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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Only just a week away from a deathdance in the desert vs USC, Brian Kelly's Year III Tigers are in the midst of final preparations for their business trip against the #23 ranked Trojans....
....On Sunday, what happens in Vegas will definitely not stay in Vegas, as the game of the weekend will be under a microscope as the featured event of Labor Day weekend, two programs needing to start their 2024 season with the electric good vibes of a Week 1 victory....but while many attempt to compare these two sides, there's more to contrast:
Yes, both teams replace Heisman winning quarterbacks...
Yes, both teams ousted pitiful defensive coordinators after last season for an entirely new direction....with each set of fans & media members mostly backing their programs' change of coaches & defensive upgrades.
And that's where the similarities stop for me.....meanwhile, we've seen analysts trying desperately to tie the fate of Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly together at the hip, yet Kelly achieved more over his first 2 years at LSU than Riley has at USC, both on the field & on the recruiting trail, beating far better opposition........plus, even the most anti-SEC college football fan or analyst would admit Kelly's first year ascension to an SEC Championship Game appearance & a ballsy two point conversion win over top 10 Alabama would prove to separate Kelly's LSU journey from any further comparisons to Lincoln Riley's USC tenure.
Also, there is far more meat on the bone, at least on paper, when you compare LSU's defensive revolution under Blake Baker, especially considering Baker has far more talent to work with than USC's new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.
Lynn does hold extensive NFL coaching experience, however his most impressive achievement was recent:
In his only collegiate coordinator position, Lynn inherited UCLA's 102nd overall defense and coached the Bruins' defense to an 11th overall ranking, giving up just 299 yards per game which ranked #1 in the Pac 12 (R.I.P), and allowing the second fewest points of any team in the conference.
One of our USC sources, close to the defensive side of the ball, told us he was "impressed" by Lynn and thinks USC's defense "will shock people" this season.
Much like Lynn, as we've written & discussed many times before, LSU's own first year defensive coordinator also inherited a poor defense from a prior program (Mizzou ranked near the bottom among the 100s) and jettisoned their unit up the rankings upon arrival (finishing #33 in both seasons Baker coordinated Mizzou's defense).....
....Unlike Lynn, Blake Baker achieved that marker inside the SEC, facing the toughest opposition, as well as stamping his mark by shutting out Ohio State's offense for the first time in nearly a decade during an emphatic 14-3 Cotton Bowl victory.
But the similarities cease when comparing the entirety of LSU's defensive staff, housing America's premier D-line Coach Bo Davis, Broyles Award nominated edge rushing mastermind Kevin Peoples, and longtime Saint of DBU, Corey Raymond.
Also, you can compare the defensive lineups and give LSU a major nod due to the speed, playmaking instincts & versatility of All-American future top 10 pick Harold Perkins Jr....USC do not possess any single or combined defensive presence like Perkins.
While USC's Bear Alexander is likely more talented than any single LSU D-lineman, he can't change a game in the way LSU's defensive playmakers can...
Blake Baker's defense started to create turnovers during early Spring practices & have only continued to add to that tally throughout Fall, corners Ashton Stamps & PJ Woodland collected just under 10 interceptions between the pair, D-linemen Paris Shand & Jacobian Guillory batted passes that ended up getting intercepted, hell even the coordinator himself intercepted a pass & led the team into celebrations....on another sequence, Nuss threw the ball out of bounds right at Baker, only for LSU's defensive coordinator to see it late, dropping the ball while juggling a clipboard, and, instead of getting angry about a ball flying his way, Baker dropped to the blazing hot grass of The Ponderosa and began executing one push up after another as penance.
During a Fall Camp press conference, Baker made sure everyone understood his staff, no, this entire program, doesn't allow "poodles" within his locker room.....meaning players who shy away from big hits, soft tacklers, guys who duck and hide from a collision, refuse to pursue ball carriers....you get the point, Baker is basically saying, in a way, "We don't want any pussies on this defense in 2024...."
And whether or not LSU's 2024 defense finishes in our predicted top 60 ranking, as long as Baker's Tiger defenders give full effort & intensity, the playmaking will come, the points, yards & big plays surrendered will lessen, while I'm also sensing this unit should improve as the season goes on.
You can't find more than a handful of potential playmakers of the same ilk around D'Anton Lynn's USC group....
Offensively, USC QB Miller Moss (9 TDs, 1 INT, 941 yards passing, 9 appearances, 1 start) took over the reins after his showcase in USC's bowl game win over Louisville, throwing 6 TDs, 372 yards & finishing 23/33....devilishly right in tandem with Nuss's own bowl game exploits 395 Yards, 3 TD Passes & 31/45 vs Wisconsin.
But Nuss's experience & production dwarfs Moss's 171 total snaps, 9 appearances & 1 start with 430 offensive snaps, 18 appearances & 1 start....though we could include his freshman appearance vs Arkansas as Nuss's unofficial starting debut (calling 67 plays after regular starter Max Johnson was pulled after a single drive).
In that sample size, Nussmeier threw for 294 yards & 2 TDs as a substitute in an SEC Championship Game against back to back champions Georgia, then America's top ranked team & #1 rated defense, 5 games where he reached 30+ snaps, took a few snaps on the road @ Alabama, 17 snaps @ Auburn in 2022, topped off by 1,720 yards, 11 TD passes & 7 INTs.
Moss on the other hand has 2 snaps vs Notre Dame, 11 @ Colorado, 26 @ Cal as a freshman, 16 vs Rice, and just 1 single play called in the Pac 12 Conference Game vs Utah.
Then, we've heard a lot about Zachariah Branch, Duce Robinson or USC's other skill position threats, yet Branch is a better returner than receiver, as both Branch & Robinson recorded no more than 350 yards & 2 TDs last year (Branch did rack up 3 special teams return touchdowns, though).
But can you compare USC's receiving corps to LSU's #WRU MegaUnit under Cortez Hankton, featuring CJ Daniels (1,000 yards & 10 TDs last fall), Kyren Lacy (558 yards, 7 TDs, 31 catches), Zavion Thomas (502 yards, 40 catches), as well as TE Mason Taylor (348 yards, 1 TD)....that doesn't count Chris Hilton's 225 yards from last year as LSU's 5th or 6th receiving option in 2023 (a number that doesn't look far off of Branch or Robinson's 2023 output).
No comparison.
LSU also have the better (and most importantly deeper) offensive line, running back room (USC senior Austin Jones put together an incredible 5 year career at Stanford & USC, but Frank Wilson's RBs Room possess more proven options), enhanced experienced & production at quarterback, extra playmakers on defense, and better overall coaching than USC.....
You can compare these two quarterbacks....these two teams....these two coaches until you're blue in the face, trying to fit any square narrative into a round hole, but it only works on surface level events that likely won't dictate the outcome of this game....
Straight up, this game will be won by better coaches & better players.....LSU has the advantage in both categories.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ Uninterrupted Writings Inc
I really would like to see us control time of possession, get off the field on third down defensively, and play solid special teams. I see these as keys to victory.