Having seen Southern Cal and LSU up close, how do the two teams compare? Which one should be ranked higher?
Man, you guys have a great defense, but USC is better. They're like a wall. And they've gotten better. But on offense, they're real good, Leinart, their QB has really been throwing heat lately. LSU is good, but USC is very strong.
LSU looked great Saturday night. That's for sure. Auburn, on the other hand, didn't look so hot.......but that wasn't your question. Your defensive front reminded me of USC, fast and strong. I bet you guys wish you could play those Gators again. I had fun in Baton Rouge and the fans were very nice for the most part, contrary to all i'd read before. I didn't get pelted with any urine soaked nerf balls and my car wasn't burned. Good luck the rest of the year.
LSU played a great game against AU, and IMHO, AU battled harder against LSU than they did against USC. Here's my honest, unbiased comparison of the two teams: QB - (EVEN) despite Lienerts maturation, I don't consider him the be a better QB than Mauck, just different. Probably has more to do with the different styles/philosophy the two offenses. Lienert is getting much better fast though, especially under Chow's direction. RB's - (USC) Bush is the real deal and is just a frosh. He's a speed merchant with great hands, making him a danger to go the distance on any play. O-Line - (slight Edge USC) Because both teams pass-block well, they both compete well but USC has a little more depth and experience, especially on complicated run-block schemes. Receivers - (overwhelming Edge USC) BMW will be drafted the top WR. They are bigger, and more physical than any in the SEC. Defensive Front 7 - (Edge , USC) Simply, they are the best and deepest in all of college football. LSU's D is very good, but doesn't have the quality depth of USC's Wild Bunch. They have the ability to dominate most teams. D Secondary - (Edge, LSU) Although I might get some arguement from USC fans on this, I feel LSU's secondary is very good, physical, and extremely disciplined with the exception of the UF game. In fact, the UF game might be the turning point for this group. I love their physical style of play. (Saban's influence?) Special teams - (Edge , LSU) Sky Green is the difference maker here and is a threat for any team they play against. I've also noticed a great deal of discipline in their coverage schemes and feel, again, that this id due to good coaching. Coaching - (Edge, USC) Although I have a good deal of respect for Saban and Jimbo Fisher, I've felt for a long time that Carroll & Chow are the number 2 coaching tandem in all of football (behind Stoops). Not only are they above average when it comes to X's & O's and gameday prep......but they excel at identifying, recruiting, and developing quality talent. Gameday experience - (hands down Edge LSU) Unquestionably, the SEC tailgates are significantly better and the fans are universally more passionate. Among SEC schools, LSU is one of the top 2-3 in gameday experiences. Got Tigers and Geaux Tigers !
That's really hard to say. When I just evaluate the games themselves, I guess I'd give a slight edge to USC because they did what they did on the road while you guys did it at home. But when I consider other factors, like the fact that the USC game was the first one of the season and we weren't playing well...while you guys beat us when we were on a roll, I give the edge to LSU. I'd call it a draw.
It would seem that their performance would indicate that they're simply not as talented as you say they are. They lost to a 3-5 team, and they had to come back to make that game close. That California team rose up and punked them out with their backup quarterback in. They give up 337 yards a game (36th). We give up 254 yards a game (4th). We give up 52.8 yards on the ground (2nd by 1.3 ypg) They give up 79.9 yards on the ground (9th) They give up 257.7 yards trough the air (97th in D-1) We give up 201.8 yards through the air (38th in D-1) LSU is 6th in pass efficiency defense. USC is 35th in pass efficiency defense. LSU is 4th in total defense. USC is 36th in total defense. They run for 160.5 yards per game on offense (52nd). We run for 155.75 yards per game on offense (57th). They pass for 283.6 yards per game on offense (19th). We throw for 244.4 yards per game on offense (39th). They're the 19th ranked team in total offense. We're the 41st ranked team in total offense. They're 9th in scoring offense (39ppg) We're 20th in scoring offense (34ppg) We give up 9.5 points per game. They give up 19.9 points per game. Their one loss came to a team with a losing record in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated, and in which the backup quarterbacked torched their defense. Our one loss came to a top 25 team in which our offense came out and laid an egg. We sacked the quarterback 6 times for negative yardage on that day. By the way. The guy that led the team in sacks on Saturday, Kyle Williams? He's our backup. Last year's team leader in sacks, with 9 total? That would be Melvin Oliver, another backup. I'd like to think that your opinion is objective, but I'm sorry. LSU's defensive front 7 has more depth than you give it credit for, sir. We rotate better than 12 defensive lineman into action over the course of a game. That means that we're 3 deep at every position, and there was no noticeable dropoff. The 3rd string aren't scrubs, in other words. Sorry, but I don't buy that BS about USC's depth and talent for an instant.
Yeah, I also think we have the better defense, though I would give USC the edge offensively. That may just be the result of differing styled of play, though. We can score when we need to, but we dont often eat up a bunch of yards doing it because we routinely win the field position battle. I was at the Auburn/USC game, and even though they did pitch the shutout, I was more impressed with LSUs play vs. AU. Like was mentioned earlier, USC got Auburn to open the year, and Auburn hadnt quite figured out their offense, yet. They came into Baton Rouge on a roll, and appeared to have the offense clicking. Our front 7 absolutely dominated the line and were in the backfield all day. You could say the same thing about USC, but there is one major difference. While sitting in the stands at the USC/AU game, a popular topic of conversation with the Auburn fans I was around was the frequent use of one back sets. The first two games of the year, Auburn rarely had a FB in the backfield to be their lead blocker. That changed after the GT game, and they began running all over people. Getting BJohnson in the game more really opened up holes for CW and co. They were still doing that coming into LSU, but our front 7 were too disciplined. The blew off blocks, stayed in their lanes, and never missed assignments.
You can't honestly expect me to believe that a PAC-10 defense is better than an SEC defense. W. Coast offense is all about running it up and down the field as fast as possible. There is a tremendous need for the fastest WRs in the game. This is one of the best defenses that a PAC-10 team has had in years.
Well, as I said before, I'm attempting to provide an honest, unbiased opinion, and I don't necessarily believe statistics prove much, just nice to have them as supporting material. If we want to base the discussion of which D is better, and base it purely on stats, then which team held AU (the common opponent) to fewer yards, first downs, points, etc., etc., etc. ? Also, what difference does defensive ranking mean when we're discussing the front 7?.....very little. LSU should be ranked 5th. They have a great team - hell, I still cringe every time someone says the name "Josh Reed" - and they deserve probably more respect than they have received of late. But I'm tellin' ya' like it is......this USC team is the real deal, and it is no shame at all to be compared to them. When I thought about this question, I asked myself...which team would I rather face again if I had to? The answer is LSU by a slight margin. Respect to the Tigers.
Hey, I appreciate your opinion, I just dont quite agree with it. Im not offended you think USC is that good because they ARE REALLY good. I agree about the stats thing which is part of the reason I didnt use any statistics. I think that the reason Auburn had more yards against us was because of the use of the FB. Auburn never once had a lead blocker against USC.
