2022 Alabama Football Early Opponent Preview: No. 6 LSU

BamaCentral takes a long first look at each of the Crimson Tide's upcoming opponents this season, in order from the bottom to the top.

LSU’s magical title run in 2019 now seems like a distant memory. The Tigers were unable to follow up their success in either of the past two years, floundering to a 5-5 record in 2020 before finishing 6-7 with an ugly loss to Kansas State in the Texas Bowl last season.

Looking to build itself back into a contender, LSU pulled off one of college football’s biggest coaching hires this offseason, snagging Brian Kelly from Notre Dame.

While the Massachusetts native might have a thing or two to learn about life in the SEC, he knows how to put together a winning program. During his 12 years at Notre Dame, Kelly compiled a 113-39 record, leading the Fighting Irish to the playoff in 2018 and 2020 as well as a national championship game appearance in 2012.

Kelly has a tough rebuilding job ahead of him as he looks to keep up with Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M in the SEC West. However, with a talent-rich recruiting base at his disposal, he should have the tools to return the Tigers to their past glory moving forward. 

Offense

In an offseason rife with transition, LSU was able to hold onto its biggest prize, keeping star receiver Kayshon Boutte out of the transfer portal. In fact, the Tigers return their top five pass-catchers from last season in Boutte as well as Jaray Jenkins, Jack Bech, Malik Nabors and Brian Thomas Jr. The trick will be finding someone capable of putting the ball in their hands.

LSU’s biggest question heading into the fall comes at the quarterback position where redshirt senior Myles Brennen will battle redshirt freshmen Garrett Nussmeier and junior Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels for the starting role.

Brennen threw for 11 touchdowns and three interceptions over three starts in 2020 but missed all of last season due to injuries. Daniels, who rushed for 701 yards and six touchdowns last season, offers the most athleticism of the bunch. However, his passing numbers — 2,380 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions — leave much to be desired. Nussmeier struggled in spot duty last season but showed improvement this spring and is a dark horse in the race.

LSU will have to improve on an offensive line that ranked No. 112 in the nation, allowing 2.92 sacks per game last season. The Tigers are hoping the additions of Florida International transfer Miles Frazier and East Tennessee State transfer Tre’Mond Shorts as well as the emergence of four-star freshman Will Campbell will help sort out those problems.

Kelly brought in Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to call the offense. In five years as Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator, Denbrock helped the Bearcats to 48 wins and four bowl appearances, including a trip to the College Football Playoffs last season. He has previously worked with Kelly, spending seven years under him at Grand Valley State (1992-98) and seven more at Notre Dame (2010-16).

Defense

For a team that calls itself DBU, LSU’s biggest defensive uncertainty comes in the secondary as safeties Jay Ward and Major Burns are the only two regular starters returning.

Lockdown cornerback Derek Stingley left for the NFL along with fellow starters Cordale Flott, Cameron Lewis and Darren Evans. The Tigers also saw starting cornerbacks Eli Ricks and Dwight McGlothern transfer to Alabama and Arkansas respectively.

LSU will look to offset those departures with four incoming transfers as it added potential starters in Jarrick Bernard-Converse (Oklahoma State), Greg Brooks Jr. (Arkansas) Joe Foucha (Arkansas) and Mekhi Garner (Louisiana). Sophomore Sage Ryan could also step into a first-team role after starting a pair of games during his debut season last year.

If LSU can figure out its secondary, it should have a pretty strong defensive unit. Fifth-year senior Ali Gaye will lead a defensive line that also features an emerging talent in five-star sophomore Maason Smith. The Tigers also return their leading pass rusher in B.J. Ojulari as well as linebackers Micah Baskerville and Mike Jones Jr. to complete what figures to be a formidable front seven.

Kelly brought in Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House as his defensive coordinator this season. House has previous experience calling defenses at the college level with Kentucky (2017-18), Florida International (2015) and Pittsburgh (2013-14).

Schedule

For the ninth time in the last 10 seasons, both teams will enter the matchup coming off an open week.

By the time Nov. 5 rolls around, both sides should be pretty battle-tested as well. LSU hosts what should be an improved Tennessee team on Oct. 8 and will also welcome Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss to Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 22. Meanwhile, Alabama will have already made trips to Texas (Sept. 10) and Tennessee (Oct. 15) in addition to a much-anticipated meeting against Texas A&M inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 8.

LSU’s matchup against Alabama kicks off a tricky month of November for the Tigers as they will end their SEC slate with trips to Arkansas and Texas A&M after hosting Alabama. While a win against the Crimson Tide could provide the Tigers with the momentum they need for a late-season surge, a repeat of last season's lopsided loss could just as easily send them into a tailspin.

Alabama follows up its trip to Death Valey with a challenging road game against Ole Miss before wrapping up SEC play at home against Auburn. The matchup against the Rebels could cause a bit of a distraction, but it’s hard to imagine the Crimson Tide overlooking a trip to Tiger Stadium.

Outlook 

Alabama has danced its way through Death Valley in recent years. Typically one of college football’s toughest venues, Tiger Stadium has become an odd place of comfort for the Crimson Tide as it’s left the bayou unbeaten in its last five trips.

The Tigers’ last home win over the Crimson Tide came in 2010 when former head coach Les Miles dialed up a fourth-down reverse to seal a 24-21 victory. Since then, Alabama has outscored LSU a combined 135-47 inside Tiger Stadium. That includes a 55-17 beatdown in 2020 which marked the rivalry’s most lopsided outcome since 1925.

As for this year’s matchup, expect more of the same.

While LSU has the athletes on both sides of the ball to keep things close, Kelly is still a few years away from building the Tigers back into a threat for Alabama.

Barring a Joe Burrow-esque emergence by one of LSU’s quarterbacks, the Tigers should struggle to pick apart a Crimson Tide defense that could be one of the best Saban has ever assembled. Meanwhile, uncertainties in the secondary could spell trouble as LSU looks to slow down reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Alabama’s rebuilt crop of receivers.

That being said, LSU should still see improvement from last season’s 6-7 mark as it looks to record its first winning season since 2019. 

The Game 

Date: Nov. 5

Time: TBD

TV: TBD

Location: Tiger Stadium

Series: Alabama leads 55-26-5

Last meeting: Alabama won 20-14 last year. Bryce Young was 24 of 37 for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Jameson Williams caught 10 passes for 160 yards including a 58-yard score. 

The Team

The Coach: Brian Kelly, first year (19th overall as head coach, 166-62)

Offensive Coordinator: Mike Denbrock

Defensive Coordinator: Matt House

2021 Record: 6-7

2021 Rankings: Total offense No. 90; Total defense No. 65

Returning Starters: 11, six on offense, five on defense

Players to Watch: LB BJ Ojulari, DE Ali Gaye

Top Newcomer: Quarterback Jayden Daniels, who transferred from Arizona State, could key the whole season. Last season he was 197-for-301 for 2,381 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions (after having three in 17 games over his first two seasons). Daniels also ran for 710 yards and six touchdowns.

Biggest Questions: To say LSU has had a lot of turnover would be like suggesting that Death Valley can be a little loud at night. In addition to the coaching staff, most of the key offensive players are gone, including on the line. The Tigers finished last season with just 38 scholarship players and spent the offseason plugging holes. Having said that, the defensive line looks good, the new staff brought in 19 transfers and there's the potential to be the most improved team over the course of the season. 

The School

Location: Baton Rouge, La.

Founded: 1860

Enrollment: 36,000

Nickname: Tigers

Colors: Purple and gold

Mascot: Mike the Tiger

The Program

Coaching Changes During Saban Era: Two

Last Time Beat Alabama: 2019, 46-41. Joe Burrow passed for 393 yards and three touchdowns to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.

Last Time Won Division: 2019

Last Time Won SEC Championship: 2019

National Championships (4): 1958, 2003, 2007, and 2019

Playoff Appearances (1): 2019

SEC Championships (12): 1935, 1936, 1958, 1961, 1970, 1986, 1988, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2019

Bowl Appearances: 29-24-1

Last Time Didn’t Play in a Bowl: 2020

Heisman Trophies (2): Billy Cannon (1959), Joe Burrow (2019).

Consensus All-Americans During Saban Era: 14, most recently QB Joe Burrow, WR Ja’Marr Chase, S Grant Delpit, CB Derek Stingley Jr. in 2019.

First-Round NFL Picks During Saban Era: 19, including CB Derek Stingley Jr., the third-overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.

2022 NFL Draft: Led by Stingley, the Tigers had 10 players selected.

Last Four Recruiting Class Rankings: LSU finished No. 12 with the Class of 2022. Previously it was No. 3 in 2021, No. 4 in 2020, and No. 5 in 2019. 

The Schedule 

Sept. 4: Florida State
Sept. 10: Southern
Sept. 17: Mississippi State
Sept. 24: New Mexico
Oct. 1: at Auburn
Oct. 8: Tennessee
Oct. 15: at Florida
Oct. 22: Ole Miss
Nov. 5: Alabama
Nov. 12: at Arkansas
Nov. 19: UAB
Nov. 26: at Texas A&M

Did You Know?

When the Tigers line up against Alabama and Nick Saban this year, it will mark the 19th time in LSU football history that a former LSU head coach will be on the opposing sidelines as head coach of the other team. LSU is 6-12 in those games.

The only two coaches it has occurred against were Paul Dietzel in 1966 and 1973 when he was head coach at South Carolina and Saban in the last 15 years. LSU is 4-12 vs. Saban, winning 41-34 in Tuscaloosa in 2007, 24-21 in Baton Rouge in 2010, 9-6 in overtime in 2011 and 46-41 in 2019 in Tuscaloosa.

LSU won both games against Dietzel, beating South Carolina, 28-12, in Tiger Stadium to open the 1966 season and followed by a 33-29 win over the Gamecocks in Columbia in 1973. Dietzel coached at LSU for seven years before leaving the Tigers for Army after the 1961 season. Dietzel coached at Army for four years before joining South Carolina in 1966. Dietzel’s first game as head coach of the Gamecocks came against LSU.

Ironically, it was Dietzel, still serving as the Tiger head coach, suggesting to then LSU AD Jim Corbett in 1959 that LSU schedule a four-game series with South Carolina with games being played in 1960-61 and 1965-66. The 1966 game became an immediate sellout once it was announced that Dietzel was joining South Carolina as its head coach.

This is the seventh story in series previewing Alabama's opponents:

No. 12 Austin Peay

No. 11 Louisiana Monroe

No. 10 Vanderbilt

No. 9 Utah State

No. 8 Mississippi State 

No. 7 Auburn