After dropping their third game of the season at home to Alabama last week, LSU now faces win or go home scenarios the rest of the way. It doesn’t get any easier any time soon, either, because the #6 ranked Texas Longhorns come to Baton Rouge on Saturday.
After dropping down to #21 following a 31-13 loss to the Crimson Tide last week, the Tigers are glad to see the Longhorns coming in ranked so high. They’ve yet to earn a marquee win and beating the #6 ranked team would be massive for their playoff
hopes that are on life support. Most folks believe that even with 3 losses, LSU has a good chance of making the College Football Playoff if they win out.
It starts with Texas on Saturday and there are three key matchups that could determine the fate of the Tigers season.
Weston Davis vs. Colin Simmons
After missing the past two games after suffering a high ankle sprain, Simmons is set to return for Saturday after not being listed on the injury report. As for Davis, he is also coming off of an injury last week against Alabama. He was leaving the sideline in a boot and on crutches, but is listed as probable on the injury report.
It’s no secret how devastating Simmons can be to an opposing offense. He leads the SEC with 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Allow me to remind you that he’s missed the past two and a half games and he still leads in both categories. That’s how far out in front that he was. He’s a menace and can single-handily ruin Sam Leavitt’s day.
Seeing that Simmons primarily rushes off of the right edge, it’ll be Davis who has the responsibility of taming a monster. It’s a scary thought for Lane Kiffin, considering he’s coming off of a game in which he graded out at a 51.3 in pass blocking against Alabama before he got hurt. His season-long grade is a 61.4, but we’ve seen him struggle against good pass rushers. His season low was a 37.1 against Ole Miss and much of that night was a disaster for Leavitt. Davis will have his hands full and LSU will likely need to help him out with double teams and/or chips from tight ends and running backs.
LSU linebackers vs. Arch Manning
While Manning only shows having 91 yards rushing on the season, that’s largely due to the 27 sacks that he’s taken. For those unaware, sack yardage is taken away from QB rushing yards in college.
Research shows that without the sack yardage, Manning has approximately 272 yards rushing. It may not seem like a lot, and while it may not be, don’t let that fool you. He can use his legs when he needs to. He’s an athletic quarterback that wants to throw the ball first, but he’ll run if he has to.
For the third game in a row, LSU will be faced with the challenge of stopping a QB like that. They were great against Byrum Brown prior to the bye week a few weeks ago, then pretty good against Keelon Russell last week. There was one crucial play that was a killer. After the Tigers had taken their first lead at 13-10, the Crimson Tide marched back down in to the red zone and faced a 3rd and 9. With the chance to get off of the field and hold them to a game-tying field goal, Russell scrambled for a gain of 10 to set up a first and goal and eventual touchdown. Everything went down hill from that point on for LSU, but outside of that one play, they held him to just 25 yards on the ground.
With Whit Weeks questionable, it remains to be seen if Blake Baker’s defense will get some much needed help back, but regardless, TJ Dottery and Dahvon Keys have to be on top of their game to prevent game-changing scrambles by Manning.
LSU cornerbacks vs. Cam Coleman
This one should be a fun matchup to watch, regardless if it’s PJ Woodland or DJ Pickett that draws the assignment on Cam Coleman.
Coleman is large receiver at 6’3, 204 pounds. He’s a big body that’s great at making high and contested catches, even with tight coverage. Both Woodland and Pickett are physical corners.
Woodland has often followed teams’ #1 this year, but the size of Coleman makes me wonder if Pickett may be the one lining up against Texas’s #8. At 6’5, he can negate the height and physicality of almost any receiver.
Coleman has 23 receptions for 409 yards and 7 touchdowns in the 8 games that he’s played. He’s coming back from a shoulder injury that saw him miss their game against Missouri last week, but is not listed on the injury report and is expected to play.
