By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The No. 14 (College Football Playoff ranking) LSU Tigers are rolling as they head into a marquee matchup with No. 5 Alabama on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).
LSU sits at 6-2 on the season and just over .500 in the Southeastern Conference at 3-2, but the team has been playing some of its best football of the Lane Kiffin era over the past few weeks.
Since losing to Kentucky 35-34 in Week 6, LSU has two back-to-back blowouts versus conference foes, beating Mississippi State 31-0 and Auburn 38-17. Kiffin was not pleased that the team’s bye week came right as it was hitting its stride, but star position player Ty Benefield gave no indication that the open week would stop the Tigers’ progression.
“I feel like we’re getting better and better each week,” said Benefield, a safety who replaced the injured Dashawn Spears at star after Spears was lost to a knee injury at Ole Miss. “Obviously there’s always going to be things to work on, and the thing about this team is nobody’s satisfied.”
And there is a lot to be satisfied with on both sides of the ball. LSU is the only team to rank in the top 10 in the nation in both total offense (No. 6, 510 yards per game) and total defense (No. 4, 258.1). The Tigers have scored less than 30 points just one time this season and rank No. 7 in the country with 40.1 points per game. LSU is also vastly improved in the run game as it is fourth in the SEC in rushing and 29th nationally with 192 yards a game behind Dilin Jones, who is also fourth in the league with 82.1 yards a game for 36th nationally.
Defensively, LSU has allowed just 16 points per game (No. 16) as coordinator Blake Baker’s unit has overcome massive early-season injuries. Benefield moved from starting safety to STAR when Dashawn Spears tore his ACL, and linebacker Davhon Kays stepped up to fill Whit Weeks’s starting spot while he recovers from a fractured fibula. Both Benefield and Keys have shined in their new roles. Keys now ranks second on the team with 43 total tackles, including four tackles for loss and two sacks, and Benefield is right behind him with 33 tackles and two sacks of his own. He also has one interception and two pass break-ups.
“I try my hardest, and I give my best effort, but honestly, I couldn’t do it without Jhase Thomas and Tamarcus Cooley communicating and playing at a very high level,” Benefield said. “Because there’s times where I can help make them look good and they can help me look good,”
Thomas, a redshirt freshman, took on a starting role at safety when Benefield moved to star, where he is closer to the line of scrimmage. He and Cooley have held down the back end of the secondary, giving up just 172.8 passing yards per game (No. 13 nationally). But it is not just Benefield and the safeties who have contributed to the purple and gold no fly zone. Dj Pickett and PJ Woodland have been lockdown corners.
“DJ is just a total package in corner,” Benefield said. “Both the corners are just amazing at what they do.”
The cornerbacks have very different approaches to achieve the same result. Both have recorded seven pass break-ups this season, and neither has allowed a reception rate of over 60 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. Woodland (5-foot-11, 172 pounds) is perhaps undersized on the outside by modern standards, but he makes up for what he lacks in height with his physicality in coverage. Pickett, meanwhile, uses his 6-4, 196-pound frame and impressive recovery speed for his size to blanket receivers.
“He’s getting more physical,” Benefield said of the sophomore, “which is funny because you get into November football and usually people’s bodies are hurting, but with DJ, he’s getting bigger hits throughout each week.”
But with the Crimson Tide visiting Tiger Stadium, Benefield and the Tigers’ secondary face their biggest challenge yet at a point in the season with very little room for error.
While LSU has been dominant in their six wins this season, their two losses came to the only teams they have faced who remain in the top 25 – Kentucky (No. 6) and Ole Miss (No. 10). LSU has trounced the teams it outmatches easily while beating itself against better opponents with costly mistakes. Defensively, LSU gave up 363 and 243 passing yards in each of the losses.
Alabama is led by one of the most explosive offenses in the SEC. The Crimson Tide rank third in the conference in scoring (38.25 points per game) and passing offense (260 yards per game), but it has struggled to run the ball effectively over the last two weeks due to personnel shifts on the offensive line.
“They’re an overall good team,” Benefield said. “They’re sound, physical; they play fast.”
If the Tide’s running game refuses to roll, Benefield and the LSU secondary will be called upon to contain a host of dynamic receivers.
Top wideout Ryan Coleman-Williams could make his return against LSU. He was listed as questionable to play on the initial SEC availability report on Wednesday after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Before he was sidelined, he led Alabama with 23 catches for 415 yards and four touchdowns. Even if he remains out, though, the Tide still provides plenty of threats for quarterback Keelon Russell to target. Wide receivers Lotzeir Brooks and Rico Scott have each caught up with Coleman-Williams’s receiving numbers in his absence. Brooks has 29 receptions for 188 yards and a touchdown, and Scott has hauled in 28 passes for 434 yards and three scores.
Benefield is looking forward to the challenge. The Boise State senior transfer said he enjoys high-stakes games, and tests like the one LSU faces on Saturday are why he became a Tiger.
“SEC football is fun because you play against the best every week, and there’s never a time where you’ll go into a game thinking this is just an easy game,” he said. “No, you’re going to get somebody’s best, and you’re getting the best in the nation. So, it’s awesome. I wouldn’t trade it for anything – best decision I’ve made.
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