LSU facing a different Aggies defense
One simply needs to check the statistics of LSU’s last two games of the 2018 season to understand what will happen when it has the football against Texas A&M this Saturday night.
In last year’s regular-season finale, the Tigers whipped the Aggies 45-21. Quarterback Danny Etling passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns, while running backs Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams combined for 233 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Both Guice and Williams had 100-yard games.
In last year’s Citrus Bowl, LSU lost to Notre Dame 21-17. Etling threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns, while Guice and Williams combined for 142 rushing yards. Neither Guice nor Williams ran for a touchdown.
Here’s the connection between those two games and this week’s contest at Texas A&M.
Mike Elko, who was the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame in 2017, now has that same job on coach Jimbo Fisher’s first staff in College Station. Tigers coach Ed Orgeron recalled what Elko did against his team last season.
“Mike Elko runs a lot of stunts,” Orgeron said. “There is a lot of movement and a lot of blitzes. We have studied the Notre Dame game from last year. He is doing the same thing at Texas A&M.
“People believe Elko’s scheme is the biggest strength of the defense. We really struggled on the goal line against Notre Dame last year. We have had a lot of our analysts working on Texas A&M all this year.”
Texas A&M has made a huge turnaround with its run defense under Elko. Opposing offenses have rushed for only 911 yards against the Aggies – an average of 83 yards per game. Mississippi State rushed for 143 yards – the most allowed by Texas A&M this year.
Alabama and Clemson, two teams with strong running games, did little on the ground against the Aggies. The Crimson Tide rushed for 109 yards, while the Tigers ran for 115 yards. Five opponents failed to reach 100 rushing yards against Texas A&M.
“Texas A&M has made great strides defensively,” LSU tight end Foster Moreau said. “They do not just have pass rushers. They have run-stoppers now.”
After struggling for three games running the ball, the Tigers rebounded against Rice with 180 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Of course, the caliber of the Owls defense is not near that of the Aggies. Still, the Rice game provided a confidence boost for LSU offensive players.
“I certainly think our run-blocking is trending in the right direction,” Moreau said. “It was nice to get back to LSU’s old ways – three yards and a cloud of dust. It was ground and pound and then we hit some big passes.”
Nick Brossette and Clyde Edwards-Helaire will take their shots against the Texas A&M defense. Brossette and Edwards-Helaire have combined for almost 1,500 rushing yards. Brossette needs 139 yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark. Brossette and Edwards-Helaire have 20 rushing touchdowns together.
“We have to be balanced against Texas A&M,” Orgeron said. “We must find a way to run the football. We just can’t drop back and throw the ball. We have to run the ball and then hit some deep balls on play-action passes.”
At least Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow will be coming off a very efficient game against Rice. Burrow was 20-of-28 for a career-high 307 yards. Burrow has passed for at least 200 yards in just three other games – Auburn (249), Ole Miss (292) and Georgia (200). Not surprisingly, LSU won those three games.
“The offense had taken a step back for three weeks against Mississippi State, Alabama and Arkansas,” Burrow said. “We were rolling before those games. It was good to get back to where we were against Rice. I was feeling comfortable against Rice. I played pretty well except for the two-minute drive.”
Burrow has been far more effective when he has received good pass protection. At least, the Tigers have been starting the same five players this month – Saahdiq Charles at left tackle, Garrett Brumfield at left guard, Lloyd Cushenberry at center, Damien Lewis at right guard and Austin Deculus at right tackle.
Cushenberry has developed into the leader on the offensive line since Brumfield missed four games. Cushenberry admitted that the line must do its job against Texas A&M.
“We want to be physical every week,” Cusenberry said. “Being physical is in our DNA at LSU. The offensive line sets the tone. The team goes as far as we go. We must run block and protect Joe to give him time to do the things he does.
“The offensive line still has a ways to go. We have been up and down all year. We are getting there. Hopefully, we get there this week.”
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