My ass has been glued to the couch today. I have not done a damn thing productive all day long and I don’t plan to change that anytime soon because there’s college football on the TV and I am getting my fix.
The main course is not going to be served until tomorrow night when LSU takes the field and locks up with Florida State, but I’ve studied the matchup and I’m picking the Tigers by 10 points.
Here’s why. Here’s 5 reasons why LSU is going to beat Florida State.
1. This isn’t the same LSU team as last September – I went back this week and watched the LSU game with Florida State from last fall. LSU was a mess. Their offensive line was a wreck, their defense was not utilizing the right personnel and the special teams were deplorable. Hell, the Tigers’ best play in that game was Jayden Daniels taking a shotgun snap, running for his life and trying dearly to make something happen. Yeah, that won’t be the case this year. LSU will be better up front, Daniels will have more time to breathe in the pocket. The Tigers’ athletes are going to be more of a factor.
2. Harold Perkins – The dominant LSU linebacker really didn’t play much last year against the Seminoles, which, obviously, gave the Seminoles a huge advantage. Perkins will be a huge part of the game this fall and he is going to not allow Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis to be near as comfortable in the pocket as he was last year. That matters.
3. The return game – LSU was a special teams disaster last year throughout the year, but it was even more profound in the opener with muffed kicks, blocked kicks and countless problems throughout the game. Those mistakes bled points and gave Florida State an edge. Yeah, that’s not going to happen again this fall. Look, I’m not going to guarantee LSU will win the third phase. But they will not lose it as badly this year as they did last. Advantage Tigers there. Look out for Aaron Anderson in the return game. That kid can flip the game upside down if he gets a crease.
4. Jayden Daniels knows his receivers now – Jayden Daniels didn’t have much of an offseason last year, and as a result, he didn’t develop great chemistry with a lot of his receivers. That’s not the case anymore. Daniels knows his guys, knows their tendencies, knows where they want the football and I think we’re going to see an LSU offense that is more explosive this year versus last.
5. Depth – I think that hat-on-hat, 11-on-11, LSU and Florida State are similar. I just think the Tigers have more depth. I think we saw that last fall. Florida State dominated for 3 quarters and then LSU rallied back in the fourth. The same script could play out again – except this time, I think the game will be fairly close for 3 quarters but then LSU will pull away late.