The Oklahoma Sooners are walking into one of the most challenging environments in sports on Saturday night. Not just college football or North American sports, in sports. Few atmospheres around the world match the aura and energy of Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after dark.
If someone asked which football game they should watch to get a feel for what college football is all about, a game in Baton Rouge at night would be on the shortlist of games most college fans would point to.
When asked about the most difficult places he’s ever coached, Brent Venables mentioned playing LSU in New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl during the national championship games in 2004 and 2019 (with Clemson). Venables said, “It was deafening. Could not hear on the headsets.”
It’ll be a slightly different environment playing in Tiger Stadium, but the home crowd will be just as vociferous.
At his weekly press conference, Brent Venables asked about the environment they’ll play in on Saturday night and which one, LSU or Clemson, was the real Death Valley.
“The one we’re going into this week is 14-1 in home night games since coach Kelly has been there in three years,” Venables said. “They’re 18-2 overall. Listen, I’ve heard from every coach that I love and respect that’s been in the biggest venues, the best of the best, and everybody points to Death Valley, Baton Rouge, night game.
“Hope that your team doesn’t get scheduled because that’s the toughest challenge there is in college football. I know we’re going to get the best out of the LSU faithful. It’s something that we’re really looking forward to as well.”
There’s no sugarcoating what the Oklahoma Sooners are going into on Saturday night. It’s the proverbial lion’s, or should I say tiger’s, den. LSU’s one loss under Brian Kelly at night in the Bayou came to Alabama just a few weeks ago when the Crimson Tide dominated the Tigers 42-13.
LSU bounced back from their three-game losing streak, which included losses to Texas A&M and Florida, to beat a tough and scrappy Vanderbilt at home on Saturday. The Tigers may have righted the ship just in time to welcome the Sooners.
Regardless of everything that’s gone on this year with LSU, they’re an explosive team on offense that can make life incredibly difficult for opposing defenses. Garrett Nussmeier is willing to take shots down the field. Led by Kyren Lacie, they have a number of big-time weapons in the passing game, as you’d expect an LSU offense to have. Former Oklahoma recruiting target Caden Durham is having a great true freshman season for the Tigers.
Defensively, they’re a talented unit under first year defensive coordinator Blake Baker. It hasn’t been as good against mobile quarterbacks as they’d expect to be, but again, they’re in year one of the defensive rebuild. As we’ve seen at Oklahoma, it can take a year or two to get things on the right track. Still, it’s a group with talent on that side of the ball.
Earlier in the year, LSU looked like a playoff contender, earning wins over South Carolina and Ole Miss, two teams that beat the Sooners. Regardless of what’s happened, Oklahoma can’t underestimate the Tigers or the environment they’ll be playing in this weekend.
The defense will face a different challenge this week and the offense will be tested throughout by a good defensive coordinator and an environment that will make communication incredibly difficult.
Here’s hoping the tryptophan hangovers from Thanksgiving feasts keep the LSU faithful from their typical decibel levels.
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