{"id":53309,"date":"2023-10-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=53309"},"modified":"2023-10-18T21:17:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T01:17:15","slug":"lsus-remaining-conference-opponents-by-the-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2023\/10\/19\/lsus-remaining-conference-opponents-by-the-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"LSU’s Remaining Conference Opponents: By the Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The LSU Tigers sit at 5-2 heading into a critical stretch of conference games that will impact both the SEC Championship as well as the College Football Playoffs. Their two losses put them in the unenviable position of needing other teams to lose to crack the door open for the playoffs. The Tigers\u2019 one conference loss allows them to control their destiny in the conference race if Ole Miss loses another game. From losses to stats, numbers are a centerpiece of results and rewards in football. A good way to gain perspective on LSU\u2019s potential this year is to look at the remaining conference opponents on its schedule by the numbers, so let\u2019s get into it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Significance of Numbers<\/h2>\n

Alabama<\/span><\/h3>\n

The next conference opponent is Alabama, and the number is 30. Alabama averages 30.1 points per game, good for 56th in the country. The modest number is less impressive considering they\u2019ve faced the remarkably dominant defenses of Middle Tennessee, South Florida, and Ole Miss.<\/span><\/p>\n

One could argue that Alabama will likely score more than 30 against LSU\u2019s defense, and that\u2019s a valid point. As of now, LSU\u2019s defense gives up 30 points per game. The counterpoint is the Tiger defense is improving. The same defense that gave up 700 yards to Ole Miss has allowed touchdowns on only three of its opponents\u2019 last 18 drives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alabama\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Jalen Milroe<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has gotten increasingly productive as he\u2019s established himself as the starting quarterback. He\u2019ll need to continue to do so. 30 points will not come close to being enough to outduel an LSU offense that averages 45 points per game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Florida<\/span><\/h3>\n

Florida\u2019s problematic number is -2. The Gators\u2019 turnover margin for the year is -2, which is tied for 86th in FBS football. Florida\u2019s offense scores 29 points per game, so it\u2019s not built to overcome setbacks like turnovers in a game. Florida gained more first downs and total yards than Utah in their first game of the season but lost the turnover battle and the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many wrote Coach\u00a0<\/span>Billy Napier<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and the Gators off after an ugly loss to Kentucky. Don’t look now, but they only have one conference loss in the year.\u00a0<\/span>Graham Mertz<\/span><\/a>\u00a0won\u2019t get a statue after his tenure, but he did throw for 423 yards\u00a0<\/span>against South Carolina<\/span><\/a>. Wide receiver\u00a0<\/span>Ricky Pearsall<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0benefited from Mertz\u2019s big game with 166 receiving yards in the same game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s defense ranks a respectable 31st in the country, giving up 20 points per game. They also rank in the top 10 in net punting, which combines the punt yardage with returns, with an average of 43 yards per punt. Flipping the field combined with a solid defense is a solid recipe to make things harder for the LSU offense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Napier not only needs to flip the field but also flip a troubling trend. Florida has won only one of the last six games against the Tigers in Baton Rouge. The Gators are usually a tough opponent as a rival, and they have conflicting numbers in terms of what to expect against LSU.<\/span><\/p>\n

Texas A&M<\/span><\/h3>\n

It seems like just yesterday\u00a0<\/span>Jimbo Fisher<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0was one of the hottest names in coaching searches with big-time programs clamoring for his services. The Aggies face LSU in Baton Rouge this year, and Fisher is a shocking 0-6 on the road since 2022. That\u2019s bad enough to make his 4-8 SEC record in the same span sound pretty good.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the bright side, Texas A&M only allows 105 rushing yards per game. Those numbers are about as good as any of LSU’s opponents left on the schedule. Not only are the Aggies good up front, but they’re built to get to the passer with four.<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t meant to be overly critical of Fisher; one would have to admit that this run has been impressive in more ways than one. He continues to recruit top 5 classes despite mediocre seasons and also manages to continue to lose with superior talent. Remarkable.<\/span><\/p>\n

What it Means for LSU<\/span><\/h3>\n

The numbers show that LSU has a legitimate shot to defeat each of its remaining conference opponents. Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean that will happen. The cumulative effect of physical games deep into the season can supersede numbers at times. At that point toughness, discipline, and focus influence results more than stats. Fortunately for the Tigers, they\u2019ll have Army and Georgia State sprinkled in among the conference opponents as essentially byes along the way. Going by the numbers, LSU is still squarely in the hunt for an SEC Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo Credit: SCOTT CLAUSE\/USA TODAY Network \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The LSU Tigers sit at 5-2 heading into a critical stretch of conference games that will impact both the SEC Championship as well as the College Football Playoffs. Their two losses put them in the unenviable position of needing other teams to lose to crack the door open for the playoffs. The Tigers\u2019 one conference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4690,"featured_media":53317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10906],"tags":[35,7159,244,438,86,8200,20,64],"class_list":["post-53309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sec","category-cfb","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-billy-napier","tag-florida-gators","tag-jimbo-fisher","tag-lsu-tigers","tag-ricky-pearsall","tag-sec","tag-texas-am-aggies"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}