Which Tiger Will Earn Their Stripes - Ryan Hickey (Worldwide Sports Radio Network)

Source: Written By: Ryan Hickey - Worldwide Sports Radio Network/ "The Morning Boys" / WWSRN
https://worldwidesportsradio.com/which-tiger-will-earn-their-stripes

Which Tiger Will Earn Their Stripes?

by Ryan Hickey | Jan 11, 2020 | College Football, General | 0 comments

NEW YORK, N.Y.- It’s almost here. After what feels like forever and a day since the College Football Playoff semifinal games took place, the national championship is right around the corner. The best matchup we’ve seen both on paper and on the field is set to take place in New Orleans as the top ranked LSU Tigers takes on on the defending champions and third ranked Clemson Tigers. 

So which team has the edge going in? Both have identical 14-0 records and have star power all over the field. Below are three keys for each team on how they can leave New Orleans hoisting the championship trophy.    

Three Keys To A LSU Win:

Touchdowns, Not Field Goals: Watching the Fiesta Bowl easily hammers home this point. Ohio State moved the ball up and down the field against Clemson, but continuously settled for field goals, which kept Clemson around. LSU has to score touchdowns once they get inside the 20, which hasn’t been a problem for them this season. LSU has been deadly in the red zone, owning the most efficient red zone offense in the country, scoring at a 97% clip. The Tigers have entered the red zone 70 times, scoring a touchdown 55 times. This is a trend that must continue, especially considering that LSU has already faced three teams with a better red zone defense than Clemson, which is tied for 16th in the country. Red zone efficiency will be a huge key to this game and is a category that favors LSU.

Defensive Confidence: Throughout the year, the Tigers defense has been a question mark and left many, including myself, believing that the defense was holding them back from being a championship level team. Things have changed as LSU has shored up their defense. A big reason for that has been availability, as safety Grant Delpit recovered from an ankle injury, K’Lavon Chaisson is back to 100% and Michael Divinity Jr. will return from suspension to suit up for the Tigers. The narrative has changed dramatically as since the Ole Miss game, where significant doubts that the defense would hold LSU back from winning a national title, the Tigers have allowed just 270.2 yards per game and 14.2 points per game. The Tigers aced their biggest test of the season, holding a potent Oklahoma offense to 200 fewer yards and almost two touchdowns less than their per-game average. The defense is playing with an extreme confidence that will carry into Monday’s game. 

Feed Clyde Edwards-Helaire: The “do it all” back has been virtually unstoppable this season. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman wrote a great article this week, asking coaches who faced LSU this season how their offense has been so unstoppable. Aside from Burrow, the coaches highlighted Edwards-Helaire as who gives defenses the most problems. The junior running back has rushed for 1,304 yards while adding 50 catches for 399 yards and 17 total touchdowns. Edward-Helaire is a matchup nightmare as he’s a bruiser between the tackles, can speed past linebackers in coverage, run over the cornerbacks who try to tackle him and juke past the safeties that try to corral him. The premier running back should be close to full health after injuring his hamstring in practice leading up to the semifinal game against Oklahoma. If he’s in the mix early and often, it could be a frustrating night for Clemson. 

Three Keys To A Clemson Win:​

Complete Effort: While LSU has played both elite offenses and defenses at different points this season, they have yet to face a team that has both an elite offense and defense. Clemson poses that challenge as their defense is tied for first in the nation in yards per play allowed while the Clemson offense is third in total offense. This balance can put pressure on LSU like they’ve never experienced this season. The best defense against Burrow this season has been offense. While not their specialty, long drives by Clemson can not only can keep the potent LSU offense off the field, but wear down their defense to open up some big plays in the second half. While LSU is more battle tested this season, Clemson has the advantage coming out of that Ohio State game of knowing what it takes to win a game in which all three phases are needed to perform at their highest level. 

Flex Offensive Firepower: Did we all forget that this is the same Clemson offense that shredded Notre Dame and Alabama for a combined 1,020 yards and 74 points in the two Playoff games last year? For all of the hype and attention Burrow and this LSU offense has received, let’s not sleep on this juggernaut of an offense that resides in South Carolina. The Tigers rank third in the country in total yards, fourth in scoring offense and 11th in rushing offense. They have superstars at every level offensively as Trevor Lawrence is the presumed number one pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Travis Etienne leads the nation at eight yards per carry while both Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross are legitimate No. 1 receivers. LSU has only faced one offense similar to Clemson’s in Alabama and allowed 41 points. LSU has elite offensive talent, but Clemson has a real chance to give the Tigers a taste of their own medicine and put on an offensive explosion in the Superdome. 

Ride The Underdog Wave: Speaking of the Superdome, this national championship game will have a totally different feel than most because of its close proximity to LSU’s campus. Located just over an hour away, New Orleans will be flooded with fans clad in purple and gold. No coach has worked the underdog role more than Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. Dabo lives to be the underdog and has “Little Ol’ Clemson” playing their best when they have a chip on their shoulder. Already underdogs in terms of the betting line and essentially playing a road game in New Orleans, Dabo gets to fire up the disrespect card one last time this season. 

So Who Gets It Done?

The storybook season for Joe Burrow and LSU is leading me to believe more and more that Monday night in New Orleans will be a coronation for the Tigers. I mean even Hollywood couldn’t even write this script of an Ohio kid transferring in and after a decent first year teams up with a young passing game coordinator to produce the single greatest college football season we’ve ever seen from a player and possibly even a team if they can finish the job. 

What’s made me a believer isn’t Burrow or passing coordinator Joe Brady, but the LSU defense steadily improving and peaking at the right time. This combination of a historic offense coupled with a confident defense is enough for me to drink the kool-aid and believe that LSU will get it done Monday night. 

FacebookTwitterShare

Submit a Comment

Logged in as Mark Everett Kelly. Log out?

 Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

 Notify me of new posts by email.

Jalen Hurts NFL Draft Stock Rising with Success of Lamar Jackson

CREDIT: WORLDWIDE SPORTS RADIO NETWORK/MARK EVERETT KELLY
https://worldwidesportsradio.com/jalen-hurts-nfl-draft-stock-rising-with-success-of-lamar-jackson

The NFL reminds us every so often that imitation is the best form of flattery. Year after year, teams take what succeeds and add their touch to it.

Looking toward the 2020 NFL Draft, general managers around the league will be trying to recreate the success which Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens enjoy. Which QB in the 2020 NFL Draft possesses the same traits that Jackson does?

Despite the success he achieved in Tuscaloosa, Hurts didn't record the passing and rushing numbers at Alabama as he has in Norman. In his three seasons playing for Nick Saban, he threw for a combined 5,626 yards while throwing 48 TD. 

SCARY NUMBERS DURING 2017 SPRING TESTING

Like those who came before him, Hurts was excellent running the ball in leading the Tide's offense, running for 1,976 yards and 23 TD in his three seasons at Alabama. His speed and strength became legend among teammates during the Tide's 2017 spring testing.

Hurts ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds. In comparison, the fastest time for a quarterback at the 2017 NFL scouting combine was 4.54.

Hurts also had a 315-pound power clean, bench-pressed 355 pounds, squatted 455 pounds and recorded a 9-foot, 9-inch broad jump, a good number in a drill that tests lower body explosiveness.

This season at Oklahoma, Hurts set team records for passing efficiency (200.3), completion percentage (71.8), and yards per pass attempt (11.8). Not bad for someone replacing consecutive Heisman Trophy Winners and first overall selections in the two previous NFL drafts (Baker Mayfield 2018 and Kyler Murray in 2019). He threw for 3,624 yards & 32 touchdowns while running for 1,255 yards & 18 TD. He ran and threw for a TD in 10 games this season, becoming the ninth different QB to accomplish that feat (Lamar Jackson did so at Louisville in 2017). 

Most Times Running & Throwing For TD
Same Game, College Football History
	School
Tim Tebow	Florida	32
Colin Kaepernick	Nevada	28
Jalen Hurts	Alabama/Oklahoma	26
Lamar Jackson	Louisville	25

While Lamar Jackson sets the NFL on fire with his run/pass numbers, he is setting a precedent for what other teams will now look to repeat. 

In 2019, Jackson became the first QB in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards and pass for over 3,000 yards in a single-season. 

From a team standpoint, the Ravens were separated by just 71 yards in rushing and passing. They finished as the first team in NFL history to run and pass for 3,000 yards in a single-season. They also set the NFL single-season team record for rushing yards (3,296), breaking the mark held by the 1978 New England Patriots (3,165). It is incredible that in the history of the NFL, no other team featured such balance in running and passing the football. The only other team in NFL history to reach 2,800 yards in each category was the 1978 New England Patriots.

2,800 Team Rushing & Passing Yards
Single-Season, NFL History
		Rushing		Passing
		Yards	TD	Yards	TD
2019 Baltimore Ravens	14-2	3,296>>	21	3,225	37
1978 New England Patriots	11-5	3,165	30	2,800	15
>>NFL Record

While Jackson and the Ravens were making NFL history, Jalen Hurts was making his own at Oklahoma. Hurts joined Johnny Manziel & Lamar Jackson as the only other players in college football to run for 1,200 yards and pass for 3,600 in a single-season. Hurts surpassed both Manziel & Jackson in passing yards, becoming the only player to throw for 3,800 yards & run for 1,200.

3,600 Passing Yards, 1,200 Rushing Yards
QB Single-Season, College Football History			Passing		Rushing
Year		School	Yards	TD	Yards	TD
2012	Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	3,706	26	1,410	21
2017	Lamar Jackson	Louisville	3,660	27	1,601	18
2019	Jalen Hurts	Oklahoma	3,851	32	1,298	20

For his career, Hurts became the fifth player in college football history to run for 3,000 yards and throw for 9,000. Right below him on that list is Lamar Jackson.

3000 Rushing Yards, 9,000 Passing Yards
NCAA Career
	Passing	TD	Rushing	TD
J.T. Barrett	9,434	104	3,263	43
Colin Kaepernick	10,098	82	4,112	59
Jalen Hurts	9,477	80	3,274	43
Lamar Jackson	9,043	69	4,132	50
Cody Fajardo	9,659	57	3,482	44

I will be very interested to see what teams will take advantage of what unique gifts Jalen Hurts brings to the NFL. I predict his draft stock will skyrocket during the NFL Combine.