CBS Sports analysts predict winner of key LSU-Texas Week 11 matchup
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Fans at Tiger Stadium will hope LSU‘s game against Texas goes much, much better than its Week 10 loss against Alabama. The Tigers led in total yards, time of possession, and saw Sam Leavitt throw for nearly 400 yards, but still lost.
The Longhorns, meanwhile, have won their last three games since back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida. A win against the Tigers would keep Texas on pace for a College Football Playoff at-large berth while all but eliminating LSU from contention.
During Tuesday’s “Inside College Football,” CBS Sports analysts Brian Kelly, Aaron Taylor, Brian Jones, and Rick Neuheisel predicted the outcome, and all except Neuheisel picked the Tigers.
Kelly alluded to the number of sacks Texas has allowed: 27, tied for ninth-highest in the country.
“I don’t know if Texas can protect. I don’t think you can fix that over a week,” Kelly said. “For LSU, it’s situational football. They have to be better in the red zone. They have to be better in fourth-down situations.”
Taylor agreed, mentioning Texas’s rushing struggles. The Longhorns are ranked 14th out of 18 SEC teams in rushing yards per game (128.0).
“They can’t run the football … they can’t protect the football. That is not good at night in Death Valley against that front seven. That’s the difference,” Taylor said.
“This O line protects is still susceptible … You got to make sure you get in front of those guys who are blitzing, and you got to be tough,” Jones added. “And yeah, I understand. That’s a guy who’s probably got you outweighed by you know 30 pounds, but you got to stick your nose in there.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
