Today we’ll continue our season analysis and talk about the next two teams we will face in the 2017 season. As we get deeper into the season we will go up against tougher opponents and begin conference play so the games will matter more and more.
Game 3
LSU 24 – Mississippi State 6
Mississippi State is our first SEC opponent of the year but after two warm up games we’ll be ready. Mississippi State is an SEC west opponent that we should take seriously even if they are the 12th best in the SEC out of fourteen teams and lack a serious pass defense. As I’ve said many times before, passing was our weakness last year so it would be good to have a few games to amp-up our passing game to its fullest potential before we play a strong pass defense.
Last year we handled Mississippi State pretty well, right up until the fourth quarter when they made a comeback that came very close to beating us. They are a well-rounded team with speedy receivers. They would be a bigger threat if they had some standouts who could carry them like Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice did for us. Mississippi State won’t be our biggest threat this season, but they will provide a strong wake up call that Southeastern Conference play has begun.
Game 4
LSU 45 – Syracuse 3
Syracuse is a decent power five conference team that has some fight in them. They have a good offense although I can’t say the same about their defense. Our offense will surely put points on the board against this team. If our defense has a good day we can probably hold them to three points. They have a great pass offense but lost their star receiver Amba Etta-Tawo to the NFL. This was a big loss for their pass offense so I don’t know how good they can be without him this year. I expect our pass defense to play well and that should be the main battle of the game. I’m confident that if our defensive backs can hold their passing offense in check, then we can put this game away early. But a few busted coverages and some nice plays on their part and we’ll have a problem.
Geaux Tigers!!
I agree with your assessments of games 3 and 4. It will be interesting to see if LSU can bring a rounded offense to go with what I suspect will be a solid defense. Looking forward to more analysis as we get closer to game 1.
Poppy