Just how good is LSU's defense?

[tgr4lfe 220]

Does any one really think LSU will hold us to less than 330yds total offense? I don't.

Probably not but MSU did hold AU to 348-yards so it's not like it would be impossible. It all depends on the flow of the game and how well LSU is defended. Consider the possibility of Auburn having only 9 offensive series for the game because LSU is bleeding the clock with several lengthy drives. During those 9 series Auburn has...

4 drives that net 60-yards each (240-yards)

3 drives that go "3 & out" (27-yards)

2 drives that average 35-yards each, 1 ending on a turnover (70-yards)

That would be 337-yards in total offense. The goal is to average about 30-yards per possession so that would be 37.4 yards per possession, which would actually be a productive game considering the low number of possessions.

My thoughts on MSU holding us to 348 yards is that was the 2nd game of the year and the offense didn't have their identity AT ALL. Totally different offense now compared to then. I think AU will come out in a different look, mixing it up on LSU to get them off balanced and out of sync. I don't know if that is throwing it more to set up the run or what, but I don't think we are going to play right into their strength, although we might be determined to play to our strength forcing LSU to stop it then torching down field with the passing game.

[bengaltiger 0]

This will be the matchup for the ages. It is winner take all. Just how it is meant to be. All is right in the balance of the SEC West. We both have our season on the line and are both playing our toughest opponent, thus far. Our key will be to stop Cam, play clean sound football, limit the TO's, and win the battle in the trenches. May the best TIGERS win.

Welcome to the board.

How do you see you guys matching up against Cam? Do you think they will at some point make a mistake and try to sell out against him, which would open up the passing game?

Line play is going to be huge. Our o-line has looked better recently but LSU always has big, nasty linemen.

Winning the battle in the trenches is the key. Our D line has to be able to close the lanes and get a push, forcing Cam to go to the outside. If our D line does this, allowing our linebackers the freedom to close down the outside run, also not taking the bait when Cam looks like he is going to throw, they should be able to keep him contained. Our secondary is going to have to keep you receivers in check to allow our linebackers that freedom. We do this and we should be able to contain Cam and keep him from busting anything big on us. He will have some success, but if we keep him in check, only allowing 3-5 yd/carry, that will be enough to shut down a huge portion of your attack.

I think these are good and very accurate quotes......here's my take on the MATCH UP. I think lsu matches up very very well against Auburns offense(not saying we are going to stop auburn) but simply as a personell match up I like it, drake nevis up front, very good speed ends, a very very good secondary to allow alot of man coverages and blitzes.....but here's the KEY match up all game long.....Kelvin sheppard#11 versus Cameron Newton#2!!!! That is what will determine the production od auburns offense, to defend this type of offense you have to be able to match up personell wise ....I think lsu does that very well, but you have to have a very very good middle linebacker to spy cam newton.....lsu does, Kelvin sheppeard I think this is the best linebacker cam will have to deal with all year long, He will not Shut down cam, but i think he can help contain him, the key is to not allow him to break off the big plays up the middle and force other players to have to carry the load. Thats the only way to be succesfull.....that and hope the offense can keep the ball on long sustained drives to keep auburns off the field. Not saying that it is GOING to happen, but that's OUR recipe for succes!! Either way I'm looking forward to a great game Saturday!!

[Strychnine 1,804]

I think these are good and very accurate quotes......here's my take on the MATCH UP. I think lsu matches up very very well against Auburns offense(not saying we are going to stop auburn) but simply as a personell match up I like it, drake nevis up front, very good speed ends, a very very good secondary to allow alot of man coverages and blitzes.....but here's the KEY match up all game long.....Kelvin sheppard#11 versus Cameron Newton#2!!!! That is what will determine the production od auburns offense, to defend this type of offense you have to be able to match up personell wise ....I think lsu does that very well, but you have to have a very very good middle linebacker to spy cam newton.....lsu does, Kelvin sheppeard I think this is the best linebacker cam will have to deal with all year long, He will not Shut down cam, but i think he can help contain him, the key is to not allow him to break off the big plays up the middle and force other players to have to carry the load. Thats the only way to be succesfull.....that and hope the offense can keep the ball on long sustained drives to keep auburns off the field. Not saying that it is GOING to happen, but that's OUR recipe for succes!! Either way I'm looking forward to a great game Saturday!!

LSU's defense definitely matches up against us better than anyone else has thus far. If anyone can keep Cam from steamrolling through for gaudy QB rushing stats, it is probably them. There are, however, other people on that offensive unit that it is unwise to lose sight of. I think that's one of the reasons that no one has really stopped him for any length of time. When they focus solely on him, they get gashed in other ways. This offense is very capable of being as balanced as they want to be.

I think it's a foregone conclusion that we will score some points, but we certainly won't just have our way with LSU's defense or hang 40+ on the board. I see our biggest success coming if Cam can keep the tempo up. That is when this offense has a big advantage. Our defense will certainly allow LSU to score some points too, and they might even make Jefferson look good for you. I don't think anyone has seen LSU's best game yet, and the same holds true for us. I'm hoping for a battle between two good teams that play the best we've seen so far.

[LEGACY TIGER 0]

The one element that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is that of what this game has meant to these 2 Tiger teams over the past. This has traditionally been a blood bath with the victor being decided by a very close margin. As good as LSU's D is AU has an equally good O. That said, stats don't really mean all that much in this matchup. It is more about what is at stake and the pride in being the team with the W at the end of the game. AU does have the homefield advantage in this one, but as we saw 2 yrs ago, LSU didn't let that stop us.

It will be a great game, to the victor goes the SEC West. It'll be about who wants it more. About who wants to get to Atlanta.

[bengaltiger 0]

I think these are good and very accurate quotes......here's my take on the MATCH UP. I think lsu matches up very very well against Auburns offense(not saying we are going to stop auburn) but simply as a personell match up I like it, drake nevis up front, very good speed ends, a very very good secondary to allow alot of man coverages and blitzes.....but here's the KEY match up all game long.....Kelvin sheppard#11 versus Cameron Newton#2!!!! That is what will determine the production od auburns offense, to defend this type of offense you have to be able to match up personell wise ....I think lsu does that very well, but you have to have a very very good middle linebacker to spy cam newton.....lsu does, Kelvin sheppeard I think this is the best linebacker cam will have to deal with all year long, He will not Shut down cam, but i think he can help contain him, the key is to not allow him to break off the big plays up the middle and force other players to have to carry the load. Thats the only way to be succesfull.....that and hope the offense can keep the ball on long sustained drives to keep auburns off the field. Not saying that it is GOING to happen, but that's OUR recipe for succes!! Either way I'm looking forward to a great game Saturday!!

LSU's defense definitely matches up against us better than anyone else has thus far. If anyone can keep Cam from steamrolling through for gaudy QB rushing stats, it is probably them. There are, however, other people on that offensive unit that it is unwise to lose sight of. I think that's one of the reasons that no one has really stopped him for any length of time. When they focus solely on him, they get gashed in other ways. This offense is very capable of being as balanced as they want to be.

I think it's a foregone conclusion that we will score some points, but we certainly won't just have our way with LSU's defense or hang 40+ on the board. I see our biggest success coming if Cam can keep the tempo up. That is when this offense has a big advantage. Our defense will certainly allow LSU to score some points too, and they might even make Jefferson look good for you. I don't think anyone has seen LSU's best game yet, and the same holds true for us. I'm hoping for a battle between two good teams that play the best we've seen so far.

Oh I definately agree with you, auburn has lots of playmakers, lsu's defense does also.....it's very good match ups of streghnth on streghnth ....and weakness on weakness. Should be a great game, one thing I will be looking for is how Cam reacts if in a third and long situation to lsu's variety of blitzes.....of course you have Gus and I'm sure he's aware of lsu's tendencies on third and long. My coaching advantage here definately goes to auburn though, this game will be won in the turnover margin and special teams battles, whoever wins those....wins the game!!

[Tigermike 3,063]

You have to attribute that to good coaching. I remember when you'all hired Chizyk (sp?). There were snickers because of his previous won loss record...but there's no laughter now. The dude can coach AND recruit. Auburn surprised me this year.

Yeah that guy who was at the airport booooing, can't be found.

[Strychnine 1,804]

Oh I definately agree with you, auburn has lots of playmakers, lsu's defense does also.....it's very good match ups of streghnth on streghnth ....and weakness on weakness. Should be a great game, one thing I will be looking for is how Cam reacts if in a third and long situation to lsu's variety of blitzes.....of course you have Gus and I'm sure he's aware of lsu's tendencies on third and long. My coaching advantage here definately goes to auburn though, this game will be won in the turnover margin and special teams battles, whoever wins those....wins the game!!

If there's one thing anyone can count on from LSU's defense, it's blitzes and blitzes, with a blitz on top. They've been an aggressive bunch as far as I can recall for the last decade. That said, Cam has been making smart decisions. Working entirely from memory (so I could easily be wrong), Cam is generally sacked if under center and the pocket completely collapses around him rather quickly, so he'll eat that sack rather than try something foolish. There are some guys he can throw to when blitzed out of the shotgun. In 3rd and long, under pressure and hurrying, I'd expect him to look to dump it to Fannin or McCalebb, or one of the receivers across the middle. This can be a VERY dangerous offense to blitz against. I'd expect LSU to try to keep everything in front of them on 3rd and long more than trying to attack. Cam and Malzahn are opportunistic.

EDIT: What I'm looking for is keeping the offensive tempo up to wear down that strong LSU defense, take them out of their gameplan, and put them on their heels. We can't win by trying to play traditional field position football, that's LSU's game, and they'll definitely beat us at it. Our offense isn't really built for it, and I'd be terrified to gamble our defense's endurance against LSU's. If we can get on top by a few scores with that tempo, and force LSU to play from behind, I think LSU's offense will be more likely to make mistakes. Of course, Miles and his staff know this, so they'll be looking to prevent it at all costs. It's so hard to really know what to expect with two good, but completely different teams squaring off like this.

[LEGACY TIGER 0]

Oh I definately agree with you, auburn has lots of playmakers, lsu's defense does also.....it's very good match ups of streghnth on streghnth ....and weakness on weakness. Should be a great game, one thing I will be looking for is how Cam reacts if in a third and long situation to lsu's variety of blitzes.....of course you have Gus and I'm sure he's aware of lsu's tendencies on third and long. My coaching advantage here definately goes to auburn though, this game will be won in the turnover margin and special teams battles, whoever wins those....wins the game!!

If there's one thing anyone can count on from LSU's defense, it's blitzes and blitzes, with a blitz on top. They've been an aggressive bunch as far as I can recall for the last decade. That said, Cam has been making smart decisions. Working entirely from memory (so I could easily be wrong), Cam is generally sacked if under center and the pocket completely collapses around him rather quickly, so he'll eat that sack rather than try something foolish. There are some guys he can throw to when blitzed out of the shotgun. In 3rd and long, under pressure and hurrying, I'd expect him to look to dump it to Fannin or McCalebb, or one of the receivers across the middle. This can be a VERY dangerous offense to blitz against. I'd expect LSU to try to keep everything in front of them on 3rd and long more than trying to attack. Cam and Malzahn are opportunistic.

EDIT: What I'm looking for is keeping the offensive tempo up to wear down that strong LSU defense, take them out of their gameplan, and put them on their heels. We can't win by trying to play traditional field position football, that's LSU's game, and they'll definitely beat us at it. Our offense isn't really built for it, and I'd be terrified to gamble our defense's endurance against LSU's. If we can get on top by a few scores with that tempo, and force LSU to play from behind, I think LSU's offense will be more likely to make mistakes. Of course, Miles and his staff know this, so they'll be looking to prevent it at all costs. It's so hard to really know what to expect with two good, but completely different teams squaring off like this.

This would be my best guess. What will definitely be on showcase is one of the best D's in the country against one of the best O's in the country. If tradition means anything it will be a battle to the end. We will also see if it is true the defense wins championships or can an explosive offense with a dynamic player like Cam exploit the weaknesses and come out on top.

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

[TigerFan.com 0]

If there's one thing anyone can count on from LSU's defense, it's blitzes and blitzes, with a blitz on top. They've been an aggressive bunch as far as I can recall for the last decade.

Overall you are correct although most of that reputation was built from Saban and Pelini.

Until this year and throughout most of his career, Chavis has always had a fundamentally sound but vanilla defenses. LSU fans were warned of "3rd and Chavis" when he arrived and that warning proved to be true. Last year Chavis would consistently go soft on 3rd down and invariably give up the 1st down.

This year it seems Chavis has more talent than he's ever had. He's confident in our defensive backs and that allows him to be much more aggressive with blitzes. The defense is as aggressive and fast as I've ever seen. They go after offenses like their lives depend on it.

With Cam showing patience and hitting the holes I don't expect to see a lot of blitzes. I expect to see gap discipline and LSU to force Cam to make his reads or scramble to the outside where LSU has the speed to match.

Cam is a big boy and I don't think LSU wants to get into a head to head physical matchup. Gang tackling and attempting to strip the ball is the way to go.

[GreatestStory 0]

LSU comes into this game with a highly touted defense, particularly against the run; CNNSI's stats page has LSU listed as the 5th best team in the nation against the run. That coupled with StatTiger's analysis appear to be a cause for concern for Auburn. However, looking at the numbers a little more closely reveals a slightly different story. While Statiger's #'s seem to favor LSU in winning this game, there are some other stats to consider that should help Auburn fans feel pretty good about this game; notably the respective rankings in terms of rushing of those teams LSU has played as well as the teams South Carolina has played. We'll go with LSU first:

Team - rush yds against LSU - national rushing ranking (per ESPN)

UNC - 24 - 93rd

Vandy - 65 - 70th

Miss St - 152 - 16th

WV - 58- 74th

Tenn - 96 - 98th

Fl - 89- 54th

McNeese - 101 - Division I-AA

Southern Miss - 67 - 24th

UGA - 61 - 47th

Furman - 51 - D I-AA

Auburn - 334 - 4th

bama - 36 - 29th

KY - 52 - 41st

Auburn ranks as the 4th best rushing team according to ESPN's stats. And looking at the two respective teams, I would say that the cocks have played better running teams than LSU has and yet contained them - except when they played us. Like Stat mentioned earlier, their run D is 14th in the country allowing right at 100 yds/game. Take out the anomaly that was our bada** offense, USC is only allowing 53.4 yds/game on the ground against some decent rushing attacks - far and away the best in the nation. Based on the offensive output by Miss St (a game MSU gave away with INT's) against LSU, I think its safe to say that LSU does not look quite as stout as their rankings show. It looks to me like South Carolina is the better D against the run. Based on the fact that we plowed through South Carolina and that MSU moved the ball well against LSU, I think its safe to say that we are going to keep "doing what we do"

Not to blow a hole in your theory but couldn't the argument be made that the teams LSU already played have such weaker rushing stats BECAUSE they played LSU?

I know it appears funny that LSU gave up those yards to McNeese, but please realize that we were resting a lot of our starters and giving a lot of the younger guys a chance to get some game experience.

I have no prediction for this game. You guys are right, LSU has not faced an offense like Auburn yet this year... but I feel like Auburn has not faced a defense like ours either. So I feel it is anyone's game. My opinion is that it will come down to: turnover margin & special teams play.

WAR EAGLE!!

GEAUX TIGERS!!

[Strychnine 1,804]

With Cam showing patience and hitting the holes I don't expect to see a lot of blitzes. I expect to see gap discipline and LSU to force Cam to make his reads or scramble to the outside where LSU has the speed to match.

Cam is a big boy and I don't think LSU wants to get into a head to head physical matchup. Gang tackling and attempting to strip the ball is the way to go.

That would be my first step if I was tasked with trying to stop our offense. Forget about trying to force 3 and outs, every possession. I think the only thing that can make this offense go 3 and out consistently is itself: penalties, wasted downs, etc. The secret is tons of defensive talent (which LSU has), making them play disciplined to plug holes, and keeping everything in front of them. They'll have to yield short yardage to avoid the big play, since no one can reasonably expect to stop both. Grinding the pace of the game down definitely works more in LSU's favor than ours. Auburn's obvious counter for that is tempo, since it can be expected to break down some of that discipline. We haven't run high tempo as much as I'd like this year, but it's very effective when we have. I don't really know whether to expect it or not against LSU. LSU's dream game is a traditional defensive battle, where they'd obviously come out on top. Our dream game is to score quickly, jump out on top, and make LSU catch up. We like our odds much better in a shootout format. But that's just both sides wanting to play to their strengths.

[stoic-one 1,549]

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

Everyone has one, you can only see your own.

[LEGACY TIGER 0]

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

Everyone has one, you can only see your own.

Thank you.

[Tigermike 3,063]

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

Everyone has one, you can only see your own.

Thank you.

And you have NO checks in your bar. :thumbsup:

[jw 4 au 526]

This will be the matchup for the ages. It is winner take all. Just how it is meant to be. All is right in the balance of the SEC West. We both have our season on the line and are both playing our toughest opponent, thus far. Our key will be to stop Cam, play clean sound football, limit the TO's, and win the battle in the trenches. May the best TIGERS win.

Welcome to the board.

How do you see you guys matching up against Cam? Do you think they will at some point make a mistake and try to sell out against him, which would open up the passing game?

Line play is going to be huge. Our o-line has looked better recently but LSU always has big, nasty linemen.

Winning the battle in the trenches is the key. Our D line has to be able to close the lanes and get a push, forcing Cam to go to the outside. If our D line does this, allowing our linebackers the freedom to close down the outside run, also not taking the bait when Cam looks like he is going to throw, they should be able to keep him contained. Our secondary is going to have to keep you receivers in check to allow our linebackers that freedom. We do this and we should be able to contain Cam and keep him from busting anything big on us. He will have some success, but if we keep him in check, only allowing 3-5 yd/carry, that will be enough to shut down a huge portion of your attack.

I think these are good and very accurate quotes......here's my take on the MATCH UP. I think lsu matches up very very well against Auburns offense(not saying we are going to stop auburn) but simply as a personell match up I like it, drake nevis up front, very good speed ends, a very very good secondary to allow alot of man coverages and blitzes.....but here's the KEY match up all game long.....Kelvin sheppard#11 versus Cameron Newton#2!!!! That is what will determine the production od auburns offense, to defend this type of offense you have to be able to match up personell wise ....I think lsu does that very well, but you have to have a very very good middle linebacker to spy cam newton.....lsu does, Kelvin sheppeard I think this is the best linebacker cam will have to deal with all year long, He will not Shut down cam, but i think he can help contain him, the key is to not allow him to break off the big plays up the middle and force other players to have to carry the load. Thats the only way to be succesfull.....that and hope the offense can keep the ball on long sustained drives to keep auburns off the field. Not saying that it is GOING to happen, but that's OUR recipe for succes!! Either way I'm looking forward to a great game Saturday!!

That sounds like a good plan, but I like to point this out each week. Cam out weights LSUs LBs by 10 to 35 pounds (yes, the LINEBACKERS). Sheppard is nearest at 240 pounds, but I would bet he is not nearly as speedy and quick as Cam. Cam outweighs LSUs DB by 30 to 70 pounds ( ). He is about the same weight as LSUs DE's, and hopefully the DTs can't get any hands on him. Once Cam is in the open, it is very difficult for the DBs and LBs to tackle him, matter of fact he has been known to run over a few (see Arky OLB on the 2 yard line last week). This is what makes Cam stand out in my mind. I hope the trend continues this week and the orange and blue Tigers pull one out. It will be a battle though. Good luck!

[Stevescookin 0]

Oh I definately agree with you, auburn has lots of playmakers, lsu's defense does also.....it's very good match ups of streghnth on streghnth ....and weakness on weakness. Should be a great game, one thing I will be looking for is how Cam reacts if in a third and long situation to lsu's variety of blitzes.....of course you have Gus and I'm sure he's aware of lsu's tendencies on third and long. My coaching advantage here definately goes to auburn though, this game will be won in the turnover margin and special teams battles, whoever wins those....wins the game!!

If there's one thing anyone can count on from LSU's defense, it's blitzes and blitzes, with a blitz on top. They've been an aggressive bunch as far as I can recall for the last decade. That said, Cam has been making smart decisions. Working entirely from memory (so I could easily be wrong), Cam is generally sacked if under center and the pocket completely collapses around him rather quickly, so he'll eat that sack rather than try something foolish. There are some guys he can throw to when blitzed out of the shotgun. In 3rd and long, under pressure and hurrying, I'd expect him to look to dump it to Fannin or McCalebb, or one of the receivers across the middle. This can be a VERY dangerous offense to blitz against. I'd expect LSU to try to keep everything in front of them on 3rd and long more than trying to attack. Cam and Malzahn are opportunistic.

EDIT: What I'm looking for is keeping the offensive tempo up to wear down that strong LSU defense, take them out of their gameplan, and put them on their heels. We can't win by trying to play traditional field position football, that's LSU's game, and they'll definitely beat us at it. Our offense isn't really built for it, and I'd be terrified to gamble our defense's endurance against LSU's. If we can get on top by a few scores with that tempo, and force LSU to play from behind, I think LSU's offense will be more likely to make mistakes. Of course, Miles and his staff know this, so they'll be looking to prevent it at all costs. It's so hard to really know what to expect with two good, but completely different teams squaring off like this.

This would be my best guess. What will definitely be on showcase is one of the best D's in the country against one of the best O's in the country. If tradition means anything it will be a battle to the end. We will also see if it is true the defense wins championships or can an explosive offense with a dynamic player like Cam exploit the weaknesses and come out on top.

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

Legacy, I have a warning status bar below me as well...I'm not sure...maybe it's the sword of Damocles ??? ;) Can someone tell me what that means?....have I been a bad guest here?....I better straighten up and fly right I guess.

[LSUfaninMiss 0]

Oh I definately agree with you, auburn has lots of playmakers, lsu's defense does also.....it's very good match ups of streghnth on streghnth ....and weakness on weakness. Should be a great game, one thing I will be looking for is how Cam reacts if in a third and long situation to lsu's variety of blitzes.....of course you have Gus and I'm sure he's aware of lsu's tendencies on third and long. My coaching advantage here definately goes to auburn though, this game will be won in the turnover margin and special teams battles, whoever wins those....wins the game!!

If there's one thing anyone can count on from LSU's defense, it's blitzes and blitzes, with a blitz on top. They've been an aggressive bunch as far as I can recall for the last decade. That said, Cam has been making smart decisions. Working entirely from memory (so I could easily be wrong), Cam is generally sacked if under center and the pocket completely collapses around him rather quickly, so he'll eat that sack rather than try something foolish. There are some guys he can throw to when blitzed out of the shotgun. In 3rd and long, under pressure and hurrying, I'd expect him to look to dump it to Fannin or McCalebb, or one of the receivers across the middle. This can be a VERY dangerous offense to blitz against. I'd expect LSU to try to keep everything in front of them on 3rd and long more than trying to attack. Cam and Malzahn are opportunistic.

EDIT: What I'm looking for is keeping the offensive tempo up to wear down that strong LSU defense, take them out of their gameplan, and put them on their heels. We can't win by trying to play traditional field position football, that's LSU's game, and they'll definitely beat us at it. Our offense isn't really built for it, and I'd be terrified to gamble our defense's endurance against LSU's. If we can get on top by a few scores with that tempo, and force LSU to play from behind, I think LSU's offense will be more likely to make mistakes. Of course, Miles and his staff know this, so they'll be looking to prevent it at all costs. It's so hard to really know what to expect with two good, but completely different teams squaring off like this.

This would be my best guess. What will definitely be on showcase is one of the best D's in the country against one of the best O's in the country. If tradition means anything it will be a battle to the end. We will also see if it is true the defense wins championships or can an explosive offense with a dynamic player like Cam exploit the weaknesses and come out on top.

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

Legacy, I have a warning status bar below me as well...I'm not sure...maybe it's the sword of Damocles ??? ;) Can someone tell me what that means?....have I been a bad guest here?....I better straighten up and fly right I guess.

I think I saw in an earlier post that everyone has that, but you gotta have check marks or something by it if you have done something wrong.

[WarTiger 3,924]

Oh I definately agree with you, auburn has lots of playmakers, lsu's defense does also.....it's very good match ups of streghnth on streghnth ....and weakness on weakness. Should be a great game, one thing I will be looking for is how Cam reacts if in a third and long situation to lsu's variety of blitzes.....of course you have Gus and I'm sure he's aware of lsu's tendencies on third and long. My coaching advantage here definately goes to auburn though, this game will be won in the turnover margin and special teams battles, whoever wins those....wins the game!!

If there's one thing anyone can count on from LSU's defense, it's blitzes and blitzes, with a blitz on top. They've been an aggressive bunch as far as I can recall for the last decade. That said, Cam has been making smart decisions. Working entirely from memory (so I could easily be wrong), Cam is generally sacked if under center and the pocket completely collapses around him rather quickly, so he'll eat that sack rather than try something foolish. There are some guys he can throw to when blitzed out of the shotgun. In 3rd and long, under pressure and hurrying, I'd expect him to look to dump it to Fannin or McCalebb, or one of the receivers across the middle. This can be a VERY dangerous offense to blitz against. I'd expect LSU to try to keep everything in front of them on 3rd and long more than trying to attack. Cam and Malzahn are opportunistic.

EDIT: What I'm looking for is keeping the offensive tempo up to wear down that strong LSU defense, take them out of their gameplan, and put them on their heels. We can't win by trying to play traditional field position football, that's LSU's game, and they'll definitely beat us at it. Our offense isn't really built for it, and I'd be terrified to gamble our defense's endurance against LSU's. If we can get on top by a few scores with that tempo, and force LSU to play from behind, I think LSU's offense will be more likely to make mistakes. Of course, Miles and his staff know this, so they'll be looking to prevent it at all costs. It's so hard to really know what to expect with two good, but completely different teams squaring off like this.

This would be my best guess. What will definitely be on showcase is one of the best D's in the country against one of the best O's in the country. If tradition means anything it will be a battle to the end. We will also see if it is true the defense wins championships or can an explosive offense with a dynamic player like Cam exploit the weaknesses and come out on top.

BTW just a question about your board. Why is it I have a warn status bar when none of the other LSU posters do? I know that I am new so

monitoring new posters to make sure they aren't here to cause trouble I understand. Just curious. Great board!!!!!!!

Legacy, I have a warning status bar below me as well...I'm not sure...maybe it's the sword of Damocles ??? ;) Can someone tell me what that means?....have I been a bad guest here?....I better straighten up and fly right I guess.

Yes, you have. Now, straighten up and fly right, or there will be hell to pay. :lmao:

No seriously, everybody has a warning bar under them, you can just only see your own. It's just another mod control feature of the board, to help us control the riff raff.

[Stevescookin 0]

Thanks, WarTiger for the explanation....usually I frequent places that have a $0.25 cover charge....That usually keeps the rif-raf out in Louisiana.

[HarpyTrain 1]

LSU comes into this game with a highly touted defense, particularly against the run; CNNSI's stats page has LSU listed as the 5th best team in the nation against the run. That coupled with StatTiger's analysis appear to be a cause for concern for Auburn. However, looking at the numbers a little more closely reveals a slightly different story. While Statiger's #'s seem to favor LSU in winning this game, there are some other stats to consider that should help Auburn fans feel pretty good about this game; notably the respective rankings in terms of rushing of those teams LSU has played as well as the teams South Carolina has played. We'll go with LSU first:

Team - rush yds against LSU - national rushing ranking (per ESPN)

UNC - 24 - 93rd

Vandy - 65 - 70th

Miss St - 152 - 16th

WV - 58- 74th

Tenn - 96 - 98th

Fl - 89- 54th

McNeese - 101 - Division I-AA

Southern Miss - 67 - 24th

UGA - 61 - 47th

Furman - 51 - D I-AA

Auburn - 334 - 4th

bama - 36 - 29th

KY - 52 - 41st

Auburn ranks as the 4th best rushing team according to ESPN's stats. And looking at the two respective teams, I would say that the cocks have played better running teams than LSU has and yet contained them - except when they played us. Like Stat mentioned earlier, their run D is 14th in the country allowing right at 100 yds/game. Take out the anomaly that was our bada** offense, USC is only allowing 53.4 yds/game on the ground against some decent rushing attacks - far and away the best in the nation. Based on the offensive output by Miss St (a game MSU gave away with INT's) against LSU, I think its safe to say that LSU does not look quite as stout as their rankings show. It looks to me like South Carolina is the better D against the run. Based on the fact that we plowed through South Carolina and that MSU moved the ball well against LSU, I think its safe to say that we are going to keep "doing what we do"

Not to blow a hole in your theory but couldn't the argument be made that the teams LSU already played have such weaker rushing stats BECAUSE they played LSU?

Yes and no. Its part Statiger's stat and partly who those teams have played as well as how consistent the teams themselves are. For instance, UNC, Florida, and Vandy have had REALLY good rushing stats against teams with poor rushing d's (as they should) but had a couple of stinkers along the way aside from their matchup with LSU. Then you look at MSU - a very good rushing attack. LSU DID hold them to their 2nd lowest rushing total (lowest was to Auburn) but MSU still piled on 150+ yards; nothing to sneeze at. In summary, what I am saying is, there is little reason to doubt that Auburn will effectively move the ball even against LSU's vaunted defense. It may not be to the tune of 400+ yards we have seen in a few games but I don't see any reason for them to be held to under 300 yds of offense. I do expect LSU to tighten up mightily in the red zone so I dont expect this to be a very high scoring game; low-mid 20's for Auburn. Question is, will LSU's offense be able to put up that many points against us? Overall it should be fun to watch as both teams are literally matching strength - strength and weakness - weakness so who knows what the hell is really gonna happen

[ajp3128 0]

I wanna say first of all, great statistical analysis good job on all that. but most important i wanna thank all my fellow auburn fans and the lsu fans here and even the other fans on all the other post ( mostly all of them) for keeping the comments clean and not getting into yelling ( more like aggressive keyboard typing) matches. I enjoy seeing the other teams perspective and chatting about stuff with them too. LSU i hope yall enjoy your visit on the plains and i hope the fans treat yall will respect. Its going to be a great game to watch, i know we have been wanting to push on miles lucky hat ever since that 2008 game...... War Eagle guys

[Tigermike 3,063]

Thanks, WarTiger for the explanation....usually I frequent places that have a $0.25 cover charge....That usually keeps the rif-raf out in Louisiana.

That was funny. :thumbsup: