Last season was a crazy one for the LSU Tigers. The team started 7-0 and looked like a national championship contender in the eyes of many. However, the team played a back-loaded schedule. The strong start didn’t really mean that much, but many people assigned a lot more meaning to that start than they should have. Then, when LSU predictably lost to Alabama and Ole Miss on the road, a lot of people in the school, especially boosters, turned against head coach Les Miles out of a felt sense of disappointment. Never mind that Miles has won a national title and played for another one in Baton Rouge; locals got frustrated, and with Joe Alleva serving as a very weak-minded athletic director, Miles came extremely close to being fired. He barely escaped with his job. Now Miles really does have to win big in 2016, or he probably will be dismissed. Let the pressure begin.
Biggest Team Weakness
Quarterback Brandon Harris has two experienced receivers in Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural, but he has not yet shown that he can take over in big games and give this offense the leadership it needs. The LSU passing game was very strong a few years ago with Zach Mettenberger, but that year, the LSU defense wasn’t nearly as good as it needed to be. There is a situation in Baton Rouge in which LSU can’t seem to get both the offense and the defense to play well at the same time. This year, the LSU passing game is the weak link. The good news is that running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette can take some pressure off Harris and the passing game, but at some point, a really good defense will take away Fournette and force Harris to win a game. This is what Alabama did last year, and Harris wasn’t up for the challenge. LSU has to get better at converting third and five plays with the pass. It doesn’t necessarily need 50-yard bombs. Harris just needs to be more consistent when he has to deliver a good ball to a slightly open receiver to convert a first down.
Don’t expect to see a definitive answer to this problem too early in the season. The LSU Tigers have some games where Harris can get comfortable and look pretty good in the passing game. However, for LSU to truly meet it’s expectations and keep Les Miles off the hot seat, they’re going to need to get through their SEC schedule very cleanly. That’ll mean that some semblance of a consistent passing game has to show up. As we saw last year, Fournette can’t carry this offense on his own.
Biggest Team Strength
Fournette is a stud, but LSU is really stacked at defensive line and in the secondary. Christian LacCouture did get injured for the season in August camp, and other defensive linemen have been hurt, but the LSU Tigers are still able to call upon more bodies up front. In the secondary, Jamal Adams and Tre’Davious White are both elite players as well. LSU also has linebacker Kendall Beckwith in the middle of the field to provide both run support and pass coverage. This is going to be a very structurally sound defense, and what’s more is that LSU gets new coordinator Dave Aranda from Wisconsin. Aranda has been an outstanding coordinator. He should get the most out of this defense.
Schedule
The opener versus Wisconsin in Lambeau Field is tough, but if Fournette is healthy by then – he sprained an ankle in practice – LSU should be okay. The big one is against Alabama, and that one is at home. Ole Miss is at home as well. The key games are in Baton Rouge.
Outlook
The LSU Tigers will be good. They will beat Ole Miss and Wisconsin. However, Alabama is still a better team, and the Tigers are not strong enough in the passing game to survive tough tests that will come their way during the season. 10-2 is good, but not great.
Projection: 2nd In SEC West
