The day of reckoning is upon us. LSU football begins its 2022 season, and the Brian Kelly era, on Sunday from New Orleans. The Caesars Superdome will play host to a match-up between two of college football’s historic greats. The Tigers will square off against Florida State in a game that will seemingly set the tone for the season ahead.
There isn’t much to go off as it relates to how we measure LSU football’s success going forward. The Tigers haven’t returned many of their starters from last year, they’ve got an entirely new coaching staff and there’s still question marks on the depth chart. The most glaring inquiry before kickoff was: who would start at quarterback? LSU will be in safe hands with Jayden Daniels, who has now been confirmed the starter over Garrett Nussmeier.
Three bold predictions ahead of LSU football’s game against Florida State
The Seminoles scheduled a cushion game against Duquesne (FCS) to start the year, whereas the Tigers are being thrown straight into the fire. It’ll be trial by combat on Sunday evening in The Big Easy for Kelly’s men. Despite not having a lot to go off, we still know enough about this unique team to muster up a couple of bold predictions prior to kickoff.
1. The cornerbacks excel
Perhaps the biggest weakness of this LSU team heading into the offseason was its depth at cornerback. Derek Stingley Jr. went No. 3 overall to the Houston Texans in this year’s NFL Draft, Eli Ricks took his talents to Alabama and numerous other defensive backs graduated. Along with these factors, the Tigers suffered a big hit to their incoming recruiting class when Ed Orgeron departed. Kelly didn’t have a ton of time to leave his mark on this year’s initial class when it comes to cornerbacks. Therefore, he turned to the transfer portal.
LSU added some of the biggest names on the transfer portal, most notably at defensive back. Players like Jarrick Bernard-Converse (Oklahoma State transfer) and Greg Brooks Jr. (Arkansas) were huge gets for the Tigers. A position group that Kelly noted as a concern on numerous occasions was suddenly a little bit deeper. Nevertheless, there were doubts.
The former Notre Dame coach has praised the corners following Fall Camp though. He insinuated that a position that once lacked warm bodies now has legitimate depth. This speaks volumes to the job he and his staff have done throughout the summer to prepare.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis is not a lethal playmaker through the air. He’s got a 58.9 completion percentage, 22 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions throughout his collegiate career. This presents the LSU cornerbacks with a relatively easy—in comparison to some of the other challenges they’ll face later on—task on Sunday. Experience at the safety positions with Major Burns and Jay Ward will help steady the ship should any problems arise, as well.
Behind the talents of Bernard-Converse, Brooks Jr., Mekhi Garner and Colby Richardson, the Tigers’ corners will enjoy a breakout party in New Orleans. They’ll contain Florida State through the air and prove to everybody that Kelly’s public statements instilled confidence in them ahead of the season opener against the Seminoles.
2. The defense earns its stripes
LSU fans would be significantly more worried about their team’s defense heading into the season if Kelly had not calmed their nerves in his pre-Florida State press conference earlier in the week. Positionally, the defensive backs seemed to be the weakest group on that side of the ball. However, if the head coach’s words are anything to go by, that may not be the case any longer.
As I said on the last slide, I believe the Tigers will excel against a seldom explosive passing attack like the Seminoles’. There is a lot of confidence around Tallahassee about the running game after an incredible performance in the opener against Duquesne, but the passing game didn’t look like anything special against a fairly bad team. As long as the defensive backs can hold their own, they can leave the rest up to a vastly more established and experienced front seven.
LSU has enough firepower on its defensive line to wreak havoc on just about any team in the country. Big names like Ali Gaye, BJ Ojulari*, Jaquelin Roy and Maason Smith are all returning to terrorize offensive lines this season. Florida State has a couple of injuries in the trenches, so expect the Tigers’ defensive lineman to take full advantage. Factor in the run-stopping ability of former Clemson transfer linebacker Mike Jones Jr. (who?) and LSU has all of the tools it needs to put together a complete defensive performance.
The Tigers have struggled in years past giving up big plays on the defensive side of the ball. They began to put the pieces together toward the end of last season though. Despite having a plethora of new starters under new defensive coordinator Matt House, that confidence and growth will have likely carried over into this year.
As long as LSU is able to do something that Duquesne couldn’t—stop the run—it should be able to limit the big plays it gives up against the Seminoles. This will be a major key to victory.
As far as a bold prediction, I see the Tigers keeping Florida State contained on the night. LSU’s defense won’t quite look like it did in the Dave Aranda days, but it’ll be a helluva lot better than in years past. The Tigers’ defense will earn its stripes against the Seminoles.
*- Ojulari will play as a JACK under House. The JACK position is a hybrid defensive line/linebacker position that gives the Tigers formational flexibility. Think a Jadeveon Clowney type.
3. Jack Bech breaks out
LSU’s official depth chart was released via the Allstate Louisiana Kickoff early afternoon on Sunday. Although there were a lot of “ORs” on both sides of the ball, there weren’t any at wide receiver. The Tigers will trot out Kayshon Boutte, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas as its starters on offense. That doesn’t mean the likes of Jack Bech and Jaray Jenkins won’t be involved in the game against Florida State though.
Bech came up clutch on numerous occasions when LSU needed it most last season. He’s got tremendous route-running abilities and even better hands. No matter where he lines up—in the slot or on the outside—he’ll be a threat. He’s now made the full-time transition to wide receiver (as opposed to whatever tight end/wide receiver hybrid Ed Orgeron had him playing), so expect him to become an important piece of the Tigers’ offense going forward.
Nabers missed some practice time last week due to a small injury. It’s doubtful that he’s recovered 100% ahead of this game against Florida State. This, coupled with the fact that it’s the first game of the season, will result in some more opportunities being given to those lower on the depth chart. Bech isn’t one to sit around, content with not playing. He’s going to want to prove a point when he finally sees the field against the Seminoles.
Bech has all of the right attributes and skills to replicate the success of former Cincinnati wide receiver Alec Pierce, who was an important piece of Mike Denbrock’s offense with the Bearkats. The Lafayette native will be looking to build on his 43-reception, 489-yard season from last year.
Florida State will be giving a lot of attention to one of the Biletnikoff Award preseason favorites in Boutte. This will leave room for the other LSU receivers to put on huge performances under the lights of the Caesars Superdome. I fully expect Bech to be amongst those making huge plays in a victory over Florida State on Sunday.