense
-I would describe LSU's defense as fast and aggressive, and at times, to their own detriment. That's when they become undisciplined. They have the athletes to play with anyone, but appear to be somewhat poorly coached and schemed.
-Where LSU's defense is lacking is physicality up front, and tackling is a persistent issue. You cannot watch LSU and not notice all of the missed tackles. This should really work in the favor of Wandale who is so difficult to get on the ground, especially on the move.
-Something that Auburn and UCLA both did extremely well was run A LOT of shallow and deep crossing route concepts. Because the opposing players would catch the ball on the move, that forced a ton of missed tackles. I think they will also have their hands full trying to get Rodriguez on the ground. If he gets going like has before, he might break LSU's will and spirit. If that happens, game over.
-Because LSU knows they need their second level defenders to help stop the run, sometimes they are really out of position on play action boots. Hopefully Coen will see that and we will see a healthy does of that from our offense. Ball security from our receivers will be huge because like Missouri, sometimes their players substitute a sure tackle with trying to get the ball out. We all know how much Ali has struggled with ball security after the catch. Definitely needs to be a point of emphasis.
-It will be very important for UK to play with a lead most of this game. If they were to get behind by 2-3 scores, I do not believe UK has the offensive weapons in the pass game the catch up. LSU has some really talented DB's that I expect to lock our WR's up in obvious passing plays. LSU did look to be susceptible to QB runs, so Levis will need to make some plays with his legs to keep UK in favorable down and distances when nothing is there.
LSU Special Teams
-They have a really good kicker who is perfect on the year in FG's and XP's. He nailed a big 51 yarder against Auburn.
-Their punter is only averaging 40 yards per punt. Goodfellow for comparison, is averaging 44.5.
-Their return man hasn't done anything of significance with their kick and punt returns, but Trey Palmer was the #2 athlete in his 2018 class and was a 5 star guy, so the ability is there.
Overall, I think this is a favorable matchup for the Cats. Keys for the Cats will be getting some interior pressure on Johnson and not turning the ball over.
