Getting to know your opponent: Texas Longhorns

[Herb]

As COTiger has rightly pointed out, Georgia Southern is a bit of a step dowwn from a power 5 conference opponent and the upcoming game vs the Texas Longhorns will be a big test for LSU.

Texas was ranked 10th in the nation and could move up a spot when the polls hit after the 1st week of games.

Texas has been down for a while but they appear to finally have their 1st improvement in head coaching since Mac Brown departed when they hired Tom Herman. Herman (who left LSU at the altar a few years ago) has Texas' fortunes reversed and has the team moving in the right direction.

Texas had their best season in a decade last year by going 10-4 last year, capping off their season with an upset win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Herman has put together back to back top 5 recruiting classes and Texas has a lot of young talent.  In addition he has been rounding out roster holes by snagging talent through the NCAA transfer portal. One case in point is Parker Braun, a guard from Georgia Tech who transferred to Texas after graduating and is slotted as one of the starting guards. Another example is JUCO transfer Caleb Johnson, who was rated as the #2 junior college OLB. 

Leading Texas' success is Junior QB Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger is a 6'3" 235 pounds dual threat QB who had a 65% pass completion rate (3296 yds, 25 TDs) in additio0n to 482 yds rushing and 16 rushing TDs. This guy is a badass that LSU needs to conatin and force him to try to beat us through the air. He's big, has strong legs, and has a big time arm.

Last year Texas won the time of possession battle against opponents: Texas 32:19 – Opponents 27:31. A key to victory for LSU is to make sure Texas does not eat the clock and kills us with multiple long scoring drives. This is where Ehlinger excelled as a dual threat by keeping drives alive with his legs.  He's tough to bring down.

Their marquee running back is Keaontay Ingram, who rushed for 708 yards as a freshman last season. Texas has other young RBs also who can share the load.

Collin Johnson is their best receiver coming into this season - a 6'6" 220 lbs beast who caught 68 passes for 985 yards last year. That is a WR - not a tight end.  Johnson was responsible for about 25% of Texas' passing offense last year.  Again - back to back 3rd ranked recruiting classes have added additional talent that has yest to make their mark.

The silver lining in all of this is the fact that Texas' defense - though ranked 3rd in Big 12 last year - has only 3 returning starters. The entire front 7 and both starting CBs from last year are gone.  This means there is not a single returning starter at the DL and LB position.  Keep in mind that Caleb Johnson (mentioned above) brings veteran experience and leadership at the OLB position.

Their secondary has young playmakers like BJ Foster and Caden Sterns, who combined for 108 tackles. Sterns might be considered "Delpit Light", and is their chief playmaker on D until some of these younger kids emerge. Sterns and Foster will be joined by some talented underclassmen in the secondary, including Anthony Cook and DeMarvion Overshown.

Because of the recruiting classes Herman has put together, Texas is starting to close the gap that Oklahoma enjoys between "Oklahoma and everyone else". Depending on how this season goes, we could see Texas possibly topple Oklahoma as the pinnacle team in the Big 12.

One interesting stat is that Texas outscored their opponents 117 to 38 in the 3rd quarter last year.  

The LSU game is considered THE pivotal game for the season and has been marked on the Longhorns' calendar since spring practice began.  This is looked at as a must win game for them as it will likely be the turning point in their season that will likely determine if they better their 10-4 mark last year or wind up with less wins this year.

To paraphrase Orgeron: "They're coming"!

[LSUDad]

Good one Herb. 

I went back an looked at UTx, their game with Maryland. Maryland has beat UTx the last two years. Catching UTx early is one thing, Maryland put pressure on Ehlinger, that was the key when UTx had the ball. The major plus last year that helped Ehlinger was his go to guy, Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, he was undrafted, was trying for a roster spot with the Saints. He had 1,176 receiving yards and 9 TD’s.  Collin Johnson was right behind him with 985 yards and 7 TD’s. 

Maryland spread the field against them last year, Matt Canada was the Head Coach. 

[Nutriaitch]

 

2 hours ago, Herb said:

 Herman (who left LSU at the altar a few years ago) 

 

you absolutely botched the spelling of :

“Joe Alleva tucked his chicken shyte tail between his legs and ran away before Herman even had an offer from anyone else.”

because that’s what actually happened. 

i mean Alleva even bragged about being a childish little kitty during that fiasco. 

[Fishhead]

The above was a turning point in the relationship between Nootch and Fish.  Since this moment, Nootch and I have rarely if ever disagreed.  

[LSUDad]

Herman wanted UTx to Up the money, used LSU for this, he was never coming here, never working for Joe. Joe is a Clown, looking at Joes resume, would you hire him for anything? 

[dachsie]

36 minutes ago, LSUDad said:

Herman wanted UTx to Up the money, used LSU for this, he was never coming here, never working for Joe. Joe is a Clown, looking at Joes resume, would you hire him for anything? 

Been saying this all along.  He never intended to come here - he wanted to go to TX

[LSUDad]

Joe thinks he was close with the Herman hire.

Jimbo had the MooU, before Sly Croom, but passed on it, after talking with a coach I know.

Saban tried to hire a friend of mine, after his DC quit on him. Lots of behind the scenes in the profession. 

Alcohol helps to open up the stories, statue of limitations comes into play. 

 

[Fishhead]

1 hour ago, LSUDad said:

 

statue of limitations comes into play. 

 

Is that anything like the old "escape goat"?

I heard a weather dude the other day say "don't asphyxiate on the center of the track".  Unfortunately, looks like the northern Bahamas did. 

[Nutriaitch]

4 hours ago, dachsie said:

 He never intended to come here - he wanted to go to TX

and Miles wanted Michigan....oh, wait. 

guaran-damn-tee you Skip lands him (if he wanted him).

Hell, Skip would’ve given the dude a ride to the Texas interview and said “I’ll be out here waiting. As soon as you realize this shithole can’t compete with LSU, we’ll sign this deal and head back to Baton Rouge”

 

Shooters Shoot. 

[Nutriaitch]

7 hours ago, Fishhead said:

The above was a turning point in the relationship between Nootch and Fish.  Since this moment, Nootch and I have rarely if ever disagreed.  

that can’t last forever. 

[LSUDad]

3 hours ago, Fishhead said:

don't

 

1 hour ago, Nutriaitch said:

and Miles wanted Michigan....oh, wait. 

guaran-damn-tee you Skip lands him (if he wanted him).

Hell, Skip would’ve given the dude a ride to the Texas interview and said “I’ll be out here waiting. As soon as you realize this shithole can’t compete with LSU, we’ll sign this deal and head back to Baton Rouge”

 

Shooters Shoot. 

Joe couldn’t land a fish in an aquarium with a dip net. 

Mark Emmert and Woody can land who they want. You are going to see Woody back at work soon. 

Cant believe you call that Shithole a shithole. 

[houtiger]

We are going to play a lot fewer players against the Longhorns than we did on Sat.  Will that extend to the RB?  I think so, that's what I'd do.  I would not run more than 3 guys.  Pick you best guy and go with that.  If he can't get it going, I'd give #2 a shot for a while.  If he can't get it going, I'd go to #3 briefly and see what he's got in the game.  #4 and 5 don't see the field.  Go with the hot hand and if there is no hot hand, just feed #1 from practice and maybe he'll find the groove.

[Herb]

15 hours ago, Fishhead said:

Is that anything like the old "escape goat"?

I heard a weather dude the other day say "don't asphyxiate on the center of the track".  Unfortunately, looks like the northern Bahamas did. 

 

[Fishhead]

[dachsie]

Again I say, Herman wanted TX

 

https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/09/02/tom-herman-texas-lsu-ed-orgeron

[dachsie]

I didn't realize Alleva moved to FL - thought they created some bogus position for him.  Glad he's gone and good riddance.

[Nutriaitch]

14 hours ago, dachsie said:

Again I say, Herman wanted TX

 

https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/09/02/tom-herman-texas-lsu-ed-orgeron

 

Miles wanted Michigan

Saban wasn’t going to Alabama

how many more examples you want?

any AD worth half a bucket of liquid elephant shyte lands his guy. PERIOD.  

[Nutriaitch]

14 hours ago, dachsie said:

I didn't realize Alleva moved to FL - thought they created some bogus position for him.  Glad he's gone and good riddance.

he could move to neptune and it still wouldn’t be far enough away from the program. 

[LSUDad]

No school wants to get turned down. That’s why they do all the talking first, then the offer comes. With nick, LSU’s AD says, “Wonder how much he wants?” Mark Emmert says, “Let’s see if he’s really interested, we’ll worry about the money later!”

Les interviewed in sweat, wife forgot everything to go with his suit. 

nick had a coach quit after a week or two. Called a friend of mine, who turned him down. 

Lots of behind the scenes, in college and Pro Ball, oh, and high school. 

[LSUDad]

LSU O-Line preps for Texas’ blitz-heavy, “positionless” defense

September 4, 2019 Tyler Nunez 1

 

The LSU spread offense that sliced and diced Georgia Southern on Saturday night may be new to Tiger fans, but it likely won’t be anything Texas has never seen. 

The Longhorns play in a Big 12 Conference loaded with air-raid offenses, and they have designed their defense to mitigate their damage. 

To do so, Texas brought defensive coordinator Todd Orlando with him from Houston upon taking the job in Austin, and with him, his “positionless” defense. 

The Longhorns play with a three-man front with a zone behind it in which every athlete on the field is liable to blitz at any moment. 

This makes it difficult to know exactly where a blitz will come from, even if you know its coming. 

And plenty of blitzes will be coming for LSU quarterback Joe Burrow on Saturday night.

“Those guys can run and hit,” Orgeron said on Tuesday. “They blitz a whole bunch, zone blitz football team. 

“(Orlando) disguises his blitzes. These guys know what they’re doing. They’re good tacklers, they use their speed. I think the strength of their defense is in their linebackers and the DB’s. They use them a bunch”

Orgeron said the Tigers are preparing as though the Longhorns will blitz on every down, which is an interesting point of note concerning the question marks LSU’s offensive line entered the season with. 

LSU fans received good news during Orgeron’s Tuesday press luncheon when he announced left tackle Saahdiq Charles will be back in action after missing the season opener due to undisclosed, presumably disciplinary reasons. 

It added to confidence built when Joe Burrow was barely sniffed, let alone sacked by Georgia Southern’s defense. 

The new offense is designed to get the ball out of Burrow’s hands as quickly as possible in most scenarios, but there is little doubt he will experience more pressure this week than he did against the Eagles.

“They’re going to be moving every snap, pretty much,” said LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry. “It’s basically the same as our defense, but they don’t move as much as our defense. We have to be under control and trust our footwork and technique.”

He went on to say the Tigers have been practicing with piped in crowd noise and band music in an attempt to simulate the chaos that will ensue in a road environment this weekend. 

But the fact of the matter is we won’t know exactly how this offensive line will handle its first true test until it takes the field on Saturday. 

If it can keep Burrow relatively unscathed and create a push during rushing plays, it could be a historic night for the Tigers. If not, it might be back to the drawing boards for what has been one of the Tigers tenuous positions in recent years.