John Harris Keys to the Game (LSU-Oregon St.)

TejasTiger · Sep 1, 2004

The incomparable John Harris is back, and his analysis is as detailed and as good as ever.

Harris, who was a major pimp for LSU in 2003, shares his thoughts on this Saturday's matchup. (Note: There's a special little treat in this writeup for all you big David Pollack fans...and there are *so* many of you here on this site...LOL.)

Oregon State at LSU

a. Are there enough balls to go around? – So, let’s see. There’s cover boy Justin Vincent, Alley Broussard, and Shyrone Carey in the backfield. Joseph Addai can play in the backfield or at receiver. There’s the mercurial Skyler Green and Dwayne Bowe, in addition to freshmen Xavier Carter and Early Doucet. Okay, so maybe the lead-in is a bit tongue in cheek, but this group of LSU skill players is as good as any in the nation. Oregon State will be hard pressed to find a better version of skill guys at any point this year, including that ‘other’ national championship team to the south of Corvallis that’s not too bad. OSU has a strong secondary, so matching up with Green and his receiving corps may not put the Beavers under, but stopping the running game might. Vincent, Broussard and Carey all display varying styles and are all capable of hitting the home run, if you will. OSU must not allow the Tigers to let these weapons loose and keep the big plays in front of them.

b. A sitting Duck, errr, Beaver? – Never having played against the defensive havoc that is the LSU defense, the Beavers must not let Derek Anderson be a standing statue in the pocket. Anderson has enough problems trying to be consistent throwing the football that the Beavers have to ensure that he’s protected and allowed at least three seconds to throw the football. Anderson is a taller, healthier version of Jason White, and many of you remember what defensive coordinator Will Muschamp did to him. Thus, if Anderson is going to have any success throwing the football, he’s going to need sterling protection and Anderson, himself, must locate any potential blitzers, finding any potential man mismatches in the slot. He can challenge the perimeter, but that means going after Corey Webster or Travis Daniels. On second thought, look inside.

c. David Pollack Lite – Obviously, SEC fans are extremely familiar with the exploits of one David Pollack of Georgia, but few of them are aware of Oregon State’s defensive end Bill Swancutt, who will remind LSU fans of Georgia’s #47. :shock: Swancutt has a motor that doesn’t quit and is the Beavers version of a pass rush. He’ll be matched up on Andrew Whitworth or Rudy Niswanger, who moved to tackle this season. He’s extremely quick off the edge, but has good strength that, on occasion, he uses to bull rush tackles back into the quarterback.

With Marcus Randall stepping into the starting role, LSU can’t afford to have Swancutt in Randall’s lap all night long. Thus, no matter how good Whitworth is, if he’s struggling with Swancutt’s perpetual motor, the Tigers must chip or double him to give Randall time to get the ball downfield. Swancutt has an experienced and strong secondary behind him, so he knows forcing Randall into poor decisions/throws is paramount to the Beavers slowing this offensive machine.

Conclusion: The eternal optimist that is OSU’s head coach Mike Riley may tell you he’s stoked to start the season in Baton Rouge. But, he might be the only one. The Beavers may try to find differences in last year’s national champions and the 2004 squad, but it’ll be hard. The offense may be better and the defense is still loaded for bear, or beaver, in this case. The only shot OSU has is if Anderson is immaculate in the pocket, with his decision-making and accuracy. But, that’s a stretch, at best, against this defense – LSU – 28 vs. OSU – 16
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ramah · Sep 2, 2004

Oh, yeah!

TejasTiger said:

The incomparable John Harris is back, and his analysis is as detailed and as good as ever.(Note: There's a special little treat in this writeup for all you big David Pollack fans...and there are *so* many of you here on this site...LOL.)

A sitting Duck, errr, Beaver? – Anderson is a taller, healthier version of Jason White, and many of you remember what defensive coordinator Will Muschamp did to him.
Click to expand...

:hihi:

Makes you kinda feel sorry for the poor bastid Anderson and the HITS HE's GONNA TAKE

MobileBengal · Sep 2, 2004

ramah said:

Makes you kinda feel sorry for the poor bastid Anderson and the HITS HE's GONNA TAKE
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Nah, not really. :grin:

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John Harris Keys to the Game (LSU-Oregon St.)

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