The last time LSU and Texas faced off, it was New Year's Day of 2003 at the Cotton Bowl. This presented quite the legendary coaching matchup, with Mack Brown on the sidelines for Texas going against Nick Saban, the greatest college football coach of all time. The two had faced off for a National Championship years later, Saban's first of many with Alabama. (For what it's worth, both coaches are off to 1-0 starts with their 2019 teams, UNC and Bama). The Longhorns won that game 35-20, with Roy Williams and Cedric Benson (RIP) featured on the roster. Texas leads the all-time series with nine wins to LSU's seven. But that record honestly means nothing nowadays; the last time they played before that Cotton Bowl was in 1963. While we're at it with the past games that don't matter, one time the Longhorns and Tigers concluded in a 6-6 tie during the tail end of the great depression. Talk about a total bummer. You're gonna end a football game without a winner or loser? In this economy??
The 2018 Texas Longhorns finished the season with a 10-4 record, with inexplicable losses to Maryland and Oklahoma State. More understandably (at least compared to those two), they lost an absolute thriller at home to West Virginia, and to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. As we remember, the Longhorns did take down the Sooners in last season's annual rivalry game, but it's pretty obvious which one of those games you'd prefer to win, considering it's immediate and longterm impact on the program. Sure, they didn't step up for round two against Kyler Murray and Oklahoma, but they certainly did step up in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. The Longhorns pulled off a 28-21 victory, despite Kirby Smart's Bulldogs being favored by two possessions. Texas finished last season scoring an average pf 31.1 points per game, while allowing an average of 26.2 points per game.
This will be Tom Herman's third season as the head coach down in Austin, and he's currently hanging a record of 18-10. This season was the first time that Herman has a 1-0 record at Texas, as the two previous seasons they fell to Maryland in their opener. Herman absolutely thrives as an underdog; he is 13-2-1 against the spread as an underdog (8-2-1 ATS with Texas) and has straight up won ten of those games. Herman will look to continue his undefeated streak against SEC teams during his time with the Longhorns (2017 Texas Bowl over Missouri and last year's Sugar Bowl over Georgia).
In week one, Texas expectedly beat up on Louisiana Tech 45-14 before taking on their in-state big brother LSU. Also expectedly, Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger had himself a game against a measly squad, completing 28 of his 38 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for 34 yards on eight attempts. Ehlinger has speed and size, and the dude loves to barrel into defenders. He's certainly effective using his feet, but he does have a history with injuries, as if keeping your QB healthy isn't a big enough concern. The hometown kid tends to try and make things happen on the ground during big games; last season he had 17 rushes against USC, 19 attempts on the ground against Oklahoma the first time, eleven against West Virginia, 15 in the Big 12 Championship, and 21 in the Sugar Bowl.
It seems likely that Ehlinger will be using his legs on Saturday night, as Texas is having some serious injury issues in the backfield. As of now, the running back depth chart consists of sophomore Keaontay Ingram (78 yards and a TD on 11 carries last week) and freshman Roschon Johnson, who came in as a quarterback but has since converted due to all of the current injuries. Behind Johnson is another position convert, as freshman linebacker David Gbenda is in the mix to make up for a lack of healthy bodies. Forget experience on the running back depth chart; the Longhorns simply lack running backs on the running back depth chart.
With the ground game's reliability looking pretty sketchy, Ehlinger's top targets will really, really need to play their role on Saturday. His top targets from week one were: Collin Johnson (four catches, 59 yards, touchdown), Brennan Eagles (three receptions, 59 yards, three touchdowns) and Devin Duvernay (nine catches, 55 yards, touchdown).
The Texas defense looked good in week one against Louisiana Tech, but LSU will obviously be much more of a challenge. Against LTU, both Joseph Ossai (sophomore linebacker) and DeMarvion Overshown (sophomore defensive back) each recorded an interception. Also, senior defensive back Brandon Jones recovered a fumble. Three turnovers and an overall satisfactory defensive showing was encouraging for this defensive unit, as they only returned three of last year's starters. The defense is inexperienced, and LSU will do their best to exploit that.
Ed Oregon's LSU Tigers had a nice 10-3 season last year, which was capped off by a 40-32 Fiesta Bowl victory over the faux reigning champs UCF. LSU's most noteworthy regular season included a 33-17 victory over Miami in week one, 22-21 over SEC foe Auburn, a 36-16 shellacking of Georgia, and a 19-3 win over Mississippi State. All three of their losses were in-conference, and all to good teams: a 27-19 loss to Florida that really shifted gears for the Gators' reputation (they had lost to Kentucky in week two), an embarrassing 29-0 dud at home against Alabama, and an absolutely insane seven-OT game against Texas A&M that ended with a score of 74-72, on top of a fight between Kevin Faulk and Jimbo Fisher's nephew. Quite the ride throughout last season for LSU.
In 2018, LSU averaged 32.4 points per game, while allowing an average of 20.9 points per game. That average was the 22nd fewest in the nation, yet it was the 7th fewest in the SEC. That is wild. Seven of the 22 fewest points allowed per game were by SEC defenses. The infamous SEC bias can get stale and bothersome, but never forget that at the very least a chunk of it is warranted.
In week one, the Tigers routed Georgia Southern (not to be confused with Georgia State who, may I remind you, beat Tennessee last week) in a 55-3 beatdown. LSU's quarterback Joe Burrow (formerly of Ohio State) went 23 for 27 with 278 yards and five touchdowns through the air. Those five touchdowns tied the LSU record for passing touchdowns in a single game. Yes, Burrow threw more touchdowns than incompletions in that game, and did so with zero interceptions. More impressively, he accomplished all of this while only playing one possession of the second half.
Clearly, the Tigers offense aims to look much different this year as their focusing on a hurry up, spread offense with a heavy dosage of passing. Burrow definitely utilized a variety of targets in the season opener, completing throws to nine different teammates. A few of Burrow's current targets are worth keeping an eye on after successful 2018 seasons: Justin Jefferson led last year's team with 875 receiving yards on 54 catches with six touchdowns; Derrick Dillon had 22 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns. Terrace Marshall Jr. reeled in twelve catches for 192 yards, and although he didn't get into the end zone last year, he tallied three touchdowns last week. And maybe he isn't statistically the most important target, but LSU does have Randy Moss' son Thaddeus at tight end. He caught two passes for 61 yards against Georgia Southern.
Based off of their new offensive approach, it shouldn't surprise you that LSU didn't run the ball all that much last week. Their leading rusher, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, had only nine rushes for 45 yards and a touchdown.
LSU is feeling pretty confident in their new offensive system, but let's not forget that this defensive unit is what really highlights the Tigers' squad. In Grant Delpit, they have one of the (if not the) most electrifying defensive playmakers in the country. The talent obviously doesn't stop at Delpit, but you need to all do me a favor and appreciate watching this kid. There's something mesmerizing about a defensive player that has game-changing capabilities. Last week against Georgia Southern, the Tiger defense allowed a grand total of 98 yards, with only 24 of those coming through the air. They also forced two turnovers last week, both being fumbles. The tackle leader was junior linebacker Jacob Phillips who had ten. Defensive end Neil Farrell Jr. tallied eight tackles, including a sack.
Between the Longhorns' lack of depth at running back and LSU's newfound enthusiasm for having a quarterback who can throw the football, expect a lot of passing in this one from both teams. That means this game could certainly come down to the defensive backs and the pass rush. Both programs have rich histories of Sunday-caliber defensive backs. LSU, at this point, seems to be more talented overall. But even if they win, the line keeps moving toward them, as the public seems to love the Tigers covering. The line started at 3 or 3.5 points in favor of the Tigers, and has since (as of Wednesday night) shifted to LSU -6.5. With that line moving and Tom Herman being a home dog in this one, you might want to see if it continues to do so before kickoff on Saturday evening. Did I give a decisive answer on what the smart bet is? No. If you read this for advice on how to spend your money, are you not very bright? Yes. I'm here educating the masses, make your own decisions.
I hope everyone had an absolutely magnificent Labor Day Weekend with a very fun slate of games. Let's do it all again, over and over, until the winter.
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