It's not too early for LSU to look ahead to its 2020 opponents
The seniors and early entrants into the NFL Draft from LSU’s national championship team have moved on. Many were in Indianapolis this past weekend getting measured and weighed and interviewed at the NFL Combine.
The players who will comprise the 2020 Tigers begin spring practice next weekend.
The opponents on LSU’s fall schedule also have turned the page from last season and positioned themselves to begin preparation for next season.
This is the time off year that head coaches look ahead to the schedule to find the most challenging teams, those with the least familiar schemes and those with new head coaches or coordinators.
That’s because now is the time that the coaching staff can get a head-start on fall opponents that might require additional preparation beyond what can be handled in a game week.
Here’s an early look at what awaits the defending national champions in the fall.
Sept. 5 vs. UTSA
LSU coach Ed Orgeron might have had a pretty good idea of what to expect from former Tigers assistant Frank Wilson, but he was fired as head coach in December after 4 seasons and replaced by Jeff Traylor.
It might be hard to anticipate what Traylor will run because he’s never been a college head coach before, but Orgeron and his staff aren’t going to spend any extra time on the Roadrunners.
Sept. 12 vs. Texas
Bo Pelini is beginning his 2nd stint as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator and he’s busy making the transition from Dave Aranda’s system to his own in time for the start of spring practice.
He’ll try to find time to also look at what the Longhorns did to Aranda’s defense last September – 530 total yards and 31 2nd-half points – and get a head-start on what his defense can do to slow down Sam Ehlinger and the Texas offense.
Sept. 19 at Rice
It’s rare that LSU plays a non-Power 5 opponent on the road, but Houston is a major stop on the recruiting trail for the Tigers.
If Orgeron and his staff spend any offseason time thinking about this game it will be to map out a game plan for recruits in the area.
Sept. 26 vs. Ole Miss
The Rebels have a new coach in Lane Kiffin, but Orgeron should have a pretty good handle on what to expect from him. Orgeron was an assistant under Kiffin at USC before Kiffin was fired and Orgeron was named interim head coach during the 2013 season.
Orgeron and Pelini should be relieved that they don’t have to prepare for another dose of former offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez’s offense after the Rebels gained 614 yards and put up 30 2nd-half points last season.
Oct. 3 vs. Nicholls
The Colonels have a very good FCS program, but coach Tim Rebowe’s team won’t be able to sneak up on the Tigers since their campus is a mere 70 miles south of LSU’s.
Oct. 10 at Florida
There shouldn’t be many unknowns with the Gators as head coach Dan Mullen enters his 3rd season. But Orgeron is just 1-1 against Mullen at Florida and 2-2 against the Gators overall.
Oct. 17 at Arkansas
The Razorbacks have a new head coach in former Georgia associate head coach Sam Pittman, so the Tigers can look at recent Bulldogs team for a hint of what to expect.
But until Pittman is able to string together some recruiting classes like the ones Kirby Smart has had at Georgia, Arkansas isn’t going to command much offseason attention.
Oct. 24 vs. Mississippi State
Orgeron knows what to expect from first-year head coach Mike Leach because Orgeron’s time at USC came during Leach’s tenure as head coach at Washington State.
Still the Tigers might want to brush up on Leach because he brings an approach different from what the Bulldogs have traditionally done.
Nov. 7 vs. Alabama
Everyone knows what to expect from Nick Saban’s team, which will be coming off a loss to LSU for the first time since the BCS Championship Game after the 2011 season.
Nov. 14 vs. South Carolina
The Gamecocks have a new offensive coordinator in former Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo.
Head coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson are both entering their 5th seasons, but the Tigers haven’t played South Carolina since the season before they arrived (2015).
Nov. 21 at Auburn
The whole SEC is curious to see what head coach Gus Malzahn and new offensive coordinator Chad Morris come up with.
LSU will have lots of film to refer to during game week as it plays Auburn much later than normal, thanks to the SEC moving up the Georgia-Auburn game.
Nov. 28 at Texas A&M
Little has changed with the Aggies as Jimbo Fisher enters his 3rd season with the same coordinators (Darrell Dickey and Mike Elko) and quarterback (Kellen Mond) that he began his tenure with.
I have no idea how this season is going to pan out. I believe the “LSU could lose 3 games” narrative just as much as “LSU wins out as Brennan shows he has something to prove”
I agree we’ve lost alot of players and coaches, but the more I look at who is replacing those losses, it makes me wonder how the season will turn out. Sure we lost Brady, but we gained Linehan. Lost Aranda, but gained Pelini. You can make predictions but we have no idea.
I think one positive we have is that we wont have to rely on hardly any true freshman at all.
I don’t see any magic this year like last, truly one of, if not the greatest, championship teams ever. The offense won’t be anywhere near what it was last year. Those Texas, Bama and Auburn games would be L’s. I think that this will be a tough year for LSU. L’s from UF, Bama and Auburn. Texas and TAMU could very easily be losses.
Yeah there definitely was alot of magic from last season, I just think our games against UF, Auburn, Texas, and TAMU can all go either way. It’s part of playing in the SEC and not one of those 4 teams have a clear cut advantage over LSU.
We werent the only team to lose big players, it all goes back to recruiting and who can fill those spots. Look at all the impact players Auburn and UF have lost
Thanks for the GOAT vote! Regardless if the 2019 LSU Tigers are GOAT or not, they will become the new measuring stick across the SEC and NCAA for years to come (if not always).
LSU still has some tricks up their sleeve with possibly the best receiving corps in the country. Ja’Marr “Biletnikoff” Chase definitely has some magic. Terrace Marshall is arguably just as good as Chase. Trey Palmer replaces Jefferson at the slot and is fast and shifty as they come – check out his punt return for a TD last year. Then there’s Racey McMath and Kayshon Boutte backing them up. We’re set at receiver. And just because we lost Burrow doesn’t mean we don’t have a QB – Brennan is a stud. Miss. high school record for total offense, passing yards, and passing TDs. 69% completions, 48 TDs, 3 ints senior year. He’s been in our system the whole time and is ready to step into Joe’s shoes. Not saying he’s going to repeat what JB did – no one likely ever will – but he’s no slouch, and to discount him just because he’s not #9 is foolish. Despite some losses, we’re still stacked across the board. Some guys are going to have to step up, but every team has this issue.
Obviously we won’t be the same team as last year – we caught lightning in a bottle – but it doesn’t mean this team is doomed to lose a bunch of games. Easy losses? I’ll believe in Texas when I see it. UF and AU have question marks all over them (like everyone). A&M has to prove they’re on the upswing. Bama’s had some losses – our receivers should eat them up. If the Tide isn’t worried about playing in the Death Valley they’re lying.
Best thing for us is everyone take the attitude we’re down and out from the beginning…
LSU’s receivers should “eat Alabama up”?
I might say the same about our receivers against your db’s. And before you start talking about how great Stingley is, take a look at how he fared against Devonta Smith last year. No smart Alabama fan ever takes a trip to Baton Rouge lightly. It is always the game that we circle on our calendar every year, same as it is for you guys.
Oh $h!t is DeVonta back?!? Coulda swore he went to the NFL….
I kid. Kudos to Smith for going back to finish his degree etc. Loved his quote “I understand that football isn’t forever. I have to prepare myself for life after the game and the first step to doing that is getting my degree.”
No doubt he had Stingley’s # more than once, but Stingley was a true freshman – he’ll be more experienced this time around. I think LSU has the edge on both sides of the ball in terms of DBs vs WRs. As usual, it will probably come down to QBs – and capitalizing on mistakes.
In the absence of a relevant in-state rivalry like y’all have, this may be the biggest game of the year for us every year (at least for me). Helps to have Bama roots in the family.
Everyone said the same thing this time last year about LSU.
True.
Brennan’s talented, hungry, and has something to prove – reminds me of another LSU QB. He’s got the best returning receiving corps in the country and the #1 tight end recruit. I feel fine about our chances in the SEC this year.
It would be interesting to hear what the win/loss records of first year starters compared to the prior year. Can we get an article on this?
Just don’t lose to Texas, they’ll be screaming “We’re Back!” by Sunday Sept. 13th.
Lol…I give it until the Orange-White spring game in 3 weeks
This is how I see the 2020 offense: Brennan, 3400 yds, 32TD 6 Int. Tigers rely more on RBs than last year.
Defense: more old school, hardnosed attacking style under Pellini. Top 10
Not sure how that plays out for the season, But I’m not shorting the Tigers. I think they end with no more than 2 losses.
I see it exactly as you do. I think the floor for this tm is 3 losses. The key is how much the 3 young RBs (5*, 4*, 4*) step up. A big key to last yrs success is the two young 5* WRs who had a lot of drops the previous yr put in work to get better. If the RBs improve on pass-blocking and catching the ball, it’ll be a very good yr.
The funny thing is all the doubters are looking past the fact that if you’re on the Tigers 2020 sked and you’re not Bama, you’re the underdogs! UF may be a toss-up but LSU isn’t looking up at anybody but the Tide and that should be a close gm. Can’t wait to see how it goes. My only expectation is the tm gets better each week and finish strong.
Bama has some question marks too…specifically at QB. I know they got the talent in the room but there is a difference between playing practice and UGA in week 3 with that defense. Will be an entertaining season for sure. I know one thing about LSU v UF…it’ll be a great, close game.
Agreed.
Bama lost a lot at receiver and cornerback too. Hard to make predictions at this point, but not sure they’re the most worrisome team in the SEC going into this season.
Not looking forward to playing the Gators in The Swamp!
It is so fricking funny how everybody have written off my LSU Tigers after being only the second team in history to go 15-0 beating the first first team to do it for the National Championship. I know we lost a lot of talent from 2019 to the NFL but Coach O and the crew has recruited very well. QB Myles Brennan won’t repeat what QB Joe Burrow did no one will but that don’t mean he won’t have a monster year remember he broke all Mississippi native son Archie Manning’s HS records so I’m not worried at all about Myles Brennan. Now let’s talk about the rest of the team starting with the best WR corps in the country with Ja’Marr Chase, Terrace Marshall Jr., Trey Palmer, Racey McMath and if Devonta Lee is a WR or S with Kayshon Boutte, Koy Moore and Alex Adams coming in and the TE position will be awesome with Arik Gilbert the best TE in the country coming in and hold overs Jamal Pettigrew and Aaron Moffitt. And when the dust settles on the RB position I expect RB John Emory Jr. to be the bell cow with RB’s Tyrion David-Price and Chris Curry change of pace, short yardage and goal-line backs. Now our O-Line will be solid with OT Dare Rosenthal taking over LT and Ed Ingram and Kardell Thomas taking over the OG spots and Austin Deculus returning at RT the only reservations I have is can C Chasen Hines take for Lloyd Cushenberry and we have a bunch of solid backups. Now the best thing that could have happened to the defense happened DC Bo Pelini is running an attacking 4-3 style defense and I say the best thing because of all the positions on defense the LB position was hit the hardest by the departures to the NFL. The D-Line will be ridiculous with the returning players and the recruits coming in it will be a strength. And the secondary will be the best in the country with CB Derek Stingley Jr., S JaCoby Stevens, CB/S Kary Vincent Jr., S Todd Harris, S’s Eric Monroe, Maurice Hampton III, Marcel Brooks, CB’s Cordale Flott, Raydarious Jones and Jay Ward all returning and the best CB in the 2020 class Elias Ricks with CB Dwight McGlothern and S Jordan Toles coming in. So I’m really not worried at all and yes we lost Joe Brady but people OC Steve Ensminger was the play caller not Brady, don’t get me wrong Brady is definitely responsible for the record breaking offense and concepts he brought from the New Orleans Saints and he helped with game planning but the majority of the in game play calling and QB coaching was Ensminger, Brady coached the WR’s. So my predictions for 2020 is either 12-0 or 11-1 with the loss maybe coming from Florida or Auburn, LSU is going to beat Alabama for the second year in the row in Death Valley and return to the SEC Championship game win it return to the playoffs and shut all you negative sh@t talkers THE HELL UP! GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!PURPLEREIGN☔☔☔☔☔☔☔☔☔
Well I think you did a great job breaking down the tm, both players and coaches. I agree with all of it.
I think a realistic goal for this yrs tm is 10-2. Heck, 9-3 would be acceptable so long as we get 1 from our biggest rivals, Bama, Aub, & UF. I think this tm has the talent and coaching to beat every tm on the sked. But 12-0 or 11-1 will requires a few things to go rt and catching a few breaks. But I like your thinking. I hope you’re spot on! Lol
I also don’t understand people writing off LSU. They lost a lot, but they’ve dealt with attrition before. Next man up. The defense has the potential to be better than last year. The offense is the same scheme, just different people. If we were in the Les Miles days, I could understand picking LSU to go 7-5, like they did in 2008. But those days are gone. The offense will still be productive. The defense will still be nasty. It’s a better team than we had in 2018, and that team went 10-3. I think 10-2 is realistic, but 11-1 might be more like it.
It’s understandable that nobody wants to give Brennan credit having to following Burrow, and that folks are just butt-hurt in general after what LSU did to everyone last year. But all it takes is just a little knowledge of who Brennan is, and that we have the best returning receiving corps in the country, to figure out that LSU is reloaded. Can’t wait for jaws to drop as Brennan, Chase, Marshall and the rest light it up again!
I don’t see LSU losing more than 2 games (if that against Alabama and Auburn). Last year’s team shouldn’t be mentioned when this year’s team takes the field.
I just wanna see if Coach O will allow Pelini to bring that cat with him out the tunnel..
Agreed, but I’m afraid Last Years Tigers are going to come up during every NCAA game this year. Hope you’re right about the games (but not the cat – we’ve already got one).
Well someone had better tell Mike. I’m sure Pelini has that in his contract, that he is allowed to carry his cat onto to the field….”And then the fight started!”