The highly-anticipated season opener is in the rearview, and the majority of the legal standoff with the SEC might be, too.
Eventually, we might get to a point where it’s all about football.
Louisiana Tech enters Tiger Stadium for the second straight season. A year ago, the Bulldogs hung around in a 23-7 game that LSU wasn’t in jeopardy of losing but never truly separated in.
Sonny Cumbie was coaching for his job last year, and Louisiana Tech posted an eight-win season that included an Independence Bowl win. He’s back, and his team has transitioned from Conference USA to the Sun Belt where they’ll join ULM and UL-Lafayette.
Everyone knows what awaits LSU next week, but a game remains before the circus goes to Oxford.
Here are three matchups to watch on Saturday night in Death Valley.
BLAKE BAKER VS. BLAKE BAKER
This is a first.
I watched Ed Orgeron coach against Cody Orgeron, his son, when McNeese came to Tiger Stadium. This time, LSU’s defensive coordinator and Tech’s quarterback share no relation, just a name.
Baker, who won the quarterback job in September last year. He made seven starts and threw five touchdowns against three interceptions. The highlight of the season was a 340-yard passing effort against Western Kentucky. He also ran for 103 yards and a score against New Mexico State.
Last week he was 10-for-14 with three passing touchdowns against Northwestern State who allowed Tech to score touchdowns on its first 11 drives.
The LSU defensive coordinator put Clemson quarterback Christopher Vizzina in a blender last week with a variety of pressures and coverages. Cumbie’s offense only mustered 154 yards on Baker’s defense last year playing Trey Kukuc and Baker at quarterback.
LSU OFFENSIVE LINE VS. LA TECH DEFENSIVE LINE
Throwing a big blanket over this matchup instead of an individual one-on-one. Tech will play a 3-3-5 on Saturday night which should invite the LSU running game.
Though the Tigers ran for 306 yards on Clemson, head coach Lane Kiffin saw plenty of room for improvement in the running game. He wants more out of his offensive linemen, specifically the guards.
Tech will play Jacob Bradford inside at defensive tackle. He’s 6-foot-1 and 290 pounds and is in his first season as a starter. On the end, it’ll be Catholic High product Judd Rouyea (6-2, 267) who is a fourth-year player that suffered a season-ending injury at LSU last year. The other end will be Donovan Riemen (6-4, 265) who transferred in from Kansas State last year.
It’s time for Braelin Moore, Aliou Bah and Bo Bordelon to move some people. Jordan Seaton showed his athleticism last week, and Weston Davis held his own. Tech is not huge up front, and none of those three players started more than two games last fall. A tough matchup with Ole Miss’s front awaits. This should be routine work for LSU’s front five.
HUSAN LONGSTREET VS. LANDEN CLARK
No one asked Kiffin about Clark’s insertion into the game behind Sam Leavitt. I really felt like the reps in practice indicated Longstreet was the second team quarterback. He wasn’t on Saturday.
The former Elite 11 quarterback from USC played third behind the Elon transfer.
I’ve indicated in my practice observations that the skillsets between the two aren’t wildly dissimilar. I also know that Longsteet has put in a lot of work refining his throwing motion. Perhaps that transition is a long-term play that is still underway for the future. It’s possible both will play on Saturday against Louisiana Tech, and they’ll be competing against the Bulldogs.
