LSU vs Alabama: Keys to Victory, Part 2

As the LSU vs. Alabama game draws closer, and with LSU entering the game a six-point underdog, Death Valley Voice will break down the keys to victory for the Tigers. In the second of two parts, we now look at the LSU defense.

More from LSU Football

Run Defense

The strength of LSU is typically its defense, and this certainly is coming to fruition again this year. LSU is near the top nationally in total defense, allowing only 15.9 points per game (3rd SEC), and 318 total yards per game (4th SEC). The total yards stat is skewed a bit due to early run defense issues.

So after the shaky start to the year in defending the run, the Tiger defense has settled down, and settled in. LSU is receiving solid play from the defensive line, with Danielle Hunter (second on the team with 55 tackles, and first with ten tackles for loss), and Jermauria Rasco (42 tackles, and leading the team with three sacks) anchoring the ends.

The interior of the line is where the Tigers had most of its early-season woes, and after rotating several players, Defensive Coordinator John Chavis has now found the right combination, with Christian LaCouture and Davon Godchaux shoring up the middle. Quentin Thomas has recovered from injury and is seeing playing time as well.

At the linebacker spots, Kwon Alexander and Lamar Louis have played well. The middle linebacker spot was problematic early, and now that appears to be fixed with the emergence of Kendell Beckwith, who has replaced D.J. Welter. Beckwith is quick and athletic with an ability to seemingly fly to the ball. Once he was inserted in the starting lineup, and combined with stability up-front, the LSU rushing defense quickly improved.

Looking only at stats from SEC play, opponents rushing numbers the first two games, both losses, were unlike anything seen in quite some time in Tigerland. Mississippi State gashed LSU for 302 rushing yards, and Auburn for 298 – a whopping 600 yards! In the three SEC games since, all wins, LSU has allowed only 331 rushing yards (Florida with 123, Kentucky with 71, and Ole Miss with 137). That’s the Tiger defense we are accustomed to.

Alabama features a strong running game, and they enter the contest averaging 218.6 yards per game. The Crimson Tide is led by T.J. Yeldon with 618 yards on the year. Tiger fans definitely remember Yeldon; he caught the game-winning pass two years ago in Tiger Stadium. Alabama also has a second option in the backfield, Derrick Henry, who has 530 yards on the year.

Alabama quarterback Blake Sims also running ability, but fortunately for LSU, does not pose the same kind of threat as Dak Prescott or Nick Marshall.

LSU should feel confident in run defense coming into this game with the improvement shown during the Tigers’ three-game winning streak. In terms of overall stats, LSU allows 159.7 yards per game rushing, which is 9th in the SEC.

The key will be to make Alabama as one-dimensional as possible by containing the passing game.

Pass Defense

The LSU secondary is among the best in the nation, and leads the SEC in passing defense, allowing 158.4 yards per game. What we have this Saturday is strength vs. strength. The strong LSU pass defense against the strong Alabama passing game. The Crimson Tide averages 290 passing yards per game (second in the SEC); the Tigers will have their work cut out for them.

The Tigers will have to key on Alabama receiver Amari Cooper, who has 71 receptions for 1,132 yards, with nine touchdowns. The 71 receptions represent more than 40% of Alabama’s passinng game. The number two receiver for the Tide in terms of receptions is DeAndrew White with 23 receptions for 243 yards.

The key will be to keep Cooper bottled up, and it can be done. Earlier in the year, the Arkansas defense held Cooper to only two receptions for 22 yards. It appears that LSU can be successful in using the Arkansas blueprint of assigning one defensive back to shadow him, and playing a safety over the top to help out. It makes sense for LSU to use Rashard Robinson in man-to-man, as he is quick and athletic. From the safety position, Ronald Martin can provide help.

From the quarterback position, Sims has thrown for 2.034 yards and 15 touchdowns on 131-of-200. LSU will need to disrupt any timing that Sims has with Cooper and the other receivers by pressuring him into poor decisions. Expect the LSU defense to blitz, mainly with Beckwith from the linebacker position, and Jamal Adams from the corner. The Tigers had great success in disrupting Bo Wallace in the win over Ole Miss, and the LSU front seven is playing with a great deal of confidence at this point in the year.

Since Sims also provides a running element for Alabama, we might see the LSU defensive ends in containment mode. The last two years, Chavis came up with great game plans to contain Johnny Manziel in wins over Texas A&M. Sims does not present a Manziel-like threat, so it appears that some variation of this can be successful.

Containing Alabama’s passing game will be huge for LSU, and can go a long way toward a favorable result for the Tigers.

What Will Happen

LSU is coming into the game with a great deal of momentum and confidence. It’s also a night game at Tiger Stadium. LSU has lost three consecutive games to Alabama. This combination of things should have these young Tigers fired up and ready to play their best game of the year.

It will be a close game with two outstanding defenses. The LSU defense will have success in containing the Alabama offense, and LSU’s offensive formula in establishing the run and controlling the clock will eventually wear down the Alabama defense. The game is likely to be decided in the fourth quarter.

LSU prevails, 17-13.

Home/LSU Football