The LSU Football team has one game left on their schedule as the Tigers will take on the Baylor Bears in the Kinders Texas Bowl. Coming into the year, the expectations for this Baylor team were extremely low and Dave Aranda found himself on the hot seat. Then Baylor went 8-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12 keeping Aranda off the hot seat and earning their way into a bowl game.
The main storyline around this game will be the matchup between Dave Aranda and his former team LSU. Aranda was brought in to be LSU's defensive coordinator in 2016 and the Tigers had to do a ton to retain him as other schools came calling but, he helped LSU in winning the 2019 National Championship. While LSU was known for its offense in 2019, the defense allowed just 21.9 points per game.
While Aranda is known for his prowess on defense, the Bears have a high flying offense which scores 34.7 points per game. The Bears are a very balanced offense picking up 246 yards per game passing which ranks 42nd Nationally while their rushing offense ranks 33rd picking up 188.5 yards per game.
Sawyer Robertson will be back at Baylor in 2025 meaning that LSU will go up against the rising Redshirt Senior. Robertson had an outstanding year passing for 2,626 yards with 26 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. If Robertson can't find his wide receivers, he can beat you with his legs rushing for 227 yards and four touchdowns.
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED ⁉️" - Sawyer Robertson#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/fYIouL8Tg2
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 26, 2024
While Sawyer Robertson leads Baylor's Aerial attack, Bryson Washington leads their rushing attack. Washington rushed for 1,006 yards this season with 12 touchdowns averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Washington is a guy you need to get on the ground as he is dominant in picking up yards after contact.
Baylor - WVU first watch for me in this thread.
— Travis Roeder (@Travis_Roeder) November 17, 2024
You cannot overstate the value of Bryson Washington. Early in the season this was a 0 or 1 yard gain.
I'd bet a lot that his yards after contact per rush is one of the highest in the Big 12.
This is where you're just completely… pic.twitter.com/u7p4DE3wIP
The Bears have two solid backs behind Washington in Dawson Pendergrass who picked up 608 yards on the ground averaging 6.1 yards per carry and Richard Reese who picked up 223 yards on 56 carries. Add in what Robertson gives the team running the football and Baylor has a dynamic rushing attack.
At receiver, Baylor doesn't have that top end wide receiver but, they get a ton from their entire room. Josh Cameron led Baylor with 643 yards and 8 touchdowns which ranked second in the Big 12, Cameron is the receiver that should scare everyone as he's electric after the catch. Ashtyn Hawkins is right behind him with 512 yards and 4 touchdowns after transferring in from Texas State as he has incredible hands.
HIM pic.twitter.com/Ggr8z51WO3
— Ashtyn Hawkins (@ashtynhawkins) November 26, 2024
As shown by the Baylor Bears' incredible offensive numbers, they clearly have a great offensive line up front. Not only is the group great at paving the way for the outstanding run game but, they've only allowed 14 sacks this season keeping Robertson clean.
Given that LSU is going to be seeing some shakeups on defense due to the NFL Draft and the transfer portal it'll be interesting to see how the Tigers' defense plays. Brian Kelly loves to get the younger players some time in these games so this is a great measuring stick as to who is ready to contribute next season, and which positions may need some help.