2011 College Football Picks: Previewing and Predicting Oregon vs. LSU

There isn’t a game more high-profile game in the opening weekend of college football than Oregon vs. LSU.

The Ducks are fresh off their National Championship run and are itching to get another shot against an SEC powerhouse.

The Tigers are always ready for the big game and will be relying heavily on their defense following the suspensions of Jordan Jefferson and Russell Shepard.

This preseason bowl game has it all and could go a long way in determining whether or not one of these teams makes it to the BCS National Championship.

Oregon Offense vs. LSU Defense

Everyone now knows about the juggernaut that is the Oregon Ducks' offense. Their no-huddle spread was the best in the country last season, averaging 47 points and 530 yards per game.

But as Auburn proved last season, it is possible to stop these speedsters.

LSU had another great year defensively, and they come into this game very underrated. Returning seven starters, including five of seven in the defensive backfield, this unit looks to improve on their 18 points allowed average.

This battle comes down to play at the line of scrimmage. Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley had a monster game and blew by the Oregon offensive line, but LSU doesn’t return either of their tackles.

Oregon loses their center and right guard from last year, so expect a lot of outside runs, putting the pressure squarely on the LSU linebackers.

LSU Offense vs. Oregon Defense

At this point, everyone knows the Tigers will be without quarterback Jordan Jefferson and wide receiver Russell Shepard. This is particularly a big deal because of how poor LSU’s passing game was last season, ranking 107th in the country.

Oregon’s defense had an outstanding statistical season and isn’t getting much hype, but Oregon will also be without one of its best players, Cliff Harris, who is suspended for the opener after getting pulled over doing 118 mph in a borrowed car.

Stevan Ridley was a solid running back for the Tigers, but he is replaceable, and the man in charge of doing that is sophomore Michael Ford. He will need to have a big game because the Ducks’ weakness is in their defensive front seven where only two starters return.

Key Matchup

The most important matchup in the game is wide receiver Rueben Randle against the Oregon secondary.

LSU will run the football a lot in this game, but in order to keep Oregon’s defense honest, the passing game needs to come into play.

Randle led the team in receiving yards last year and won’t be going against Cliff Harris.

There is plenty of talent in Baton Rouge, but Randle is special, and special players are the ones whom a team looks for in a game like this.

With a better passing quarterback under center in Jarrett Lee, Randle could get an 100-yard game. LSU will need quite a performance out of him in order to keep up with the Oregon offense.

Prediction

Auburn barely beat Oregon, but they were able to do it by dominating the line of scrimmage.

The Ducks’ offensive line is decently experienced, but is smaller than SEC lines, while the Tigers’ defensive line loses both of their run-stoppers in the middle.

For as good as both of these teams are, their strengths are the other teams’ weakness, which means this game should be have a lot more points than the National Championship game did.

And if that is the case, expect Oregon to come out the victor.

Prediction: Oregon 38, LSU 30