Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Oct 3, 20205 min
Following a week of turmoil among LSU's die hard fanbase, geauxing from exaltation (42-25 over 2019 defending champs Clemson) to interminable lows (44-34 loss to Miss State) #20 LSU dropped 14 spots in the AP poll, paying a staggering price for our opening day embarrassment...but most of all, the same reactionary rankings system which placed the Tigers at #6 to start the campaign must've felt foolish.
Many are saying LSU doesn't have what it takes to defend their title, let alone reach 6 wins...however, when you judge LSU purely on personnel, athleticism, talent level and the positive flashes from Week 1, we feel Orgeron's Tigers are still in the top 3 most fearsome squads in college football...
And they need to prove it vs Vandy:
We don't feel Pelini or Ensminger need to change everything, but we need to see more personnel swaps, faster substitutions and smarter rotations, all designed to catch Vandy with their pants down.
1ST GAYE FARRELL IKA ANTHONY
2ND GAYE LOGAN EVANS OJULARI
3RD MOORE ROY FARRELL OJULARI
4TH GAYE ROY IKA WEBB
This is a game where we really want to see freshman #99 Jaquelin Roy unleashed up the middle at DT. Orgeron promised he would play him "a lot more" this weekend and we know his appearance will make an impact.
His partner in D-Line crime Jacobian Guillory may be too banged up for tomorrow; still, he fully dressed last Saturday so there may be a chance for Guilllory to earn minutes.
We were extremely pleased with our defensive line vs Miss State, sacking Costello 5x, introducing 41 pressures, registering 11 hits and causing nearly 6 turnovers (4 total) from their swarming attrition.
1ST COX CLARK LEE
2ND COX CLARK BASKERVILLE
3RD COX CLARK WHITE
As you can see, we heavily believe in Jabril Cox and Damone Clark (the pair combined for 17 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 TFL, 3 QB hits and a defensive touchdown) but the SAM LB position is where we have questions.
Micha didn't make any horrific errors, in fact if he were a few inches taller, Baskerville records an interception vs Costello..but the ball sailed over his slighter frame and into the hands of a Miss State receiver for the 1st down.
Baskerville's a great competitor, although does he have the size to complete our terrifying LB trio?
We feel there's times an offense might expose Baskerville in the passing game (as we saw) or in the power run game (as we watched vs Alabama last year)...
Could this be the game we see sophomore LB Devonta Lee's hulking mass deployed at SAM?
We feel Cox and Clark must be fixed, while the 3rd linebacker is rotated until we find the perfect match...Micha could still be the guy, however it's time to see freshman Josh White or sophomore Devonta Lee exchanging snaps with Micha.
BASE:
STINGLEY, STEVENS, HAMPTON / HARRIS, RICKS
4 OR 5 WIDE:
STINGLEY, RICKS, FLOTT (NB), STEVENS, HARRIS / HAMPTON
We rotate Harris and Hampton at free safety (I don't fully trust Mo's tackling after Week 1 or Todd's knee), giving both the exact slice of reps each safety needs to progress, never leaving them out on the field long enough for rust or easy errors.
Jacoby Stevens will be in the free role at strong safety, floating from the back to the front as he sees fit;
Then, Eli Ricks must overtake Flott for the other boundary corner role opposite Stingley: his Week 1 game-changing performance earns the start here once again...he's more than ready...he was born for the purple and gold.
We need to see a strong rebound from this secondary, and we feel giving Harris and Hampton equal time at free safety eases each player's psychological or physical burdens after the devastation of Week 1....and though he's still been practicing on his recent surgically repaired meniscus, Jay Ward shouldn't play more than 15-20 snaps (if that)....we need #5 Ward healthy for the November stretch.
As for Darren Evans, we feel he'd be best served with an evening of limited reps and tons of watching....basically the way he should've been prepped Week 1.
Evans must respond and prove he belongs....and if Corey Raymond believes he's worthy of DBU's acceptance, then he is good enough...it's just time to show it.
Elsewhere, we must see Dwight McGlothern join his freshman friend Eli Ricks in the rotation, playing significant minutes within the secondary.
"Nudie" has plenty to offer our DBUnit, and the dynamic playmaker needs to see the field.
WIRE, INGRAM, SHANAHAN, HINES, DECULUS
BRENNAN
EMERY
GILBERT, MARSHALL, BOUTTE, JENKINS
This lineup offers LSU the most versatility and flexibility in the passing game, using pre-snap motions and play action passing to dominate Vandy if the RPO action isn't working.
Also, A&M amassed 183 rushing yards against Vanderbilt...is this the night Curry, TDP and Emery explode?
We think so, especially if LT Cam Wire can step in and perform better than a banged up Dare Rosenthal vs Miss State, then Saturday's matchups should provide a 500+ yard day for Ensminger's offense.
Cam Wire's role tomorrow will make all the difference for the Tigers...if Wire can't come to grips with Vanderbilt's pass-rushers, then LSU could be in for a long night.
LSU's offense geauxs as Cam Wire geauxs.
Brennan must feed our receivers constantly, giving Vandy a dose of our own air raid attack. We also need to see Arik Gilbert, Jontre Kirklin, Kayshon Boutte, Koy Moore and Trey Palmer given a true chance to show their capabilities.
Koy for big aerial shots, Boutte in a myriad of formations (backfield, slot, boundary), while fitting in screens / underneath routes to Trey, elsewhere Jontre Kirklin, though overlooked, can do it all and he's hungry.
Brennan also has to look for Gilbert early and often, in fact our bad game plan for Week 1 involved using Arik as an extra blocking tight end...that's like using Russell Wilson as a punter...
I expect Scott Linehan to develop a brilliant passing game for the rest of our season, taking Myles and co's 345 yards and 3 TDs from Week 1 to the next level...that's what we're paying an ex NFL head coach (with 20x more experience than Joe Brady) to accomplish.
It's time to rack up the points, the yards and the big plays...we must respect our opponents, although most of all, we need to respect our own talent by geauxing full throttle on Vandy.
Forget last week....We should dominate Vandy...in fact, because of our 44-34 defeat, we must destroy them.
It's time to unload some frustration.
BY LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
COPYRIGHT 2020 UNINTERRUPTED WRITINGS INC LLC
SHOUTOUTS: GEAUX TIGERS!!! IT'S TIME TO TURN IT AROUND! KREED STUBBS FOR HIS BIG FRIDAY NIGHT FOR ATKINS HIGH! 2021 WR SUPERSTAR RISING!!!