LSU Football: Why Tigers Will Run the Table

Given the fact that the LSU Tigers were able to overcome the most brutal September schedule in college football, the Tigers are well on their way to winning another national championship.

The last two times the Tigers won the national championship was when the BCS Championship Game was held in the Superdome. Guess where the championship game is being held this year?

The 2003 and 2007 LSU Tigers won national championships and both possessed a consistent passing game, dangerous running game and a dominant defense.

Remind you of any team this season? There’s no doubting the talent this team possesses, and if they are able to run the table with the schedule placed in front of them, they will earn their right to play for another national title.

These are the five reasons this LSU team can make a run at another championship season.

Grown Man Football

One year ago, LSU possessed the identity of a dominant defense with a multi-spread option attack that threw in I-formations and single-back formations every now and then.

That’s not the case this season. Under the new direction of offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa and quarterback coach Steve Kragthorpe, this team lines up in the I-formation and pounds the defense until the defense has to bring eight men in the box.

Once that happens, the Tigers go to their play makers outside in wide receivers Rueben Randle, Odell Beckham and Russell Shepard.

Unlike a year ago, this offense is actually dangerous and can hang points on the board against any opponent.

I really liked how Desmond Howard put it on ESPN’s College Gameday Saturday morning when he said LSU plays grown man football, and if you have any Hello Kitty in you, they’ll bring it out of you. So right you are Desmond, so right you are.

Speed Kills

It’s an old and overused cliché, but it’s still true. Speed kills when it comes to football.

While the Tigers secondary wasn’t up to its dominant form against West Virginia last Saturday, you still have to marvel at the speed of this defense.

Defensive end Barkevious “KeKe” Mingo runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. Did I mention he’s a defensive end? Before the West Virginia game, head coach Les Miles was quoted as saying this is the fastest defense he’s ever coached, and that’s a huge statement considering the defenses he’s had at LSU.

Whether it’s the spread of those defensive linemen or the speed of the guys flying around in the secondary like Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid, Mo Claiborne, Tharold Simon and Brandon Taylor, I don’t think it would be a wise choice for opponents to stretch the field against them horizontally.

Lee is coming into his own

Perhaps the most gratifying story from LSU’s remarkable 4-0 start for Tiger fans is the fact that this is quarterback Jarrett Lee’s football team.

Every week, Lee has shown more confidence in the pocket and made big plays for the Tigers. Lee has six touchdowns on the year and has made opposing defense respect the pass as he’s thrown for 624 yards.

The best stat Lee has this season is the fact he only has one turnover. Lee threw an interception against Mississippi State, which is one of the few mistakes he’s made all year.

Lee has done exactly what Tiger fans want their quarterback to do and that’s take care of the ball and make the defense respect the passing game. Lee is truly a feel good story, as he stuck around after all the criticism he endured his freshman year.

After being infamously known around the state of Louisiana for his “pick six’s,” he didn’t transfer, stuck it out and is now the leader of this club.

If Lee is able to continue to play at the level he has, the Tigers dream of running the table will become a reality.

Battle Tested

Oregon, Mississippi State and West Virginia all experienced first-hand how talented this LSU team really is this year, and they all fell prey to the Tigers.

As if those victories weren’t impressive enough, they all were fought away from Tiger Stadium on prime time television. I know the Boise State’s of the world won’t understand this, but it is so difficult to get your football team to play up to it’s potential week after week against one great team after another.

I said it before the season that if the Tigers can get through September unscathed, that they have to be the No. 1 ranked team in America.

I’m glad the AP Poll agrees with me, and it’s up to the Tigers to stay there for the course of the season. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they still have an extremely difficult road to getting to the SEC Championship Game.

They’ll have to play Auburn, Florida and Arkansas at home, and they’ll have to duke it out with Alabama and a Tennessee team that is looking for revenge on the road. But hey, that’s life in the SEC, and these Tigers are used to it.

Depth

How deep is this LSU football team? After their victory over Mississippi State in Week 3, the defense had 17 players who recorded a tackle for a loss on the season.

That was the third game of the season! The Tigers have great players like safety Craig Loston, defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, offensive lineman La’el Collins and wide receiver Jarvis Landry sitting on the sidelines at times because of the quality of players on the field.

There’s even talk of Collins getting his redshirt now. The reason this LSU team has been so successful this season is because of the fact that head coach Les Miles and the coaching staff got rid of the option mess, the offense has had much better play-calling, better play at the quarterback position and Miles started putting the best players on the football field.

Most of the skills players and defensive lineman on the team are made up of sophomores and freshmen. When one Tiger goes down, another player comes in who seems to be just as good as the man he’s replacing.

Look at the Alabama game last year when Patrick Peterson had to come out of the game and then freshman cornerback Tharold Simon came in. Alabama attacked the Julio Jones/Simon matchup and Simon deflected the first pass thrown his way.

This team is fast, deep and extremely talented, and that’s why they’re the best football team in the nation.

Miles said at his press conference this morning that he heard a coach asking what was the reason his football team was so good on the road, and Miles said, “they’re a damn good football team. That’s why.”