The wounded LSU Tigers will welcome South Alabama to Death Valley on Saturday, and the “gimmes” are almost gone. The Tigers are starting to look as endangered as their mascot as they’ve lost key players like John Emery, Jacobian Guillory, and their latest casualty, Harold Perkins. South Alabama won’t care, as it’s looking to become the second Sun Belt team to win in Baton Rouge since Troy in 2017. On that note, the Jaguars present challenges that LSU needs to prove it can overcome before facing a string of seven straight SEC games to finish the year.
LSU Hosts South Alabama
Can LSU Stuff Fluff?
South Alabama will test an LSU defense that has been vulnerable against the run with its freshman phenom of a running back, Fluff Bothwell. Bothwell has a sturdy build. He is five-foot-10-inches and 220 pounds. He also has wiggle to complement his power. Say what you will about competition, but 10 yards a carry after four games is impressive against anybody.
The Jaguars’ mobile quarterback and RPO-heavy offense help to create lanes for Bothwell. Quarterback Gio Lopez, also a freshman, is a talented runner who rushed for over 100 yards against Appalachian State. South Alabama’s dynamic rushing threats force defenses into single-high safety looks, and Lopez has a live arm to take advantage through the air.
South Alabama tends to keep its passing game short to intermediate, which lends itself to a philosophy of protecting its young quarterback. Lopez has yet to throw an interception this year, but his accuracy has been erratic at times. He’s talented enough to hit his twitchy wide receiver, Jamaal Pritchett, for a big gain. The young quarterback is also inconsistent enough to sail a high throw into a defender’s hands.
Self-Scouting
The Jaguars scored 87 points against Northwestern State; this is undoubtedly a dangerous offense. With all due respect to South Alabama, this game will be more about LSU continuing to evolve into a complete team. The Tiger defense doesn’t have game-changers currently in the middle at any level, meaning defensive tackle, inside linebacker, and safety. The defense will grow, but it won’t be dominant at any point this season. Regardless, it should be good enough to avoid allowing seven-minute drives to bad offenses like UCLA‘s.
Consequently, it’s even more important that the defensive personnel control what they can, like tackling. It’s disheartening for a coach to see fourth- and fifth-year players whiff in the open field or attempt to arm tackle 240-pound tight ends. Considering the collective panic of the fan base about the defensive tackle position after the spring, that group hasn’t been a liability. But it’s time for the LSU linebackers to complement the outstanding play of its defensive ends. Perkins is out, but so is the conversation about his lack of production. South Alabama presents a style and game in which Greg Penn and the Weeks brothers should excel.
Bringing Balance
As the latest edition of Monday Night Football, featuring Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow would suggest, some on the bayou are a bit spoiled by quarterback play. So much so that they don’t appreciate that Garrett Nussmeier is second in the country in both passing touchdowns and completions per game. Further, he’s seventh in the nation in passing yards per game. He’s doing this without his best deep threat in Chris Hilton and more impressively without a running game.
Senior Josh Williams averaged an admirable five yards per carry against UCLA, but the next back only had six carries. LSU is 112th in FBS in team rushing yards per game, and there simply isn’t enough ice and bandages for Nussmeier to survive the SEC slate in that fashion. Not only do the Tigers have to run more often, but they must also get the ball to their most explosive athletes. Anything less is doing opponents a favor, and the Tigers as constructed cannot afford to do so.
