Typically, our first games are very bland...CLM likes to keep them simple, and I think there are two reasons for this: 1. Bland gets the players going slowly, calling more and more complex plays as the season goes on and the guys get confidence. 2. It limits how much of our hand we show early on. You think we'll see the same this year, being that Oregon is first on the schedule? I know they are a top-flight team, but they're not known for their defense. What are the chances that CLM and Studthorpe think they can score enough points on them while keeping things vanilla?
I think he goes slowly with JL at the helm. I also think Les will throw a few surprises in as he's known to do. I do agree that it will be a bit vanilla until CLM sees what's working and what the defense is giving him.
I don't think that I can agree with this, amigo. I don't think we can play a top-5 team "bland" and I don't think we will hold much back because we won't have the luxury. This is not the usual cupcake opener. Dude, Oregon was #12 in scoring defense last year, right behind us at #11.
I know, man. That's why I asked the question. And all I asserted was thas Miles USUALLY does this. Surely, you can agree to that? Ha! I didn't know they were that high in the ranks. Like I said, they aren't KNOWN for their defense. What was their average TOP last year, out of curiosity? And how good was their ST's? If they dominated TOP and had great ST's, their defense wouldn't have to do much to rank high in that particular category. I'll admit, the only thing I know of them is what I've read and what I saw against Auburn.
Their TOP was horrible (#106) because of the hurry-up offense. http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2011&rpt=IA_teamtop&site=org&div=IA&dest=O 2010 Oregon Football Ranking Summary
27th Rushing Defense... 56th Passing Defense... 34th Total Defense... But 12th Scoring Defense? They must be very red-zone oriented. Still, scoring is the only thing that counts.
The Duck's have horrible TOP, amongst the worst. Oregon was ranked #102/120. College Football Stats - College FB Team Average Time of Possession (Net of OT) on TeamRankings.com Very good special teams though.
What was our redzone offense? Well TD's to FG's anyway cause we all know that Jasper could put them through But we had trouble scoring td's inside the 20
Ducks were #11 in red zone defense. College Football Stats - College FB Team Opponent Red Zone Scoring Percentage on TeamRankings.com
I think the first quarter will be a bit sloppy for both teams. Beginning of the season jitters, hype, nerves, and whatnot. LSU will eventually settle in and keep the ball away from Oregon and grind them down. This of course, is provided the O-line does it's job and allows for the running game to take shape. That said, if I were JL, I would take a deep shot down field on our first play just to keep the Ducks honest, and to hear the sound of thousands of Tiger fans gasping in unison.
