WEEK 8 PREVIEW: #9 OREGON vs #12 LSU
By: HornsNation05
In the nitecap, the Oregon Ducks travel to Baton Rouge to take on the Tigers of LSU.
Oregon is coming into this game after a win against Florida State last week. The Ducks were able to finally catch fire in the second half, scoring 28 points. Randy Moore had a big day on the ground with three rushing touchdowns and 126 yards rushing. Thor Odinson and Israel Cassius both impacted the game in different ways. For Odinson it was his team leading 13 tackles and for Cassius it was his kick return for a touchdown.
LSU looks to rebound after two straight losses. The Tigers fell to Tennessee last week 59-47. Ray “Voodoo” Tatum threw three costly picks but was able to finish the day with five touchdowns and 461 yards passing. Jared Tetonis put this team on his back with 144 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He also had 252 kick return yards and a 99 yard kick return for a touchdown. LSU struggled to stop anything defensively, giving up 588 yards in total offense.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
OREGON OFFENSE vs LSU DEFENSE
Oregon’s offense is built on the run and they will need that tonight. Oregon is currently ranked 3rd in the league in rushing yards per game with 227. Jay Smith, the transfer from Ohio State, has 754 yards on the ground with Randy Moore contributing 698. This bodes well for Oregon as LSU has struggled against the run. Last week LSU allowed 161 yards on the ground and they currently rank 8th in rushing defense. If Oregon can run the ball successfully, it will keep the ball out of Ray Tatum’s hands.
While the Tigers have struggled against the run, they have had no issues sacking the quarterback. Currently LSU ranks 1st in sacks with 23. Oregon comes into this came ranked 11th in sacks allowed. If LSU is able to get to Jay Smith, it could make life easier for this LSU defense.
KEY MATCHUP
OREGON CB Israel Cassius and Thor Odinson vs LSU WR Jared Tetonis
It will be up to Oregon’s secondary to try and slow down Jared Tetonis. Tetonis leads the league in almost every receiving category. He was also voted the player of the week for week 7. Thor Odinson and Israel Cassius will have a tall task in covering Tetonis.Both of these 5-star corners have had success before against star wide receivers. In week four they were able to hold Tennessee’s Ty Jones to just 77 yards receiving. While Ty Jones may not be on the same level as Tetonis, both CB’s have shown to have great cover skills. This will be a very intriguing matchup to watch.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
“It’s time for us young Tigers to grow up and show we have learned from our past mistakes and get ourselves in the best possible bowl game” -Ray “VooDoo” Tatum on tonight’s game.
“The defense and the secondary in particular have had our heads down working our butts off this week prepping and planning. Stopping I think is the wrong question but rather slowing down the great LSU passing attack but I have belief our back end will be able to hold their own and make some plays to change the game!” – Jack Frost on slowing down the LSU passing attack.
