From @Jamesonevers
arkansas.rivals.com
After a sloppy performance in a Week 3 loss to BYU, Arkansas is set to travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to face its toughest test of the season in the No. 12 LSU Tigers.
The Razorbacks will open SEC play at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night against the defending SEC West Champions, who are coming off a 41-14 beatdown of Mississippi State.
Both squads played a low-scoring slug fest in Fayetteville last year, with LSU winning 13-10 in a game that featured twice as many turnovers (4) as touchdowns (2).
Here is a preview of what to expect from the LSU Tigers, including a resume, tale of the tape, strengths, weaknesses and much more...
Head Coach: Brian Kelly (2nd season)
Record: 2-1, 1-0 SEC
Last Week: 41-14 win at Mississippi State
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Denbrock
Offensive Scheme: Spread, Inside Zone, RPO
Defensive Coordinator: Matt House
Defensive Scheme: 4-2-5
LSU came into 2023 with just about as much hype as any team as it was coming off an SEC title game appearance.
After entering the season ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, things got off to a rocky start as the Tigers were smoked by Florida State, 45-24. LSU gave up 494 yards of offense in the process.
Since then, LSU has bounced back about as well as you could ask for. The Tigers secured a 72-10 win over Grambling in Week 2, and then an impressive 41-14 win in Starkville last weekend.
Defensive Tackles - The strongest position group on the team for the Tigers is defensive tackles, as the three highest graded defenders on the team all playing the position. This has led to really solid run defense for the Tigers, who are allowing 4.7 yards per carry. The group is led by junior Mekhi Wingo, who is second on the team in pressure and he is as close to an immovable object in the middle of a defense as you will find in college football.
Pass Game Efficiency - LSU has had no trouble throwing the ball to start the 2023 season, as it's averaging 9.6 yards per drop back pass. Much of this credit can go to quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is coming off a spectacular performance against Mississippi State. He completed 30-34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Daniels is currently in the midst of his best season in college with a 90.4 Pro Football Focus Grade, including a 98.8 grade on throws of 20 plus yards. Saturday will be by far the toughest test so far in the young season for a (so far) much-improved Razorback secondary.
WR duo of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. - On the receiving end for many of Daniel's passes is either Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. The duo has combined for 44 catches, 673 yards and six touchdowns in three games. That includes one of the best games by a receiver you will see, as Nabers hauled in 13 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State. With Nabors and Thomas accounting for just under 60% of LSU’s total receptions and just over 65% of their receiving yards, slowing down this duo would go a long way in setting up the Hogs for success Saturday night.
Run Game - Despite decent rushing numbers, LSU has struggled to run the ball against Power 5 opponents. The Tigers posted just 4.2 yards per carry against Mississippi State and Florida State, with Daniels leading the team in rushing both times. Much of this can be attributed to the offensive line and tight ends, with the team posting run blocking grades of 50.4 against FSU and 54.3 against Mississippi State.
Pass Defense - Despite allowing only 103 yards passing last week against Mississippi State, on the season as a whole, pass defense has been a weakness for the Tigers. The struggle against the pass is both a coverage and a pass rush issue, with the coverage struggling mightily against Florida State. The Tigers posted a pass defense grade 51.9 and allowed the Seminoles to average 11 yards per attempt.
The pass rush has also struggled against Power 5 opponents, with both grades below 63 against FSU and MSU. Some of this can be attributed to the use of Harold Perkins, the best edge rusher on the team by both total pressures and pressure rate for this season and last. Despite that, Perkins has been at middle linebacker for over two thirds of his snaps. Some it can also be attributed to a lack of experience at corner, as LSU returned virtually no production from its 2022 team at cornerback.
Sacks - Admittedly this is a bit of a long explanation, but it stick with me. Jayden Daniels has a real issue with taking way more sacks than he otherwise should, which is an issue five years running, dating back to his time at Arizona State.
Daniels has taken a sack on over 28% of the pressures opposing defenses have forced against him, per Pro Football Focus. That is a bottom-10 mark for consistent starting quarterbacks in 2023. That includes taking a sack on 31% of opponent pressures in 2022, which was the worst mark in FBS (Washington quarterback Micheal Penix led the country in pressure to sack rate at 3.2%). Against Arkansas last year, Daniels took seven sacks despite only being pressured on 11 drop backs, for a mind bending 63.6 pressure to sack rate.
Based on the line (LSU -17.5), and the previous results for the Razorbacks, Arkansas is clearly fighting an uphill battle Saturday. Despite the odds being stacked against the Hogs, I still think Arkansas has a good chance to pull off the upset and role into a matchup with Texas A&M tied for the SEC West lead
Arkansas 28, LSU 24
HawgBeat - Scouting the LSU Tigers
HawgBeat provides an in-depth look at the challenge LSU presents for Arkansas.
arkansas.rivals.com
After a sloppy performance in a Week 3 loss to BYU, Arkansas is set to travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to face its toughest test of the season in the No. 12 LSU Tigers.
The Razorbacks will open SEC play at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night against the defending SEC West Champions, who are coming off a 41-14 beatdown of Mississippi State.
Both squads played a low-scoring slug fest in Fayetteville last year, with LSU winning 13-10 in a game that featured twice as many turnovers (4) as touchdowns (2).
Here is a preview of what to expect from the LSU Tigers, including a resume, tale of the tape, strengths, weaknesses and much more...
LSU Resume
Head Coach: Brian Kelly (2nd season)
Record: 2-1, 1-0 SEC
Last Week: 41-14 win at Mississippi State
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Denbrock
Offensive Scheme: Spread, Inside Zone, RPO
Defensive Coordinator: Matt House
Defensive Scheme: 4-2-5
Tale of the Tape
LSU came into 2023 with just about as much hype as any team as it was coming off an SEC title game appearance.
After entering the season ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, things got off to a rocky start as the Tigers were smoked by Florida State, 45-24. LSU gave up 494 yards of offense in the process.
Since then, LSU has bounced back about as well as you could ask for. The Tigers secured a 72-10 win over Grambling in Week 2, and then an impressive 41-14 win in Starkville last weekend.
Strengths
Defensive Tackles - The strongest position group on the team for the Tigers is defensive tackles, as the three highest graded defenders on the team all playing the position. This has led to really solid run defense for the Tigers, who are allowing 4.7 yards per carry. The group is led by junior Mekhi Wingo, who is second on the team in pressure and he is as close to an immovable object in the middle of a defense as you will find in college football.
Pass Game Efficiency - LSU has had no trouble throwing the ball to start the 2023 season, as it's averaging 9.6 yards per drop back pass. Much of this credit can go to quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is coming off a spectacular performance against Mississippi State. He completed 30-34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Daniels is currently in the midst of his best season in college with a 90.4 Pro Football Focus Grade, including a 98.8 grade on throws of 20 plus yards. Saturday will be by far the toughest test so far in the young season for a (so far) much-improved Razorback secondary.
WR duo of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. - On the receiving end for many of Daniel's passes is either Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. The duo has combined for 44 catches, 673 yards and six touchdowns in three games. That includes one of the best games by a receiver you will see, as Nabers hauled in 13 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State. With Nabors and Thomas accounting for just under 60% of LSU’s total receptions and just over 65% of their receiving yards, slowing down this duo would go a long way in setting up the Hogs for success Saturday night.
Weaknesses
Run Game - Despite decent rushing numbers, LSU has struggled to run the ball against Power 5 opponents. The Tigers posted just 4.2 yards per carry against Mississippi State and Florida State, with Daniels leading the team in rushing both times. Much of this can be attributed to the offensive line and tight ends, with the team posting run blocking grades of 50.4 against FSU and 54.3 against Mississippi State.
Pass Defense - Despite allowing only 103 yards passing last week against Mississippi State, on the season as a whole, pass defense has been a weakness for the Tigers. The struggle against the pass is both a coverage and a pass rush issue, with the coverage struggling mightily against Florida State. The Tigers posted a pass defense grade 51.9 and allowed the Seminoles to average 11 yards per attempt.
The pass rush has also struggled against Power 5 opponents, with both grades below 63 against FSU and MSU. Some of this can be attributed to the use of Harold Perkins, the best edge rusher on the team by both total pressures and pressure rate for this season and last. Despite that, Perkins has been at middle linebacker for over two thirds of his snaps. Some it can also be attributed to a lack of experience at corner, as LSU returned virtually no production from its 2022 team at cornerback.
Sacks - Admittedly this is a bit of a long explanation, but it stick with me. Jayden Daniels has a real issue with taking way more sacks than he otherwise should, which is an issue five years running, dating back to his time at Arizona State.
Daniels has taken a sack on over 28% of the pressures opposing defenses have forced against him, per Pro Football Focus. That is a bottom-10 mark for consistent starting quarterbacks in 2023. That includes taking a sack on 31% of opponent pressures in 2022, which was the worst mark in FBS (Washington quarterback Micheal Penix led the country in pressure to sack rate at 3.2%). Against Arkansas last year, Daniels took seven sacks despite only being pressured on 11 drop backs, for a mind bending 63.6 pressure to sack rate.
Prediction
Based on the line (LSU -17.5), and the previous results for the Razorbacks, Arkansas is clearly fighting an uphill battle Saturday. Despite the odds being stacked against the Hogs, I still think Arkansas has a good chance to pull off the upset and role into a matchup with Texas A&M tied for the SEC West lead
Arkansas 28, LSU 24
