Opponent Preview: LSU

Opponent: The LSU Bayou Bengals NFL Triple A Team

Date: September 21st at Vanderbilt Stadium

All-time Series Record: LSU leads 22-7-1 (and the last time we won was in 1990)

Last meeting: September 11, 2010, in Nashville; LSU won 27-3 (never forget).

Last year: 10-3, 15th in S&P+

Head coach: DACOACHO (25-9, 4th year)

It looks like Ke’Shawn Vaughn will be blocking @ESPN on Twitter soon, as they only gave Vanderbilt a 16% chance to win this game (*Note: ESPN predicts LSU will beat everyone except... drumroll please... Alabama).

Honestly, 16% sounds a bit optimistic. (Ke’Shawn Vaughn momentarily unblocks us only to block us again).

...and yet... I would take our skill position starters (RB Vaughn, TE Pinkney, WR Lipscomb, and WR C.J. Bolar) over LSU’s projected skill position starters (RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, TE Stephen Sullivan, WR Ja’Marr Chase, and WR Terrace Marshall Jr.) every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

In fact, if Mason had not burned Shurms McKenzie’s redshirt midway through his freshman year, I’d take our offense over theirs without a second thought.

Even if that was the case, LSU’s pass defense figures to be somewhere between suffocating and likely to be prosecuted for manslaughter. I’m relatively certain Grant Delpit counts as a too many men on the field penalty by his lonesome, and corners Kristian Fulton and freshman Derek Stingley Jr. will make life miserable for whomever wins the Vandy QB job.

Of course, it is July, and we cannot definitively say anything about either team. Still, the only team that looks forward to playing LSU is Alabama.

At least we will have the bye week to prepare for this one.