Writers debate 5 questions in advance of LSU vs. Wisconsin showdown
While the SEC faces three ranked teams from the ACC — two of them among the top four teams in the country — along with two more ranked teams from the Pac-12, LSU vs. Wisconsin represents the only SEC-Big Ten matchup in what will be a historic Week 1.
Like Ole Miss, which travels to Orlando to face Florida State, LSU will also play a not-so-neutral site game when it ventures into Green Bay, Wis. to face the Badgers.
It’s not exactly “the Frozen Tundra” in the first week of September, but Lambeau Field is still one of the most iconic football stadiums there is, regardless of the time of year. It should be a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.
We posed five questions to Saturday Down South contributor Gary Laney, who covers LSU in Baton Rouge, and Saturday Tradition writer Connor O’Gara in advance of the showdown.
1. With the game being played at Lambeau Field, each team will bring their unique tailgating prowess to a historic stadium. Which school has the better tailgating experience and why?
GARY: Is this a serious question? LSU is always the answer to that question. Cheese and beer is great, but it’s no sauce piquante, or jambalaya, or alligator sausage. And as far as cheese goes, have you ever had hogs head cheese?
And let’s get real here. Sure, they make some beer in Milwaukee, but down in Louisiana, beer is just what you use to chase the shots. It’s not a contest.
CONNOR: I’ve never been to an LSU tailgate, so I can’t definitively say that Wisconsin has the edge in that department, but the Badgers set a high bar. Even for an 11 a.m. game, downtown Madison is a sea of bars and house parties with tailgates. It isn’t exactly the traditional tailgate with cars in a parking lot. It’s more of a pregame. Really, that’s what Badgers fans do.
And if we’re talking food, I’d probably say it’s a tie. I know that Badgers fans have the edge in the meat and cheese department (can’t go wrong with a few brats), but if LSU is bringing that cajun flair, I’d have a tough time passing that up. Call it a draw.
2. Despite finishing 4th in the FBS in rush defense last year, Wisconsin had its worst game vs. Alabama in Week 1, giving up 147 yards to Alabama’s Derrick Henry. Will Leonard Fournette exceed that total?
GARY: I go with a solid yes here. Wisconsin has a good defensive front, but with Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Edwards out, I expect LSU to challenge the Badgers with a power run game with Fournette and have success. There are very few teams in college football with a better interior offensive line than LSU, led by center Ethan Pocic, a prototypical, big, strong, Big Ten-style center from Illinois. Wisconsin will see a steady dose of Fournette and will have its hands full.
CONNOR: It’s funny. One of the Badgers’ beat reporters threw out the over/under for Fournette’s yards at 150. I told him he was setting the bar too low. Honestly, I think he’ll flirt with two bills. I’d be the first person to tell you that Wisconsin’s defense didn’t get enough credit nationally. But I think Fournette is better than Derrick Henry, Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon or anybody that the Badgers compared him to.
His combination of size and speed is unlike anything they saw with Dave Aranda. In their first game without Aranda, I question how they’ll prevent a few long, Auburn-like runs against Fournette.
3. Some services have LSU as a 10-point favorite against Wisconsin. Do you agree with the Tigers being a double-digit favorite?
GARY: In a word, no. I think LSU has a clear advantage here, but with the game being in Wisconsin, that evens the playing field a bit. Sure, there will likely be between 20,000-30,000 Tigers fans there, but this is still going to feel a little bit like a Wisconsin home game. I think LSU wins, but Wisconsin covers.
CONNOR: Comments aside about Fournette, I don’t think the spread should be 10. I’d set it somewhere around 7-7.5. I think a lot of people are expecting a repeat of last year’s Alabama game, and I just don’t think that’s a fair comparison. People forget that Wisconsin lost an All-B1G safety (their leading tackler) and their lead tailback in the first quarter. The Badgers also had a disastrous offensive line that was full of guys playing in their first collegiate game.
And this isn’t a neutral site game. This is a home game for Wisconsin. The Badgers are loaded with local products who have long since dreamed of playing at Lambeau Field. I don’t think they come out lackluster or frightened by the atmosphere — they were last year — this time.
4. You know this question was coming: Which team’s respective conference, the SEC or Big Ten, will produce a more legitimate national championship contender this season?
GARY: Well, this one is easy. Just look at the AP Top 25. Alabama is Alabama, and this is one of those years where LSU is right there with the Tide. So if there’s an Alabama slip, LSU fits right into a national favorite’s role. This is a year where the SEC has multiple contenders, and it’s a year where the Big Ten is hoping to have somebody good enough to be in the playoff over the SEC champion, the ACC champion (Clemson or Florida State) and Stanford, or maybe even Notre Dame.
CONNOR: I’m not that big of a homer. It’s the SEC. I’ve seen several people put Alabama and LSU in the College Football Playoff and leave a B1G team out. With the B1G’s two most recent representatives getting a major facelift, it’s not a crazy thought. I still think Michigan, Ohio State and even Iowa have a road to the College Football Playoff, but I’m not about to say that’s a clearer one than Alabama’s or LSU’s.
And as we saw last year, one-loss SEC teams get more love than one-loss B1G teams. Until the B1G consistently wins national titles, it won’t get the benefit of the doubt like the SEC does.
5. Two-part question: 1) Which school has the better mascot, Mike the Tiger or Bucky the Badger. 2) Better traditional state cuisine?
GARY: Tigers are a dime a dozen when it comes to mascot names, so “Badgers” gets the edge here. But LSU gets bonus points for having a live tiger as its mascot. As for food, nobody has better regional cuisine than South Louisiana. The unfortunate thing for Wisconsin in this little two-game series is the “road” game was in Houston, so they never got to experience the tailgate food outside Tiger Stadium or a Parkway po’ boy in New Orleans. Those experiences make it worth having to go through a miserably hot September night (probably losing) in Tiger Stadium.
CONNOR: Well, Bucky is one of the better mascots in all of sports. I know I don’t have to convince LSU fans how great Badgers can be. He also started his own dance craze back in 2010. Plus, he actually does pushups when the Badgers score. What can that Tiger do sitting in a cage? But moving on. As I said earlier, the state cuisine debate is a draw for me. Po’ boys and crawfish pie would make me a large man in the Bayou. Brats, cheese and beer is a pretty solid combination, too. True story: They only serve cheese fries (no regular fries) at Miller Park, which is where the Brewers play. If that’s not the most Wisconsin thing I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is. I hate to be indecisive, but I can go either way on the food argument.
For what it’s worth, it feels wrong not to mention “Jump Around” somewhere in this. Hands down, that’s the coolest tradition I’ve witnessed at a sporting event at any level. And if you really think this is a “neutral site game,” wait until the end of the third quarter.