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PROVO — As one of a handful of teams to play in Week 0, college football’s unofficial opening weekend, BYU escaped with a 20-6 win over Portland State in its season and home opener on Saturday.
For BYU, Saturday’s contest was the first of its 13-game campaign due to an NCAA exemption that allows teams playing at Hawaii in a non-conference game to play their season openers on the Saturday before Labor Day. In what was supposed to be an early confidence-building game, BYU tangled with Portland State well into the fourth quarter while failing to score a touchdown in the second half. In all, the Cougars scored just one touchdown on five red zone trips for the day.
Now, BYU must find its footing against its next opponent, LSU — the first of three straight Power 5 opponents for the Cougars — in what amounts to a home game for the Tigers. Originally scheduled for Houston’s NRG Stadium as a neutral site, flooding from Hurricane Harvey has forced the game's relocation to New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome. For LSU, the relocation holds extra meaning and sets the stage to avenge a loss, as it last played in the Superdome in 2012 in its 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS national championship.
“They (LSU) sold 23,000 tickets for Houston,” said Ron Higgins, LSU columnist for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. “In New Orleans, I’d expect the size of that 23,000 to double. I’d expect that they sell 20,000 more tickets on LSU’s side at least. So it’ll be loud. It’ll be a home-field advantage for LSU.
“They were very excited when they found out yesterday that it was going to be in New Orleans, especially the New Orleans area players. I think that kind of took it up a notch for LSU.”
Entering into an LSU-friendly site, BYU will need to show marked improvement — particularly on the offensive side of the ball — to have a chance at its second victory. While little can be spun from BYU’s offensive debut — it managed one fewer first down than Portland State while finishing 4-13 on third-down conversions — LSU head coach Ed Orgeron remained complimentary of the Cougars’ offense during his opening press conference on Monday, saying that quarterback Tanner Mangum is the “guy in command of the offense” and that he “throws the ball very well.”
Orgeron was especially impressed by BYU’s offensive line, calling it the “strength of their offense.” He specifically mentioned senior center Tejan Koroma in his scouting report, saying that he and LSU defensive line coach Pete Jenkins had been studying every game of Koroma’s throughout the summer.
But while LSU’s coaching staff has paid special attention to BYU’s offensive line, several Tigers players felt they could impose their quickness against BYU’s offense in watching last week’s game.
“BYU’s offense is going to have some problems with LSU’s defensive speed, especially off the edges and on the corners,” Higgins said. “I think LSU is going to bring a lot of different looks and blitzes. Watching BYU struggle offensively last week against Portland State, they saw some things they thought they could take advantage of with their quickness. In that sense, I think that’ll be a big edge for LSU.”
Defensively, Orgeron highlighted the similarities of BYU’s defense to LSU’s (citing the off-field relationship between LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranada and BYU head coach Kalani Sitake), before advancing into praise for BYU outside linebacker Fred Warner, who Orgeron called a “very good” run and pass defender. He offered effusive praise for BYU defensive end Corbin Kaufusi, saying “he’s a guy that we need to know at all times where he’s at to protect Danny (Etling, LSU’s starting quarterback).”
But despite BYU’s defensive talent, the expectation heading into Saturday’s game is that the combination of LSU’s scheme and speed will give it an edge over the Cougars.
“BYU’s biggest problem with LSU’s offense is to have really good eye discipline," Higgins said. "They throw so many different formations and motions at them. I don’t know that LSU has a huge playbook, but they run it out of so many different formations and motions that it looks like a lot.
"BYU is going to have a problem due to the fact they’ve never seen LSU’s offense before. Unless they studied Pittsburgh game film from Matt Canada, they haven’t seen LSU run this offense before. I think LSU players are excited to roll this offense out because they have a lot of options and weapons they can go to, and a lot of speed.”
