After last week’s stunning series of events, you almost forgot the LSU Tigers still have four more regular-season games left.
This last set of games begins Saturday night in Tuscaloosa against fourth-ranked Alabama.
The last time we saw the Tigers, it was an embarrassing second-half performance to Texas A&M. It was so bad, LSU fans could not stomach it and spilled out of Tiger Stadium, leaving the Aggies to celebrate their first win in Death Valley since 1994.
The humiliating loss led to monumental changes, as head football coach Brian Kelly and athletics director Scott Woodward are out of a job.
Longtime LSU assistant Frank Wilson is the interim head coach and is trying to put this team back together mentally and emotionally.
He believes that has been accomplished thanks to the bye week and a few practices that got the players’ minds right.
“I think we are prepared for this moment, I’m prepared for this moment to lead our football team, to lead our university into a better place than what we are currently in right now, I think right now are team is improving, I think we are a better team today than we were last week,” Wilson said.
For the first time since 2013, LSU is a double-digit underdog to Alabama. The Crimson Tide are a ten-point underdog.
Bama has won seven straight since faltering to Florida State in the season opener.
The Tigers have allowed 70 points in their last two games, and the defense has lost its swagger that it had during the first half of the season. Wilson says defensive coordinator Blake Baker asked for more physicality with run drills at practice.
‘We will get rouged up if you will and play inside run, offense against defense, so that we are given the best sample size, it won’t be a full out scrimmage, we are not doing those things in season, but we are mix it up a little bit so we can see speed and physicality that when our defense sees it on Saturday it’s not shocking because the look you got all week has not been realistic,” Wilson said.
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It would also help the defense if star linebacker Whit Weeks was healthy. Wilson says Weeks is questionable for Saturday’s game after missing the last two games with a foot/ankle injury.
LSU also wants to be more physical on the offensive side of the ball. Wilson promises the Tigers will be more committed to the run game.
“We will have to be able to run the ball, I think it’s something you have to invest in it, and you can’t just talk about it and say you are going to do it, you got to do it, I think it helps us from a passing game standpoint to be more effective, I think it helps in holistically complementing your defense as well and we have talented backs that can do it,” Wilson said.
LSU has passed the ball 56% of the time compared to the number of rushes.
Both LSU and Alabama have struggled in the run game this year. The Crimson Tide are averaging 119 rushing yards a game and is ranked 14th in the SEC.
LSU is averaging 106 rushing yards a game and is ranked 15th in the SEC.