LSU Football 2011: Previewing the Top 25 Clash Against Auburn

LSU topped the BCS polls Sunday night as the No. 1 team in the nation, and they welcome No. 20 Auburn to Death Valley with open arms this Saturday.

Ah, the battle of the Tigers. It’s a true nightmare for lazy sports writers who love to write out school mascots rather than the school itself. It’s a struggle.

All kidding aside, this is a quality matchup and is a trap game for LSU. You have to worry about the focus of this LSU team and if they’re looking forward to that pivotal Nov. 5 matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Going off of the way this team has performed so far this year, LSU should come out and take care of business Saturday night, but after all, these are college kids. You don't think they see ESPN previewing the "game of the century" 24/7?

That game is still weeks away, and this Auburn team led by Michael Dyer and Onterrio McCalebb is more than capable of pulling off an upset against LSU.

The last time Auburn came to Tiger Stadium, they were on the receiving hand of a 31-10 beatdown by LSU, but other than that, the games have been nail-bitters.

It’s always a good physical contest when these two play each other, and Saturday should be no different. These are the five key matchups all Tiger fans need to keep an eye on. 

Will LSU Be Able to Pound the Ball Against Auburn Like Every Other Opponent?

The Tigers (see how frustrating this can be?), LSU in this case, have one of the best rushing attacks in all of college football, as they’ve faced quality opponents and steamrolled them.  

LSU is 30th in the nation in rushing yards per game, averaging 194.4 yards, and they’re 20th in the nation in average points scored a game. Is this really the same team that was so stale on offense a year ago?   

As I look at this game, I’m having a hard time convincing myself that LSU won’t be able to continue their ground-and-pound trend against a mediocre, at best, rush defense.  

Auburn’s defense played well against the Florida Gators' Chris Rainey a week ago, but Florida has their issues at quarterback.

It’s a lot different shutting down the run when you have to worry about Jarrett Lee launching a bomb down the field to Rueben Randle or Odell Beckham. 

Look for Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue to all have another big week rushing the ball.

Lee vs. Auburn's Secondary

I’m still amazed by how great Jarrett Lee has played this year.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought he would come in and throw touchdown passes, but I’ve been overly impressed with the way he’s been able to manage the game and limit turnovers.

So far this season, Lee has thrown for more than 1,000 yards, including 10 touchdowns with only one interception. I can't praise him enough for those stats. This Auburn secondary better hang tight when Lee drops back to throw to those playmaking receivers on the outside.

As for Auburn's defense, Neiko Thorpe and the secondary have been shaky this year. They had a nice performance last week when they only allowed 128 yards through the air against Florida, but then again, the week before, Tyler Wilson and the Arkansas Razorbacks tore them up through the air.

It’s bad enough that Auburn has to deal with LSU’s rushing attack, so they can’t afford to give up any big plays through the air.

Gus Malzahn vs. John Chavis

This is the matchup I’m most looking forward to.

In my opinion, the brightest offensive mind in college football is going against one of the best defensive coordinators that college football has to offer Saturday.  

We all know Gus Malzahn’s offense by now. He uses movement in the spread with a mobile quarterback, and he’ll use the wildcat at various moments of the game. Speaking of mobile quarterbacks, Auburn announced this week that Clint Moseley will start Saturday night.

As good as Malzahn is on offense, Chavis is just as good on defense. He relies on his secondary to hold up on one-on-one matchups when he puts pressure on the quarterback and mixes a variety of zone defenses as well.  

What’s so great about this matchup is the fact that Auburn likes to mix rushing it up the middle with speed sweeps on the outside, and the speed of LSU’s defense is extremely difficult to get to the edge on. 

One thing I’d like to see Chavis do this week is blitz Tyrann Mathieu more off the edge. We didn’t see any of that last week against the Tennessee Vols, but they might have been saving it for this week.  

I can’t wait for to see these two brilliant minds clash Saturday.

Special Teams

Last week, Auburn’s recovery of Chris Rainey’s fumble on the punt played huge dividends against the Florida Gators, and they’re going to need another big-time special teams play this weekend if they want to pull off the upset.  

Auburn isn’t the only team to make a huge play on special teams, as Morris Claiborne cut West Virginia’s comeback trail off when he took the kickoff 99 yards to the house.

Not to mention, Brad Wing’s amazing fake punt that was penalized for taunting. Don’t even get me started on that.  

If this game turns out to be a dog-fight, or a cat-fight between these Tigers in this case, special teams could turn out to be the difference in this one.

Dyer and McCalebb vs. Honey Badger and Company

Michael Dyer and Onterrio McCalebb are as good of a rushing tandem as you’ll find in the nation, and stopping these two will be tough even for one of the best defenses in the nation.  

Dyer leads the team with 752 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, while McCalebb has 355 yards on the ground with a touchdown. 

Auburn is 27th in the nation and third in the SEC when it comes to average rushing yards per game with 197 yards. That tells you right there how dangerous Dyer and McCalebb can be with the football.

While Auburn may be extremely dangerous rushing the ball, LSU’s defense is allowing roughly 75 rushing yards a game this season. Now that’s impressive. LSU has been impressive on defense so far this year, but Tauren Poole had some nice runs against them last week with Tennessee running the football down their throat.

The Tigers have to get that fixed before facing this dynamic duo. I expect them to be in full dominant form this week when they take the field in Death Valley.

This is another case of an irressitable force meeting an immovable object