Daronte Jones – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Five reasons Kansas State could beat LSU

Playing devil’s advocate, five reasons that LSU falters on Tuesday

LSU will face off against Kansas State in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday night. It’s the final bowl game of the season before the championship next Monday.

Kansas State comes into this game with a 7-5 record. Outside of their loss to Texas in the final game of the season, four of those losses came against good teams. For the most part, this is a Kansas State team that took care of business when they were supposed too.

They are coached by Chris Kleiman, who’s in his third-year of the program after running a dynasty at North Dakota State in the FCS.

LSU will be coached by Brad Davis in what is the final game before Brian Kelly assumes that roll. Davis was hired by LSU in June to serve as the offensive line coach. Davis will remain in that position as Brian Kelly takes over.

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With all that being said, Kansas State is the favorite tomorrow. To put it mildly, LSU is dealing with a lot of adversity right now. It’s difficult to imagine them winning this game unless some unexpected names step up. On the other hand, Kansas State has some good things going for it. Here are five reasons the Wildcats could take care of LSU in the Texas Bowl.

Handing out 2021 awards for the LSU Tigers

Who were the standouts for the LSU Tigers in 2021?

The 2021 regular season is fully behind the LSU Tigers. They know who the new head coach will be with Brian Kelly and some of the names on the new staff. Before moving forward completely, we look back on the season that was in 2021.

It wasn’t a memorable season given the fact that the team won as many as they lost. Following the Kentucky Wildcats loss, the administration made the decision to move on from Ed Orgeron just 19 months after winning a national championship.

This team was hit with injury after injury, and a mass exodus in the transfer portal by the end of the season. Ending on a positive note before we move on to the recruiting class and next season, we hand out some team awards.

Five potential names to consider for defensive coordinator

Could one of these coordinators get the call from Brian Kelly?

The clock is ticking on Brian Kelly to finalize his staff and get to work on the 2022 recruiting class and beyond.

The names we heard for both offensive and defensive coordinators both decided to stay in South Bend with the Fighting Irish. This isn’t unheard of, when Nick Saban left for LSU none of his coordinators followed him to Baton Rouge. I think he did alright for himself.

The names outside of Marcus Freeman that will be discussed at defensive coordinator include current Texas A&M DC Mike Elko. He has a history with Brian Kelly from his time at Notre Dame. It might be a long shot to see him leave the Aggies but as we know, money talks.

Here are five names to consider.

LSU vs Arkansas: The virtual report card from Saturday’s game

How are you grading the LSU Tigers?

We are wrapping up our thoughts on the LSU Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks matchup on Saturday night. The Hogs were finally able to take “The Boot” back to Fayetteville for the first time since 2015. Not the way many saw this night ending.

After two quick drives, we saw freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier get the call and he would remain in the game until it ended. There was no going back and forth between quarterbacks, Johnson’s leash was extremely short. As head coach Ed Orgeron said, if he was going to play the freshman it would be for significant minutes. We will see if he sticks with Nuss or goes back to Johnson this week against the Warhawks.

Defensively, I am not sure you could have asked for a better performance. They held Arkansas to just 13 points in four quarters. This coming off the heels of holding Alabama to just 20 points, both games resulting in losses but you can’t pin that on the defense. Daronte Jones had his unit ready to roll on Saturday night.

As we do each week, we are handing out grades with the virtual report card.

We start on the offensive side of the ball.

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LSU head coach: “We’re too predictable on offense, too predictable on defense”

Ed Orgeron addressed the media and admits to being too predictable on both sides of the ball.

LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron met with the media as is customary on Monday. He confirmed the report that quarterback Myles Brennan has entered his name in the transfer portal.

On the topic of self-scouting, Orgeron stated that the team is too predictable.

“We’re too predictable by formations,” Orgeron said. “We’re too predictable on first down. We are very, very predictable on defense. We need to have more variety on first down. We give them the same looks over and over again. There’s not much disguise.”

I am paraphrasing here but Orgeron said whatever formation they line up in is what they run the play in. He also mentioned they are not making the right adjustments and over the last week and this week, the emphasis has been on adjustments.

This just shows how lost it seems that Ed Orgeron is as the head coach. In week 10 of the season, they are now getting to adjustments and adding wrinkles to their playcalling. This falls squarely on the head coach and the poor hires he has made over the last two seasons.

Jake Peetz looks to be overmatched week in and week out as the offensive playcaller. The same goes for Bo Pelini last year and Daronte Jones this season. In a year where the Tigers and more specifically Ed Orgeron needed a huge year, he opted to go with two coordinators getting their first shot at playcalling.

He hired them based on limited time working with Joe Brady and Dave Aranda. As the season moves on, the LSU administration is one step closer to getting the next head coach in the building to hopefully fix this mess that Orgeron has created.

Three reasons why changes need to be made at the top for LSU

Is it time for a change?

The Ed Orgeron era seems to be coming out of its heyday.

After LSU lost to Auburn in Death Valley for the first time since 1999, fans are a little frustrated with the sixth-year head coach. LSU is barely sitting above .500 after their 15-0 national championship season back in 2019, and the train seems to be continuously slowing down.

There has been obvious regression on both sides of the ball, and little effort seems to have been made to change things around Baton Rouge. LSU can’t afford another breakeven season.

Unfortunately, the Tigers are staring a very tough schedule in the face. Their next five opponents are a combined 20-5. The road ahead looks grim for LSU if they can’t get things together.

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Here are three reasons why changes should be made in Baton Rouge.

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LSU vs Mississippi State: Areas for concern

The areas of concern for the LSU Tigers in their SEC class with Mississippi State Bulldogs.

It is time for the LSU Tigers to get a bit of redemption as they head into enemy territory on Saturday. Last year the Tigers fell to the Bulldogs of Mississippi State at home. It is time to return the favor as LSU looks to start off SEC play better than they did a season ago.

The team and Ed Orgeron know the importance of this game and getting off to a 3-1 start before really getting into the thick of their SEC schedule with Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, and Ole Miss in the month of October. It all begins with Mike Leach and the Bulldogs.

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As we look at the game against Mississippi State, we highlight the areas of concern for LSU.

What to watch for when LSU hosts McNeese State on Saturday

A look at the 10 areas to watch when the LSU Tigers take on McNeese State on Saturday night in Death Valley.

The LSU Tigers didn’t have a great showing in the season opener last Saturday, but it is a new week as they host McNeese State of the Southland Conference. The home opener of the season is ahead of Central Michigan next week.

The in-state competition comes in with an 0-1 record under former LSU assistant coach Frank Wilson. He spent 2005-07 under Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss in his first gig at the collegiate level. Wilson was with LSU from 2010-15 before leaving to take the head coaching position at UT-San Antonio. This is his second season with McNeese.

There is also the storyline of Ed Orgeron facing his son Cody, who is the starting quarterback for the Cowboys. Will his defense take it easy on the coaches’ son? Probably not, but Cody would also love to get the win over his dad’s team.

With so many issues arising last week against UCLA, we highlight 10 areas of the team to watch on Saturday.

Stream this Saturday’s LSU-McNeese State game, plus college football games from the SEC, Big 12, The American, and more on ESPN+

LSU-UCLA: College Football News game prediction

A look at how College Football News sees the game against UCLA going for the LSU Tigers.

Saturday night in Pasadena, California, the LSU Tigers will finally get back on the field. In a wild week that saw them relocate football operations to Houston, Texas, at NRG Stadium, they are that much closer to the season debut.

There are plenty of storylines heading into this game. For starters, how will uprooting to Houston impact the team? The offense will have a new look under passing game coordinator DJ Mangas and offensive coordinator Jake Peetz, who spent a season under Joe Brady in Carolina. Max Johnson and Kayshon Boutte headline the offense looking to return to their 2019 form.

On the topic of returning to 2019 form, we have starting cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Last season was not what many expected from the boundary defender that stole the show against Clemson in the CFP national championship game on the defensive side. New defensive coordinator Darote Jones hopes to bring back the defense known for taking the ball away.

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As we look forward to the game on Saturday night in the Rose Bowl, our colleagues at College Football News break down how the LSU-UCLA game ends.

What CFN Says…

UCLA will come out red hot.

The defense will be flying all over the field, Thompson-Robinson will be great on his first two drives, and social media will be all over the Bruins as they get out to an early lead.

But LSU will work their way back.

They lines will start to take over as the game goes on, the secondary will clamp down and pick off a few passes, and Johnson will overcome a mediocre first half with a great final 30 minutes.

UCLA will look great against a terrific team, but it’s not going to have quite enough to pull off the win in the final ten minutes. It’ll have two late drives with take the momentum back, but LSU will hold firm on both of them.

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LSU vs UCLA: Defense has to be ready to stop the run

A big key for LSU on Saturday, slow down the UCLA rush attack.

Going into the first week of college football for the LSU Tigers, we look at the UCLA Bruins matchup. In week zero of the season, the Bruins rattled off a 24-3 edge in the first quarter as they coasted to the opening win of the season. The first time under Chip Kelly the team won the opener.

Looking at the offense for UCLA, Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a dual-threat in the backfield. Against the Rainbow Warriors, he completed just 50% of his passes with 130 yards and a touchdown through the air. He added 16 more yards on the ground. He is capable of so much more, but given that the game was well in hand after 15 minutes of player, DTR didn’t have to.

The big key for the LSU defense and Daronte Jones will be limiting the damage their two-headed running back attack deals out. Former Michigan running back Zach Charbonnet made his presence felt early on. He carried the ball just six times for 17.7 yards per run. He totaled 106 yards and scored a touchdown on every two carries.

The second back to slow down will be Brittain Brown, the former Duke transfer. Last season he rushed for 6.6 yards per carry. Against Hawaii Brown accounted for 78 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown.

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The defensive line up front has to be able to get pressure and a push against the offensive line. The big boys for the Bruins allowed just three pressures all game, starting left guard Paul Grattan Jr was guilty of two of them. Ali Gaye, BJ Ojulari, Andre Anthony, and Neil Farrell Jr need to create a lot more pressure. They should very well do that.

When the defense has the opportunity to tackle Charbonnet or Brown, they need to finish taking the ball carrier to the ground. Against Hawaii, the duo accounted for 92 yards after contact. They forced a total of eight missed tackles on running plays.

The Tigers defense needs to slow down the run and force Thompson-Robinson to take to the air. The LSU secondary should be ready to take the ball away from receivers. Putting the game in the hands of the best cornerback duo in the country will serve this team well, provided the front seven are getting to the quarterback.

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