(Photo: On3.com)
Campus Clash
(16) LSU Tigers at South Carolina GameCocks
LSU: Week one was as heartbreaking of a loss as it gets. It’s a neutral game in Las Vegas on a Sunday night, you’re facing a USC team in the same predicament as you are. It’s your first game without your Heisman-winning Quarterback who has moved on to the NFL. It was a back-and-forth game, but in the end, you lost and just ran out of gas. In week two, they got back into the winning column against Nicholls. I want to elaborate and analyze more of Jayden Daniels’ replacement, Garrett Nussmeier. His game couldn’t be any more different from Jayden’s as he was the dual threat guy who could impact the game as both a runner and passer. Garrett on the other hand is your traditional guy who can sling the ball down the field when given time. Watching that first game of the year, he has a nice command of the offense and once he’s on the same page with the system and his receivers, he could be something. Look at the SEC as a whole this year. In previous years, it’s always been a two-team showdown. This year, there’s Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. It’s understandable why the LSU Tigers would fly under the radar in this conference. This Saturday afternoon, they will travel to Columbia for a conference showdown in South Carolina.
South Carolina: They were in Lexington in week two taking on the Kentucky Wildcats and they strongly won that game. The Wildcats couldn’t get out of their way and that’s exactly how Shane Beamer’s group was able to capitalize. When you look at the box score from the game, you notice South Carolina won by 25 points so just by looking at that, it was a dominant performance all around, right? Not quite. The offense was far from dominant and I feel we are learning more about this group as the games go on. They have a Freshman Quarterback in LaNorris Sellers who’s continuing to learn the ins and outs of the offense. He’s a 6’3 Quarterback who scans the entire field and can move in and out of the pocket. So many fans of this university have been hoping for the guy at Quarterback and he may have what it takes moving forward. How exactly did the GameCocks win that game against Kentucky? It was all on the defense and then some. They have a disruptive front four that can get home and many are saying this is their best unit since the days of Jadeveon Clowney, Devin Taylor, and Melvin Ingram which was a formidable, yet scary trio back in the day. To make yourself known in your conference, you must beat the ranked opponents and they have a showdown on Saturday afternoon against Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers.
LSU X-Factor: Mason Taylor– He’s the son of the Hall of Fame Defensive End, Jason Taylor. In that first game against the USC Trojans, I noticed Garrett Nussmeier was attempting to get him the ball any chance he could. Mason is a shifty guy who can make anyone trying to tackle him miss. With receivers such as Kyren Lacy commanding many different looks and double teams, Mason is often in single coverages. He’s also become one of their best threats in the red zone.
South Carolina X-Factor: Raheim Sanders– The transfer from Arkansas to South Carolina. Raheim’s style of play is so reminiscent of DeMarco Murray. When you watch him, he doesn’t blow you away with mind-blowing speed, but he secures the ball, has good vision and patience, plays with solid balance, and knows how to set his feet to make a catch. Raheim is the perfect mix of a bruising back combined with finesse because he can either run you over or cut on a dime to make you miss.
Final Thoughts: We are already three weeks into the college football season. This is an interesting showdown in the SEC. We have one team on one side looking to prove they belong against another team looking for some recognition. LSU could easily be 2-0 entering this game if they don’t fall short to USC. There are two areas of the game with the Tigers that have my concern. The first is their inability to generate a ground attack. I always say running the football pays off when you commit to it. With South Carolina, they almost let the opener against Old Dominion slip and went into Lexington a week later and punched Kentucky in the mouth. I expect South Carolina to rely on ball control when they are on offense. Watch them feed Sanders early on. For LSU, this game will come down to Nussmeier playing at a high level. I don’t see him being phased by this South Carolina crowd, plus he has the weapons to attack this defense. This won’t be easy, but LSU will get the job done on the road here in Columbia.
Prediction: LSU 30, South Carolina 20
