📡 Marcello: LSU will drop off this year in SEC West - 247Sports

[SEC Sports]

Marcello: LSU will drop off this year in SEC West

...

247sports.com

It’s not an exaggeration to say that LSU’s 2019 team put itself in the conversation for the best squad in college football history, as the 15-0 Tigers had absolutely everything: a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Joe Burrow, countless NFL draft picks, a strong staff and great balance across the board. Can LSU keep the momentum going this fall? That’s up for debate.

It’s difficult to replace so much NFL talent right away, although LSU certainly has recruited well in recent years. The Tigers do get Alabama at home and have a promising new starting quarterback in Myles Brennan, but there are a lot of new faces.

247Sports national college football reporter Brandon Marcello has been predicting the order of finish in each Power Five conference this week, and he explained why he picked LSU to finish third in the SEC West this season with a significant gap between the Tigers and Alabama.

“Everybody kind of assumes that LSU and Alabama are the two teams in the SEC West best built to have a huge loss of players to the draft and then they’re able to build up,” Marcello said on the College Football Daily podcast. “Alabama can. LSU’s not quite there yet under Ed Orgeron. I don’t care what anybody says — there’s going to be a drop-off this year. It’s just gonna happen.

“... Myles Brennan is going to be a good quarterback. He is a good quarterback. He’s not Joe Burrow. He’s not Tua (Tagovailoa). He’s gonna be, maybe, one of the top three quarterbacks, maybe No. 4, in the SEC. But LSU loses way too much, (and) the schedule’s tough.”

One of Marcello’s key points didn’t have anything to do with LSU’s roster but instead involved the staff. Co-offensive coordinator Joe Brady was seen as a key part of the Tigers’ improvement in the passing game last fall, and he left to take over the main offensive coordinator role for the Carolina Panthers.

That double lack of continuity has Marcello concerned in the short term, although that doesn’t mean the Tigers aren’t here to stay. For this year, however, Marcello also had LSU behind Auburn, his pick to finish second.

“I just don’t understand this idea that LSU is gonna continue challenging immediately in the SEC West after losing 14 players to the draft,” Marcello said. "Joe Burrow was a once-in-a-generation quarterback at LSU. We’re talking about a place that obviously, it has been well-chronicled in the Les Miles era and even in the early years of Ed Orgeron, of not taking advantage of their talent at receiver. Well, they did that and much more last year with Joe Burrow at quarterback, but not just that — they had Joe Brady kind of tweaking the passing game for them and their schemes as a co-offensive coordinator. He’s gone as well. Running back — they’ve gotta figure out what’s going on there, as well. I think they’ll be OK. But you just can’t lose that many players unless you are just completely stacked with guys and have developed players that are immediately able to come in and start and be tremendously effective. I don’t think LSU’s quite there yet.”

 

[Crimson&WhiteGecko]

LSU's D coordinator is gone too. Considering who they lost in player personnel & coaching staff, I think there is a strong chance that they finish 4th, behind Bama, AU, & A&M.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

I am not sure who the backup QB will be at LSU but he better be ready from the get go because the #1 guy ain't going to get it done.

 

[TideatMileHigh]

Ed Orgeron isn't the next Chizik (quite the redemption arc), but I expect LSU to be an 8-4 to 10-2 type team this year. They lost so much.

 

[BamaFan334]

Well duh. It takes a college football writer/expert to acknowledge this? No way LSU could hold up to the season they had last year. It took every bit of that magical run to beat us, and we have also shown that even as good as we have been, we still don't win it all every single year. They will have plenty of talent, but no way can they hold up again to that mega high standard.

 

[rammerjammer]

I don't necessarily think Auburn is a shoe-in for #2. With the amount of talent aTm has coming back......I look for them to make a little noise in the west. With a little luck I could see them being in the mix with AU and LSU..............for the second spot in the west.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

And ole ms and Kiffin....if they would have had a spring it would be more possible....
May be lots of dandy games this year....hopefully

 

[TerryP]

I don't necessarily think Auburn is a shoe-in for #2. With the amount of talent aTm has coming back......I look for them to make a little noise in the west. With a little luck I could see them being in the mix with AU and LSU..............for the second spot in the west.

It's my projection they'll be favored in every game until they reach the LSU and Bama section of their schedule. It sets up nicely and there's a good chance they'll be undefeated until these two games.

2020 Texas A&M Football Schedule
Date		Opponent
Saturday Sep. 5		Abilene Christian WildcatsKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Sep. 12		North Texas Mean GreenKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Sep. 19		Colorado BuffaloesKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Sep. 26		vs Arkansas RazorbacksAT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Saturday Oct. 3		at Mississippi State BulldogsDavis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Saturday Oct. 10		Fresno State BulldogsKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Oct. 17		at Auburn TigersJordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Saturday Oct. 24		at South Carolina GamecocksWilliams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
Saturday Oct. 31		OFF
Saturday Nov. 7		Ole Miss RebelsKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Nov. 14		Vanderbilt CommodoresKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Nov. 21		at Alabama Crimson TideBryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
Saturday Nov. 28		LSU TigersKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Dec. 5		SEC ChampionshipMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

 

[Bamaclam]

It's my projection they'll be favored in every game until they reach the LSU and Bama section of their schedule. It sets up nicely and there's a good chance they'll be undefeated until these two games.

2020 Texas A&M Football Schedule
Date		Opponent
Saturday Sep. 5		Abilene Christian WildcatsKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Sep. 12		North Texas Mean GreenKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Sep. 19		Colorado BuffaloesKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Sep. 26		vs Arkansas RazorbacksAT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Saturday Oct. 3		at Mississippi State BulldogsDavis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Saturday Oct. 10		Fresno State BulldogsKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Oct. 17		at Auburn TigersJordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Saturday Oct. 24		at South Carolina GamecocksWilliams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
Saturday Oct. 31		OFF
Saturday Nov. 7		Ole Miss RebelsKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Nov. 14		Vanderbilt CommodoresKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Nov. 21		at Alabama Crimson TideBryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
Saturday Nov. 28		LSU TigersKyle Field, College Station, TX
Saturday Dec. 5		SEC ChampionshipMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

.

Wow a very possible 10-0 aTm squad coming to BDS for the division title on the line. What a difference a year can make as far as schedule

 

[TerryP]

Wow a very possible 10-0 aTm squad coming to BDS for the division title on the line. What a difference a year can make as far as schedule

Right?

Seven home games on the season, an eighth in Arlington, with road trips to Vandy, UofSC, Auburn, and of course BAMA. I'm thinking they can upset AU with a loss on the road to UA and one to end the season at home against LSU (though I won't bet on that one today.)

 

[mando]

they can upset AU with a loss

Would that really be an upset?

 

[TerryP]

Would that really be an upset?

It wouldn't upset a lot of people if AU drops that one. No doubt. There's a chance we could see AU ranked as high, or higher, than A&M going into their game.

There are two noteworthy games on AU's schedule before A&M; UGA and UNC. UNC is a neutral site game (ATL) which will even things out for the Tarheels a bit. Mac has a pretty solid QB up there as well. Now, AU vs UGA? If I'm not mistaken AU has lost 8 of the last 10 so their chances are either "good" based on odds or "bad" based on history.

IF AU can get through both of those games...two undefeated teams facing each other in Jordan Hare. So yes, an upset.

 

[rammerjammer]

I look for AU to be 8-4 at best. I really expect an 7-5 year. All of their eggs are in the Nix basket on offense. Kid can't make the throws he needs to in this league, IMO. He can run the offense with his legs pretty well, but making throws (consistently)....I have yet to see it. Another thing is will Malzahn meddle with Chad Morris? According to all the AU faithful, Morris is the greatest thing to hit the campus since Malzahn landed with Newton in 2010. I don't see it, Morris hasn't done anything worth noting since he left Clemson. Maybe only having to deal the the offense, he might find some of his old magic, but I tend to think, the HUNH is no where near as effective as it was 6-8-10 years ago. The defense now has the athletes they need to stop it........and speaking of defense, Kevin Steele does well when he has a senior laden team that know the system. He doesn't have that this year. I expect AU to be a little better offensively, but a lot worse defensively. This means AU will have to outscore everyone they play. They can do that to the bottom half of the league and all the OOC opponents, but half the west and probably 1/4 of the east can keep up with them offensively IMO.