LSU Has Clear Weakness Compared to Other College Football Playoff Contenders
By Michael Luciano
Joe Burrow and LSU are on top of the college football world, as their unstoppable offense and defense laden with 5-stars have vaulted the Tigers to the No. 1 overall ranking.
While LSU looks almost unbeatable, their defense has a much worse reputation than their production on the field would indicate.
As I point out on here, the current national defensive rankings are:
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 18, 2019
No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 Clemson
No. 53 LSU
Can someone explain to me why Dave Aranda is still the highest-paid assistant coach in college football? He has players like Derek Stingley, Grant Delpit, and K'Lavon Chaisson, but can't even crack the top quarter of teams? Why are Tennessee and Kentucky ranked above the alleged best team in the country defensively?
For all the glitz and glamour that Burrow and the offense have accrued, defense still wins championships at this level. Since the BCS started, only one team has ranked 26th or lower in total defense and won a title. In 2010-11, Auburn was ranked 58th, but Cam Newton's unreal Heisman season propelled them to a title.
Since the start of the BCS era, only one team has won the title with a defense that ranked out of the Top 25.
— Mike Luciano (@TheRealLuc3) November 18, 2019
That team was Auburn in 2010-11 when Cam Newton and Nick Fairley carried a bunch of bums to a title https://t.co/4zHBSuEzx0
On paper, the Tigers have a juggernaut of a defense. In practice, it's as average as they come. They need to sort things out if they want to be taken seriously as a title contender.