Defending their title

BATON ROUGE – Step one in defending their National Championship begins in two days, as the LSU Tigers open up the 2020 season at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Game time at Tiger Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m.
LSU comes into the season as a team with probably the least amount of returning players following a championship season. Lost to the draft were 14 starters. Beyond that, a few key players, like Blitnekoff Award winner Ja’Marr Chase, have opted out for the season.
So, how do the Tigers return to the team that shattered a number of offensive weapons on their way to a perfect season?
That’s just it. In terms of offensive production 2019 will never be duplicated.
That does not mean that LSU does not have talent. It just means that if the Tigers hope to repeat as National Champions, a host of players will need to step up their game.
It also means that players like starting quarterback Myles Brennan have to play within themselves and not try to duplicate ghosts of Burrow past.
“Joe came in here and he did his thing, and what he did was great. But, you know, it’s my turn now to do my thing and write my own story,” Brennan said. “I learned a lot from Joe and I took things that he did well and I used them to better myself. But the past is the past and I’m looking forward to being able to play the season.”
Brennan will rely heavily on an offense that only returns two starters, wide receiver Terrace Marshall, Jr. and offensive tackle Austin Deculus.
One of the biggest keys to the LSU offense this season will be the play of the offensive line. Three of the other four big men up front did get some playing time last season, including Chasen Hines, Ed Ingram, and Dare Rosenthal.
The only player up front with no playing experience that is projected to start is Liam Shanahan.
As far as who Brennan will be throwing to, only Marshall, Jr. had any significant playing time in 2019. The other projected starting wide outs included Racy McMath and Kayshon Boutte.
The tight end position will more than likely turn out to be an upgrade, as freshman sensation Arik Gilbert steps in for Thaddeus Moss. Gilbert has been wowing the coaching staff all camp long and is showing why he was one of the most coveted prospects in the nation.
The running game, which was overshadowed by the passing game last season, will be a little more in focus this season, according to LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.
“We feel we have five backs that can go in the game and do very well,” Orgeron said.
And with Brennan still in learning mode, especially in his chemistry with the wide receiving corps, running the ball behind talented players like Chris Curry, John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price may be a way to allow that chemistry to grow without the worry of making mistakes.
Defensively, the Tigers move to a new scheme under the leadership of recently hired defensive co-ordinator Bo Pelini. The former Nebraska head coach is in his second stint as co-ordinator at LSU.
With that new scheme, the Tigers return three starters, defensive tackle Glen Logan, cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. and free safety Jacoby Stevens.
LSU does have a few players with some playing time last season, including defensive tackle Neil Farrell and linebacker Damone Clark.
The Tigers received a huge boost in the linebacking corps when North Dakota State transfer Jabril Cox headed to Baton Rouge. The three time FCS All-American is projected to start at one of the three linebacker positions along with Clark and Micah Baskerville.
Up front, LSU is set to start Logan and Siaki Ika, while Ali Gaye and Andre Anthony hold down the defensive end positions.
Along with Stingley, Jr., the Tigers have slated Cordale Flott as the opposite cornerback. Stevens will be joined by either Todd Harris or Maurice Hampton, Jr. at the other safety.
Cade York and Zach Von Rosenberg return as the placekicker and punter respectfully.
On Saturday, LSU will try to use their talented line-up to upend Mississippi State in the conference and season opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs come into the 2020 season with a brand new system headed up by veteran head coach Mike Leach. The “inventor” of the Air Raid offense is known for his flamboyant press conferences and his pass happy scheme.
Mississippi State comes into the 2020 season with some returning experience on both sides of the ball. The biggest returnee for the Bulldogs is Erroll Thompson, the leading tackler in the SEC last season.
Senior defensive linemen Kobe Jones and Marquiss Spencer comeback to anchor a defense that surrendered 119 yards per game on the ground.
The Mississippi State secondary is filled with a number of underclassmen including returning sophomore cornerback Martin Emerson. Junior safety Marcus Murphy is the only other returner for the Bulldogs in the back half of the defense.
Offensively, Mississippi State will hand over the quarterbacking duties to senior Stanford transfer KJ Costello. In 2017, Costello threw for 622 yards in six games for the Cardinal.
The running back slot sees the return of Kylin Hill. The senior rushed for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2019.
Up front, the Bulldogs bring back two of the five starters from last season. As far as the receivers go, only Osirus Mitchell returns to an offense that employs four and five wide outs at a time. Junior Malik Heath, a juco transfer will help the wide receiver corps.
One huge key for LSU against the wide open offense that Leach runs will be getting pressure on Costello. However, that may be difficult to do, as Leach loves for his linemen to get huge spreads up front.
At Washington State, Leach’s last head coaching stop, the Cougars fell in the top 30 in sacks allowed. On top of that, Leach’s quarterbacks get rid of the ball very quickly.
“In order for us to beat Mississippi State,” Orgeron said Monday, “we’re going to have to put some pressure on the quarterback and find ways to do that.”
“Obviously coach Leach has done a great job wherever he’s at,” Orgeron added. “He presents a challenge. I think our guys have a pretty good handle of what they’re going to do on offense.”
Pelini knows how good Leach’s offenses can be. As the head coach at Nebraska, Pelini faced Leach twice while Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech. The results: two loses for Pelini.
However, Pelini has arguably a ton more talent at LSU than he did at Nebraska. The Tigers are very quick on defense, quick enough to hopefully disrupt the rhythm of Costello.
Sacks would be nice, but if LSU can cause chaos in the defensive front, the Tigers can slow down the up tempo offense the Bulldogs hope to employ. Doing just that would make the Bulldogs a one-dimensional team.
Another big key for the LSU will be how quickly Brennan and the Tiger wide receivers get synchronized. LSU has the talent to make things happen when they are throwing the football around, but Brennan and his receivers must get on track.
The offensive line will be a major factor in that happening. The big guys up front will need to protect Brennan and keep the experienced front three of the Bulldogs out of Brennan’s face.