LSU Tigers 2022 College Football Preview
August 10, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 6-7
ATS – 5-7-1
Yup, that was gross.
LSU opened the year at 3-1 and seemed to be headed for a decent season, but then the wheels fell off the bus. They lost five of the next six games and finished the regular season with a record of 6-6. There were a few highlights along the way. They gave ROLL TIDE all they could handle (L 20-14), rushed for 56,000 yards vs Florida **, and beat Texas A&M. Sadly, the season ended with a thud as they were gutted by Kansas St in the Texas Bowl (L 42-20).
New HC Brian Kelly has some work to do.
** fact check almost true
LSU Tigers 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
The offense was a hot mess LY as the Tigers finished the season ranked 2nd last in the SEC in rushing offense (114 YPG) and #12 in scoring offense (26.5 PPG). QB Max Johnson did good work considering that the program was disintegrating all around him (27-6 TD to INT) but he’s no longer with the Tigers. It’s unclear who will start at QB, especially given that HC Brian Kelly loves to TINKER, but keep your eye on Arizona St transfer Jayden Daniels who’s a dangerous runner with MEH passing skills. Whomever is under center will be working a very talented WR/TE group, and note that the top-five on the team in terms of receiving yards are all back for battle. Kayshon Boutte is a star in the making (509, 9 TD) and should be a shoe-in for a 1,000-yard campaign if he can stay healthy. Losing 1,000-yard Tyrion Davis-Price isn’t ideal and we aren’t crazy about what we know about the RB group compared to prior LSU iterations. The OL is a big question mark as they lost three (!) players to the NFL and are one of the least experienced fronts in the SEC. We expect to see flashes of brilliance, but lots of inconsistency from the offense.
DEFENSE
The Tigers were MEH on defense a season ago and ranked #46 in the FBS in run defense and #99 (!) in pass efficiency defense. Just five starters return on this side of the football but they bring back three of their top-four tacklers and new DC Matt House has lots of raw talent to work with in 2022. The DL looks particularly skilled and boasts a fine pair of DEs in BJ Ojulari (7 sacks, 9 QBH LY) and Ali Gaye who missed 8G due to injury LY. We’re not sure what to expect at LB after they lost AA Damone Clark who led the team in tackles LY (135)(!) whilst tallying 15.5 TFL. The secondary was brutal LY by LSU standards and it probably doesn’t help to lose a 1st round NFL DC in Derek Stingley. Several transfers were added on the back end so we’ll see how things turn out. This is obviously a work in progress but the DL could be special. Stay tuned!
SPECIAL TEAMS
DANGER! DANGER!
There’s a complete rebuild underway and they lose all-UNIVERSE PK Cade York (15-18 FG LY) who just hit a 78 yard FG whilst we were typing **. Getting punter Jay Bramblet to transfer from Notre Dame is a positive.
** fact check might be true
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Yikes. The Tigers get a tough draw from the East (Vols, Gators) and start the season off by taking on a potential JUGGERNAUT in Florida St. They get ROLL TIDE at home but have to travel to face Auburn, Texas A&M, and WOO PIG.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – November 19 – UAB
This tilt is sandwiched between a pair of SEC road games (WOO PIG, Aggies) and the Blazers are a tough G5 squad.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline Aug 10
Over 7 +100
Under 7 -130
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
The Tigers will do well to get to eight wins.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
HC Brian Kelly is a very respectable 120-98-7 ATS over his career (55%) and he’s been potent in the point spread roles of home dog (13-5-1, 72%) and road dog (63%).
LSU has failed to book a winning record in back-to-back seasons. The last time that happened was in the previous CENTURY (1998,1999) under the tutelage of Gerry DiNardo. AMAZE a triple-masked, multi-gendered Karen who’s suffering from DEATH JAB-induced GiraffePox and totally-normal face paralysis with that TRIVIA BOMB.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
We like the hire of Brian Kelly quite a bit but this isn’t gonna be an overnight fix. There’s plenty of talent scattered all over the roster but we feel it’ll take at least a year before LSU is contending in the West. We’ll call for six or seven wins but expect them to be much better in November than they are in September.
GEAUX TIGERS!
Want more LSU football ?
WEBSITE
https://lsusports.net/sports/football?path=fb
FORUM
http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/lsu-sports/
http://lsu.247sports.com/Board/LSU-Football-Message-Board-Forums-59425
http://www.tigerfan.com/forums/the-tigers-den.5/
https://lsu.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-tiger-den.18/
NEWS
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com/
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/99/lsu-tigers