LSU vs. Oregon: Breaking Down the Matchups

The most anticipated Week 1 matchup is less than 48 hours away and college football fans can feel the excitement.

LSU will take on Oregon at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday night in front of 80,000-plus fans.

But before we get to the big game, let's take some time to look at the matchups and break down how this game might play out. When it's all said and done, this game has the potential to be one for the ages that college football fans will remember for a long time.

Passing Game

Neither of these teams feature quarterbacks that set the world on fire with their arms, but with the suspension of LSU senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson, LSU could face some issues here.

With Jefferson out, senior Jarrett Lee will take over the Tigers quarterback duties. He does have experience, starting as a freshman and playing in spot duty throughout the past two years under Jefferson, but he will have to play at an elite level if LSU is going to win this game.

Les Miles has expressed that he does have confidence in Lee, and he does have an advantage as Oregon will be without its best defensive back, Cliff Harris, who is suspended.

On the other side of the ball, Oregon is led by junior quarterback Darron Thomas.

While Thomas is not known for his pinpoint accuracy, he is a solid passer who also has the speed and quickness to give defenses fits.

While Thomas did lead the Ducks to the national title game last year, this LSU defense very well could be the best one he has seen in his career. Luckily for Thomas, he does have a solid receiving corps to throw to, led by Lavasier Tuinei and Josh Huff.

With another stellar performance in this game, Thomas could put his name right in the mix of Heisman Trophy candidates, along with teammate LaMichael James.

Advantage: Oregon

Running Game

You can’t begin to have a conversation about the top running backs in college football without including Oregon junior LaMichael James.

James was the most dominant back in the country last season, rushing for over 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind quarterbacks Cam Newton and Andrew Luck.

Unfortunately for LSU, it doesn't stop with James, as fellow backfield mate Kenjon Barner is a stud as well. Barner rushed for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season in a backup role. With Mark Ingram gone at Alabama, the torch is now passed down to James and Barner as the best one-two running back punch in college football.

While James was considered to be the best back in college football last season, LSU’s Stevan Ridley wasn’t far behind him. Unfortunately for LSU, Ridley graduated and Jefferson is suspended, which leaves the Tigers without their two top rushers from a season ago.

Sophomore Spencer Ware takes over the starting running back duties for LSU, and from all the reports at team camp, it looks like LSU will be just fine at running back this season.

Ware played sparingly as a freshman, but he did have a breakout game in the Tigers’ 41-24 victory over Texas A&M in the At&T Cotton Bowl. In that game, Ware rushed for 102 yards on 10 carries as the Tigers controlled the ground game from start to finish.

The belief in Baton Rouge is that Ware’s impressive showing should carry over into his sophomore season. But even with that said, he is no match for James and Barner.

Advantage: Oregon

Receiving Game

Both Darron Thomas and Jarrett Lee will face the challenge of playing without their top receivers from a year ago.

The Tigers are without Terrence Toliver, who had over 40 receptions last season but was lost to graduation. They will also be without Russell Shepard, who was suspended for violating NCAA rules by discussing an NCAA inquiry with a teammate who was scheduled to be interviewed about the matter related to a potential relationship with a recruiting service.

Shepard ranked third on the team in receiving yards and touchdowns and was tied for second in receptions with Rueben Randle, who will be playing against Oregon.

Randle is an elite-level talent with the ability stretch the field with his 6'4" frame. The question for the Tigers will be, who will step up to be the No. 2 wideout? As of now, it looks like Kadron Boone will be in line for that role.

The Tigers also have senior tight end Deangelo Peterson who is a big target and should be featured more in red-zone situations this season.

Oregon will have to find out how to replace graduated senior Jeff Maehl, who hauled in 77 passes for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Also gone is D.J. Davis, who graduated as well. Maehl and Davis accounted for nearly 50 percent of Oregon’s receiving yardage in 2010.

The top returning receiver is Lavasier Tuieni and he will team up with Josh Huff, who is one of the top athletes in college football. Also joining this group is tight end David Paulson, who had over 400 receiving yards and four touchdowns last year.

Neither of these receiving units are elite by any means, but Randle is the best of the group on both sides.

Advantage: LSU

Defense

When it comes to defense, it would be difficult to find a program that can match LSU over the past couple of years.

The Tigers did lose their top defensive back, linebacker and defensive lineman, but they still return seven starters, all of which are talented and ready to play big roles this fall.

Ryan Baker is the top returning linebacker and ranked second on the team in tackles last season. He should be the leader of this unit, along with Mo Claiborne, who should be one of the top defensive backs in the country this season.

Oregon's defense struggled at times last season, despite their run to the national title game. This should be much the same story as the Ducks will find themselves in several shootouts, relying on their high-powered offense to win games.

Casey Matthews is gone to graduation, and both Cliff Harris and Kiko Alonso are suspended and won’t be playing anytime soon for the Ducks.

Senior Anthony Gildon leads a secondary that will certainly be missing Harris in this game.

Advantage: LSU

Coach vs. Coach

When it comes to coaching, Les Miles and Chip Kelly are two of the best in the business.

In six seasons under the helm at LSU, Miles has led the Tigers to a 62-17 record, including a 5-1 mark in bowl games.

On the other end, Kelly owns a 22-4 record in two seasons as Oregon's head coach. He is 0-2 in bowl games, with one loss in the 2010 Rose Bowl and the other in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.

Both of these coaches are elite, but Miles has a national championship ring, which makes the difference at this point in time.

Advantage: LSU

Special Teams

There might not be a better special teams unit in the country than Oregon. The Ducks have an elite punt returner in Kenjon Barner and an elite kick returner in Josh Huff, who is a freakish athlete.

In the kicking game, the Ducks return both their kicker and punter from the 2010 Pac-10 champion team.

Kicker Rob Beard made 10-of-13 field-goal attempts last season and ranked 36^th nationally in scoring. On the other end, punter Jackson Rice ended 2010 ranked seventh on Oregon’s single-season record list with a punting average of 42.3.

LSU also has talent in its return game. Tyrann Mathieu will likely take on the punt return duties, while senior Ron Brooks is the team’s top kick returner. Both of these guys have elite speed, and should be exciting to watch throughout the year.

Where LSU might struggle is with their kicking game. Kicker Drew Alleman and punter Brad Wing are both new starters this year and might take some time to adjust to their new roles.

Advantage: Oregon

The X-Factor

The X-factor often comes down to fans and home-field advantage.

Although this game is being played at a neutral location, we should expect to see more LSU fans on hand than Oregon fans.

The Tigers already feature a strong faithful that travels extremely well. In fact, LSU was able to get 37,000 tickets for students and fans, which breaks a school record for a regular-season road game.

Prediction

Heading into this game, many believe that it has the potential be the game of the year and possibly the top Week 1 matchup in college football history.

All signs point to that being the case.

While both of these teams have contradicting styles, this looks like it has all the makings of being a shootout. LSU’s defense is too good to make sure this game doesn't get out of hand, but Darron Thomas and LaMichael James are too good to let any defense completely contain them.

In the end, the Ducks walk out of Cowboys Stadium with a narrow victory and begin their quest to get back to the BCS National Championship Game.

Make it: Oregon 38, LSU 34