LSU Football 2011: 5 Reasons Why the Tigers Win the SEC West
After being just a few plays away from contending for the SEC title in 2010, LSU will look to improve in 2011 and take their place at the top of the SEC.
This task starts by winning the SEC West which the Tigers are more than capable of doing in 2011.
With a plethora of returning talent, changes in the coaching staff and loads of new talent coming in, LSU presents many reasons why they will be crowned SEC West champions in 2011.
Zach Mettenberger
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The Tigers have struggled passing the ball for the past three seasons so the addition of junior college transfer Zach Mettenberger can only help.
Whether his presence is felt as the starter or as a backup pushing the starter to be better, Mettenberger will be a key addition to the LSU offense in 2011.
Mettenberger has the ability to start for the Tigers, but if nothing else his presence will push incumbent starter Jordan Jefferson to progress as a quarterback.
Steve Kragthorpe
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In addition to bringing in Mettenberger, the Tigers have hired offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe to turn around a stagnant offense.
Traditionally a pass-happy offensive coordinator, it is highly likely that Kragthorpe will make it his No. 1 priority to select a starting quarterback and get them comfortable with his offense as soon as possible.
One thing is certain. Kragthorpe has never had the talent at his disposal that he will have in Baton Rouge. His job will be to get the production out of the talented, but underachieving LSU offense.
Experience
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The LSU Tigers are returning the bulk of their starters from 2010, a season in which they grossly underachieved on offense and were still in contention for the SEC championship and BCS national championship.
The Tigers lost two games in 2010, a seven-point loss to eventual national champions Auburn and an eight-point loss to Arkansas.
The Tigers were merely points away from competing for BCS glory and should be leaps and bounds better in 2011 while the two teams that they lost to have to replace first round quarterbacks.
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Schedule
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With Auburn and Arkansas both losing NFL caliber quarterbacks and having the daunting task of facing the Tigers in Tiger Stadium, the biggest competition in the SEC West will be Alabama and Mississippi State.
While the Tigers do have to play Mississippi State on only four days rest due to it being a Thursday game, they do have the benefit of playing Northwestern State the weekend prior, which should allow them to rest their starters for most of the game.
The Tigers then have the luxury of a bye week prior to the Alabama game, giving them an opportunity to heal, or at least rest, any nagging injuries that are almost certain to exist at the mid-point of an SEC schedule.
DEFENSE!
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It is tough to say that the Tiger defense will be better in 2011 than in 2010 simply because they are losing Patrick Peterson, Drake Nevis and Kelvin Sheppard, but it might just be the case.
The Tigers are loaded with young talent that at the very least will fill the gaps of the departing talent, but may very well exceed the productivity of their predecessors.
Tyrann Matthieu could easily be as productive as Peterson and incoming freshman Anthony Johnson could fill Nevis’ role and be the next of the dominant defensive tackles that LSU seems to consistently produce.
The thought of LSU reloading with even more talent on the defensive side of the ball has to be scary for SEC offenses.
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