The brief football hiatus is over and now the Arkansas Razorbacks must take on the top-ranked LSU Tigers down in Baton Rouge. The Hogs, now led by Interim Head Coach Barry Lunney Jr., are a disappointing 2-8 on the season while the Tigers are undefeated and are looking at a playoff run.
The Tigers have had an impressive season with one of the hardest schedules out there. LSU has beaten multiple top 10 teams such as Texas, Florida, Auburn, and even overcame the juggernaut that is Alabama. Auburn beat Arkansas by 41... as did Alabama.
This is a a historically good LSU team that's carried by their offense. Former New Orleans Saints assistant Joe Brady came in and rebuilt the offense for Ed Orgeron and it's paid off in a major way. The Tigers are second nationally in scoring and passing offense and are led by senior quarterback and Heisman front-runner Joe Burrow.
“He just reeks of poise, you see a guy in control,” Lunney said. “All the characteristics you would want to see in a great quarterback on top of being big, strong, and throwing it. He’s really good.”
Burrow has completed 78% of his passes this season with only the slightest drop-off in conference play. He's thrown 38 touchdowns, run for three more, and thrown just six interceptions.
Burrow is supported by playmakers all over the field. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase leads the SEC in receiving yards and yards from scrimmage. He's Burrow's favorite endzone target but he's not the only one. Junior Justin Jefferson and sophomore Terrance Marshall each have more than 7 touchdowns this season.
While LSU isn't as run heavy as in years past, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the SEC’s fourth leading rusher and is second in all-purpose yards.
“(He presents) a lot of problems. He’s low and he’s got great pad level and he’s strong as an ox,” said Lunney on running back Edwards-Helaire. “That creates a great challenge and they spread you out and throw the ball around then they hand it to somebody with his talent behind a line that’s got that talent, size, and stature.”
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers defense is top heavy. Despite having some well known names in the secondary like true freshman cornerback Derek Stingley and safety Grant Delpit, the Tigers pass defense ranks 11th in the SEC. Arkansas ranks 9th respectively. The Tigers will sit Delpit (ankle), so they'll be starting another true freshman, Maurice Hampton, in the secondary with Stingley.
The Tigers run defense is another story. They rank fourth in the SEC against the run and only give up an average of 130 yards per game on the ground. They’ve held teams like Bama, Florida, and Auburn to 150 rushing yards or less. However, against Ole Miss with a dual-threat quarterback, the Tigers gave up over 300 yards on the ground.
“Defensively they are gifted. I think they are extremely well coached,” Lunney Jr said. “(Orgeron) puts his players in a great position to succeed and they’ve got talent and they play hard.
The Tigers play well-rounded as a team. They’ve exuded ‘great talent, a great scheme, and great coaching’ all season and rank nationally in multiple areas.
“This is a complete team on offense, defense, and special teams,” Lunney said. “There is no doubt about that.”
This will be Lunney’s first ever game as a head coach of a football program and it’ll be a tough one too. An unranked Arkansas team has beaten ranked LSU teams before and they only lost by one possession last year. That being said, the spread on the game is still 40+ points.
Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. this Saturday in Death Valley.
Check out a full breakdown of how Arkansas and LSU compare in PFF grades, stats and star power.
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