College Football
#2 Georgia (6-0, 4-0) @ #13 LSU (5-1, 2-1) 2:30pm
Georgia Worthiness on the Line With LSU
It’s interesting to note that even with the LSU Tigers loss last week at Florida, pundits are claiming Georgia must prove its worthiness to be considered elite. For weeks, all Tigers’ fans heard was how undeserving LSU was. All anyone heard was how the Tigers barely won. They were inconsistent on both sides of the ball. They had to beat so and so to prove they are for real. Then they climb to number five in the rankings, lose their first game on the road in the Swamp and suddenly people are talking about whether the Bulldogs belong in a national conversation. You figure that out. It is true that all Georgia has really done is beat South Carolina for whatever that really means. The Tigers have rolled against everyone including Miami, Auburn and very nearly Florida. The Florida defense is finally getting the credit it deserves while the offense continues to be underrated. Georgia is ranked second in the nation. So what do they have to prove and would a win over #13 LSU really be an indicator of how good they are? Let’s look.
Georgia Offense Versus LSU D
The Bulldogs have a quarterback controversy, if you believe what the media has to say about it. Yet are they really any different than Alabama or Clemson in that regard? Jake Fromm, the sophomore, very nearly led Georgia to a national title last season. The two QB’s are as different as night and day. Fromm is the “risk taking gunslinger” while Justin Fields is the more explosive, dynamic signal caller. Together they are a duo that are as dangerous as anyone. Fromm is 17-2 as a starter so there is no judging his leadership qualities. Worthiness to be considered elite starts with the field general and Georgia has two. It’s an offense that touts a stout 485 yards per game. Burrow has looked good in the biggest movements and now another is before him.
Senior receiver Terry Goodwin doesn’t really care who plays under center as long as Georgia is winning.
“It makes us dangerous, because you’ve got a quarterback that knows what you [defense] are going to do, and a quarterback that’s able to run,” Godwin said. “I mean, both guys can run, but you have a faster quarterback back there, and that’s tough on defense.”
Georgia’s two quarterback set forces the opposition to game plan against two potential threats, as Tennessee found out last week. Stop one and the other will getcha. Is that Georgia worthiness?
LSU D
The LSU defense under Dave Aranda will have to deal with an offense averaging 42.0 points per game. Georgia OC Jim Chaney is a familiar foe for LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. The two worked together at Tennessee in 2009. LSU’s linebacker and secondary play has been great all season and they will need to be active against the Bulldogs. Together they have limited opponents to 343.3 yards per game and only two scores a game. Top that off with the fact the Bulldogs average less than 50 percent on third conversions while the Tigers allow less than 35 percent conversion. The Tigers defense is the best that Georgia has faced this season and maybe will face in 2018. Watch for Grant Delpit to have another big game.
Advantage: LSU
LSU Offense Versus the Georgia D
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is the quarterback Tigers fans have waited far since at least the JaMarcus Russell era. Burrow, a transfer from Ohio State, has been everything and then some in his first season. Following Week 5, LSU’s quarterback was named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 List, an award for which all 130 FBS quarterbacks are eligible. Not bad for a guy whom many thought was overrated. Burrow leads an offense that is 13th in the nation in third down conversion. Nick Brossette, the talented Tigers running back, averaged five yards a carry against Florida while teammate Clyde Edwards Helaire broke tackles in seven of 13 carries. It is that type of bruising run game against which the Bulldogs will have to contend.
Georgia D
The Bulldog defense has been up to the task most of the season. Although you have to beat who is on your schedule, the Georgia team has not faced a foe like LSU. Georgia’s defense ranks 15th nationally in stopping the opposition on third down but can they do it when it counts against an opponent who has proven they can covert when it counts? Ask Auburn. Georgia’s head coach Kirby Smart is a defensive guy at heart and if the Bulldogs are to beat LSU it will have to be with defense. UGA has proven vulnerable this season giving up 200 yards to Vanderbilt in the first half last week. They gave up touchdowns on blown assignments against Tennessee. Missouri, a team known for throwing the ball, ran every which way but loose against UGA. Georgia worthiness will depend on how much they contain Joe Burrow. If they can keep him from making the big play in the big moment, they may have a shot.
Advantage: LSU
The Final Whistle
They say that defense wins championships and that is exactly what will happen in this game. Georgia worthiness will depend on that age old cliche. Assuming Burrow and Brossette provide enough firepower to keep the Tigers ahead and the Tigers defense will stifle Jake Fromm and company, Georgia worthiness will have to wait another week. LSU doesn’t win handily but they do pull out the win similar to the Auburn game. The last team with the ball wins. Pick LSU 31-24
Photo credit to jlitse1 via Flickr
