College Football Preview

PURPLE AND GOLD AFTERMATH: How Does LSU Follow up the Greatest Season in College Football History?

By Andrew Alexander

The dream season finally happened. After nearly a decade, LSU beat Alabama, returned to the national title game, and reclaimed its spot atop the college football landscape. Led by a coach who compiled a 3-21 Southeastern Conference record at Ole Miss and a transfer quarterback who could not win the starting job at Ohio State, the Tigers defied the odds en route to a magically perfect 2019 season.

However, to paraphrase former Celtics head coach—and now disgraced—Rick Pitino, “Joe Burrow’s not walking through that door. Joe Brady’s not walking through that door, and Dave Aranda is not walking through that door.”

The 2020 Tigers underwent a drastic makeover in the offseason, losing an SEC record 14 players to the NFL draft, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, wunderkind passing game coordinator Joe Brady to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to Baylor.

The latest incarnation of Coach Ed Orgeron’s squad will look different, but no less formidable.

Offense: The Heir Apparent

After watching the greatest quarterback in LSU history rewrite the record books last season, the biggest elephant in Tiger Stadium (besides the visiting Crimson Tide) is: How good is his successor?

Myles Brennan has never started a game for the Tigers in his previous three seasons on campus. The redshirt junior has completed 42 of 70 passes for 600 yards and two touchdowns in mostly mop-up duty while under center in Baton Rouge but now is deemed the heir apparent to Burrow. The former highly rated prep prospect has waited his turn to lead LSU, but that does not make him the next Matt Flynn, the former fifth-year senior was selected as the top pick in the NFL Draft.

Brennan will have to prove himself, without the luxury of any non-conference tune-up games and minus LSU’s top two receivers from last season. Instead, Brennan will rely upon Terrace Marshall (46 receptions, 671 yards, and 13 touchdowns in 2019), Racey McMath, and unproven youngsters Trey Palmer and Kayshon Boutte. Throw in freshman tight end Arik Gilbert, the crown jewel of the 2020 recruiting class, and Brennan has the makings of a pretty decent receiving corps. It does not hurt that the Tigers are loaded at running back, with the three-headed monster of Chris Curry, Tyrion Davis-Price, and John Emery Jr.

The real question is: Who will protect Brennan? LSU lost a slew of offensive linemen from last season, but if the new guardians can keep their untested quarterback upright, the Tigers may just be able to find a winning formula to navigate the SEC-only schedule this year.

Defense: New Look, Same Dominance

The Tigers’ 2020 restoration continues on the defensive side of the ball with the return of former LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini back to his old stomping grounds. Pelini guided LSU’s defense from 2005 until 2007 and has returned to Baton Rouge with his trademark fiery intensity. Despite losing plenty of valuable defensive playmakers to the draft, as well as a few more over the offseason for various reasons, this unit has cause for who led LSU to the 2007 national championship after his predecessor, JaMarcus Russell,

plenty of optimism this season.

Derek Stingley Jr. is the best defensive back in the country, helping anchor a national championship secondary with six interceptions as a freshman. He is joined by senior safety JaCoby Stevens, LSU’s top returning tackler, to help usher in the latest version of DBU.

In the front seven, expect to see tackles Siaki “Apu” Ika and Glen Logan making waves on the defensive line, while All-American graduate transfer linebacker Jabril Cox joins Damone Clark and Micah Baskerville to fill the void left in the center of LSU’s defense.

This unit may be unfamiliar and unproven now, but by season’s end, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC.

Prediction

With plenty of question marks surrounding this year’s LSU squad, opponents will rightfully think that the Tigers have been defanged after losing many key ingredients to last year’s perfectly seasoned team. In this wild, wacky year, however, those foes would be unwise to underestimate any team lead by Orgeron. The man whose accent was previously mocked by the college football world has suddenly become a titan in his sport. LSU may not obliterate every opponent in 2020, but the Tigers can still strike fear into the hearts of SEC adversaries.

LSU: 9-2, New Year’s Six Bowl

THREEPEAT? Tulane Strives for Third Straight Bowl Victory

By Andrew Alexander

Despite his team’s finishing 1-5 to end the regular season last year, coach Willie Fritz was able to guide Tulane to a second straight bowl victory for the first time in school history. Can Tulane make it three in a row?

It’s a weird notion to comprehend, but in four years, Fritz has brought stability to a once-reeling college football program. The next step is battling for American Athletic Conference supremacy, but the Green Wave will need to look more reminiscent of the 2018 squad than did last year’s team, which suffered an epic collapse after such a promising start.

With a keen mix of veterans, graduate transfers, and a little bit of Fritzian magic, Tulane has the makings of an interesting squad heading into the season. This regime has laid the foundation for a successful program, and as it nears a half decade, the chance for a history-making season awaits.

Offense: New Blood

When Tulane’s offense was clicking last season, it was hard to stop. The Green Wave averaged at least seven yards per play in six games in 2019, and they were undefeated in those games. However, they were also 0-6 when they failed to hit that mark. The Green Wave lost several key members of its 2019 offense, including starting quarterback Justin McMillan and last year’s top two receivers.

Former Southern Miss transfer Keon Howard seems poised to take the reins of Tulane’s offense in offensive coordinator Will Hall’s second season. As a backup last year, he appeared in four games, connecting on 13 of 18 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Howard will be joined in the backfield by junior running back Amare Jones, who amassed 738 rushing and receiving yards last season and six total touchdowns. Sophomore Tyjae Spears will be a solid contributor as well, with several other backs waiting in the wings.

Receivers Jaetavian Toles, Jha’Quan Jackson, and Oklahoma graduate transfer Mykel Jones should be some of Howard’s top targets, and the majority of the offensive line returns to protect Howard in his first season under center.

Defense: Something to Prove

Tulane’s defense underperformed last season, most notably with the play of star outside linebacker Patrick Johnson, who battled injuries last season and produced six and a half less sacks than the 2018 season.

However, the Green Wave returns lots of defensive-line talent alongside Johnson, including Cameron Sample, De’Andre Williams, and Jeffery Johnson, as well as some important reserves. Elsewhere in the front seven, Oklahoma State graduate transfer Kevin Henry leads a hungry linebacking corps that includes freshman Jesus Machado, Marvin Moody, and Nick Anderson.

In the secondary, safety Larry Brooks has the potential for a big year after snagging four interceptions, while starting only one game, last season. Fellow safety Chase Kuerschen will join Brooks in wreaking havoc on opposing offenses this season after leading the team in tackles last year. New Orleans native Kyle Meyers returns to the Big Easy as a graduate transfer cornerback after spending four years at Florida State. He joins senior Jaylon Monroe to help solidify Tulane’s defensive backend.

The Green Wave defense is veteran, feisty, and has something to prove this season.

Prediction

Three straight bowls for the first time in school history is on the line for Fritz’s squad this season. Six wins in 11 games will not be easy (back-to-back October dates against Southern Methodist and Central Florida could be tricky), but if Howard can deliver and Tulane avoids a second-half-season implosion like last year, the Green Wave has a chance to make history.

Tulane: 6-5, Frisco Bowl bid.