LSU Needs A Big Game From Danny Etling, And They'll Get It

We all know just how good the Alabama Crimson Tide defense is at stopping the run. Nick Saban’s team has one of, if not the best front sevens in all of college football, and it’s almost impossible to have anything close to a dominant day running the football against them.

That’s a major problem for LSU, who’s offense is heavily centered around the ability to pick up big yardage on the ground. The Tigers have two of the best running backs in the nation in Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice, and they rely heavily on at least one of those two guys having a very productive day.

Last year when these two teams met, Fournette was having a season for the history books and looked to be the undisputed Heisman Trophy winner. LSU was the number two team in college football, and many expected them to go into Tuscaloosa and beat the Crimson Tide on the back of Fournette.

That was not the case, as number seven was shutdown completely and the Tigers got smoked. As a result, many people are ruling the team out on Saturday night. The consensus opinion of those picking Alabama seems to be that LSU’s offense will be completely ineffective again this time around due to the Tide’s front seven.

The thing people fail to realize is that this LSU Tigers team, and offense in particular, has changed in almost every way imaginable since last season. Les Miles is gone, Ed Orgeron is in, and the culture and philosophy are nothing like they were under Miles and his coaching staff.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

This is no longer a team that hands the ball off every play until they are forced to throw on a third-and-long play. Orgeron and his staff have brought balance to this program, and we have seen them effectively move the ball through the air in each-and-every game since Les Miles was fired. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a run-first offense, but that is no longer the only thing they are capable of doing.

Danny Etling has proven over the last few games that is a very capable playmaker at the quarterback position. As the Tigers go up against the best run defense is all of college football, he’s going to have to put up the best performance of his career. The LSU running backs should still have a decent outing, but Elting needs to pick up the slack as the backs will not be able to carry the team this time out.

What many aren’t realizing is that he is very capable of doing just that. Etling has not had a game that greatly stands out on the stat sheet, but since Ed Orgeron took over the team he has done a fantastic job of completing passes when asked. We have seen him gash defenses with short yardage looks as well as drop it in over the top for big plays.

Much of Etling’s success is credited to the new staff, as they are making an effort to get his early reads open on quick routes. They don’t ask him to do anything more than what he is capable of, which allows him to avoid major mistakes.

As LSU takes on Alabama tonight, I am very confident that Danny Etling will be able to have a productive game and pick up the slack if the running backs struggle. He has shown great improvement every week since Orgeron took over, and after two weeks to prepare, I think he will be ready for the task at hand. The coaching staff is going to put him in positions to succeed, and he will get it done.