The 2019 college football season for LSU is getting very close as they open up with the Georgia Southern Eagles. The excitement of a new-look offense has many fans of the Tigers extremely excited along with a number of returning players on both sides of the ball. Add one of the best overall recruiting classes in recent memory has the expectations as College Football Playoff or bust.
Without further ado, let’s preview the matchup between LSU and Georgia Southern.
Last Time Out:
The last time the LSU Tigers put toe to leather, they rallied to an impressive 40-32 win over the UCF Knights in the Fiesta Bowl thanks to an impressive performance from Joe Burrow.
Meanwhile, the Eagles came up clutch with a 40-yard field goal from Tyler Bass as time expired to give them a 23-21 win over Eastern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl.
Last Meeting:
This is the first-ever meeting with the two programs. The Eagles were previously an FCS school until 2014 when they joined the Sun Belt Conference which might explain why the two teams never played each other.
Storylines to Watch
Will Offense Show Something Different?
From the second it was reported that Joe Brady was hired on as the passing game coordinator for the Tigers, the offense has been built up as one of the best in program history. Coach Ed Orgeron went as far as saying that it will be a “strictly spread” offense with Joe Burrow leading the way.
We’ve had this kind of thing pushed down our throats for the last several seasons (remember Matt Canada?) and it never really had any substance to it. However, with Burrow being in the system for another season and a backfield that features five-star freshman John Emery there is plenty of reason to be excited.
This offense won’t let all the tricks out of the bag, but at least show something different on Saturday to have the fans realizing that this whole thing called a spread offense isn’t a mirage.
Stopping the Triple Option
The Tigers defense has gone under the radar with all the preseason talk about the new-look offense and it’s a shame. They’ll be put to the test to start off the 2019 season with a big test when they take on a triple-option offense. Shai Werts has shown himself to be a solid player at quarterback in Chad Lunsford’s system.
The bottom line is don’t expect to see the football thrown more than 15 times. This is an offense that loves to run the football and don’t be surprised to see that offense to attack the front seven. Werts will be the bellcow on Saturday in Tiger Stadium, but keep an eye out for redshirt sophomore running back Logan Wright, who looks to take some of the heat off of the Eagles star QB.
They’ll have a hard time doing that against a strong defensive line and a group of linebackers that are all on the Butkus Award Watch List.
DBU: The New Class
LSU’s secondary is absolutely stacked this season. The leader for this group will obviously be Grant Delpit, but don’t sleep on someone like Cordale Flott, who will start the season behind Kristian Fulton on the two-deep.
Add star freshman Derek Stingley Jr. along with Jacoby Stevens, DBU’s new class is looking to be one of the most formidable groups in a long time.
LSU Will Win If:
The Tigers can easily come away with the win even if the offense not changing much from last season. Don’t be surprised if Myles Brennan gets some playing time late in Saturday’s matchup.
Georgia Southern Will Win If:
The Eagles will have to be perfect in every facet of the game if they want to duplicate what the Troy Trojans did back in 2017.