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Story Archives: Predicting LSU regular season
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Predicting LSU regular season
There are relatively no holes to fill for the LSU Tigers in 2012.
The wide receiver position will be lacking a tall, physical receiver and Zach Mettenberger's inexperience may come into question, but other than that, the Tigers are near perfect. Some could argue they'll even be better than they were a year ago.
LSU will feature one of the premiere defenses in the league with the best defensive line in the country and hold claim to one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. Basically, this team is the 2011 version with a quarterback capable of skinning defenses. Hear that? That's the sound of SEC head coaches sighing in distraught.
But will that be enough for the Tigers to run through the SEC as they did last year? Or will Mettenberger's inexperience cost the Tigers dearly?
Game 1: North Texas has the daunting task of opening up against the Tigers in Tiger Stadium at night. Good luck.
The Mean Green will most certainly meet their match in the form of LSU. The Tigers should have their way rushing the ball, but look for them to try and throw it with Mettenberger early and often. The game time experience should be valuable before facing a somewhat underrated Washington club the following week.
And while LSU is doing their thing offensively, the defense should have no problem asserting their will upfront and in the secondary.
Prediction: LSU wins 41-3
Game 2: Sure, Keith Price looked impressive in defeat at the Alamo Bowl.
The Washington quarterback threw for 438 yards and four touchdowns in the loss against Baylor, but then again, that game featured absolutely no defense. The final score was 67-56 for Heaven's sake.
So how will he do against one of the best defenses in the country? Well, Price does have a tendency to throw interceptions when he faced a relatively stiff defense in 2011. Price threw two interceptions against Nebraska, three against Arizona and two against Oregon.
What's he going to do when Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo are in his face for 60 minutes? Washington will be able to move the ball here and there, but eventually, the Tigers' overwhelming talent will bury the Huskies.
I actually had this as a bigger blowout before Tyrann Mathieu was kicked off the team, but his loss will affect LSU early in the season.
Prediction: LSU wins 45-27
Game 3: Wait, they play football in Idaho? I guess you do learn something new everyday.
All joking aside, the Idaho Vandals play in the WAC, and last season they lost every conference game except one. So how do they expect to compete with LSU? Well, they don't, or at least they shouldn't.
Much like the Tigers' game against North Texas, Idaho should be a great opportunity for Mettenberger to gain more experience before SEC play.
Expect the Tigers to take control of this game early by forcing Idaho into making mistakes and turning the ball over. No contest here.
Prediction: LSU wins 49-10
Game 4: Though the end result will be the same, the game between LSU and Auburn will be much different than it was a year ago.
Last season, Auburn ran into a brick wall, and without Mathieu, Spencer Ware or Tharold Simon, LSU dismantled Auburn 45-10. But in 2012, Auburn will be much more experienced with a quality defense, and that's not questioned. What is questionable happens to be Auburn's offense maintain its explosiveness without Gus Malzahn calling the shots. And can Kiehl Frazier be fully prepared to face this secondary?
That's unknown heading into the season, but what we do know is that Auburn is ready to extract revenge against LSU. Much like Auburn sought vengeance in 2010 with Cam Newton after LSU beat them 31-10 in 2009, Auburn doesn't seem to forget bad losses.
Playing in Jordan-Hare Stadium against a hungry Auburn team will be LSU's first real test of the season. And though Auburn gives LSU a strong outing, the LSU Tigers still pass with flying colors.
Prediction: LSU wins 30-13
Game 5: In case you're still wondering, LSU's non-conference schedule is nothing compared to last year's.
Washington is the only non-conference game that can be considered a challenge, while the others are merely cupcake games. Perhaps none more so than the Towson Tigers.
Who exactly is Towson? An FCS school to be exact, so come Sept. 29, the Tigers will feast on its own kind and feast well indeed.
LSU could very well have their second team in by halftime and have their third team finishing the game in the fourth.
Prediction: LSU wins 56-0
Game 6: Do the Gators have their chomp back?
Eh, let's not get ahead of ourselves. While the defense is coming together quite nicely for Will Muschamp and his staff, the offense still needs to figure out which quarterback will start before the season.
There's still some lingering question marks surrounding the Gators to keep them from winning the SEC East or allow them to hang with LSU.
And though this game will be played in the Swamp, LSU should still have no troubles pulling away from the Gators, especially after coming off of a Towson thrashing. The Gators will sport a strong "D", but the Tigers will be strong in all phases of the game. Advantage Tigers.
Predicted Score: 34-13
Game 7: Consider LSU on full upset alert come Oct. 13.
South Carolina is no joke folks, and this could be the year Steve Spurrier gets his club over the hump and win an SEC title. His team is seriously that good, and that's all the more reason to believe this game should be an instant classic.
The Gamecocks have a quarterback in Connor Shaw that they actually trust, a running back in Marcus Lattimore that could win the Heisman and a defensive line that is sure to get after the quarterback. This game has fireworks written all over it.
Back-and-forth these teams will go trading leads as momentum switches. Mettenberger will have to prove himself in this game, as the Tigers will have to rely on him in a late game situation. Mettenberger does his job, and the Tigers escape by the skin of their teeth.
Predicted Score: 24-20
Game 8: Before being kicked off the team, I predicted Tyrann Mathieu was going to have one game where he simply went off. I thought this would be it.
The last time Mathieu played against the Aggies, he had eight tackles, a sack and an interception as a freshman. Mathieu outshines his last performance with a punt return for a touchdown, ten tackles and a forced fumble in an LSU romp.
Mathieu is now history, so someone else is going to have to step up.
Prediction: LSU wins 42-17
Game 9: Round three anyone?
This is the big one, the rubber match if you will. If you want to look at this game from a simplistic point of view, fans could easily say that LSU is better than they were in 2011 and Alabama is not.
The reason for that is because the Crimson Tide lost six amazing players in Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower, Trent Richardson, Marquis Maze, Courtney Upshaw and Dre Kirkpatrick. LSU, on the other hand, lost Rueben Randle, Ryan Baker, Mo Claiborne, Michael Brockers and now Mathieu. You do the math. But as you know, football isn't as simple as that, especially with and Les Miles calling the shots.
This should be another defensive struggle, and no matter what the Big 12 and Pac-12 tells you, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's refreshing to see these days. These two are going to slug it out once again, and the difference maker will be the setting. It's simply unfair to have to play LSU at night in Tiger Stadium, and that's exactly what the Tide will face in 2012. Could we see another night game classic like the LSU/Florida game in 2007? We can only hope.
Predicted Score: LSU wins 20-17
Game 10: Playing Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU in a row has to be in the back of Dan Mullen's head all season.
The Bulldogs will need to be 110% when facing LSU, but after battling the Crimson Tide and Aggies the previous two weeks, they might be banged up before game time approaches.
The one thing they do have working in their favor though is a potential hangover by LSU. The Tigers' encounter with Alabama will be draining to say the least. It'll be an emotional game that's watched by anyone who would call themselves a college football enthusiast, so a drop in enthusiasm is somewhat expected.
So the biggest question heading into this game will be the Tigers' ability to recover from the game. If the Tigers stumble out of the gate, this could be a close game like 2011, but if LSU plays to its potential, they should have this game by at least two touchdowns.
Predicted Score: LSU wins 27-13
Game 11: It's clobberin' time.
It's a long way to the top if you're at the bottom of the SEC West. Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss know this.
And while the Rebels have capable playmakers around the field such as Charles Sawyer and Donte Moncrief, they can't match athlete for athlete with LSU. It'll take Freeze a few years to acquire that much talent.
So what do Rebel fans have to look forward to in 2012? Losing. The Tigers handle Ole Miss like they did a year ago, except this time Mettenberger shows off his arm rather than his . Predicted Score: LSU wins 38-6
Game 12: Many are quick to write off Arkansas without Bobby Petrino. Foolish.
Though the Hogs are without him and three tremendous receivers, they still have Tyler Wilson at quarterback, and while a short few months ago, I figured Wilson and Aaron Murray to be equal, my opinion has since changed.
After watching Wilson act professionally and show off his strong arm at the 2012 Manning Passing Academy, I walked away more impressed with him than I did with Murray, Matt Barkley or any other elite quarterback in attendance. He's that good.
But hey, this isn't breaking news. After all, Wilson was First Team All-SEC last season with 3,638 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. Wilson and Arkansas will still be dangerous, and that should make for another LSU/Arkansas classic. However, the Tigers' edge on defense and in special teams will be the key to victory, as it was a year ago.
Predicted score: LSU 31, Arkansas 24. |
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