An Early Look at No. 1 LSU vs No. 4 Oklahoma in 2019 Peach Bowl
The last time LSU and Oklahoma met on the field was Jan. 4, 2004, a game that ended in a 21-14 national championship win for the Tigers. Nearly 15 years later, the two will meet again, this time with a berth to the College Football National Championship on the line.
With an over under set at 76.5 points by FanDuel, it means the experts are expecting a high-scoring affair on Dec. 28 when these two juggernaut programs meet in the Peach Bowl.
The Sooners are led by Heisman candidate Jalen Hurts, who not only brings a unique set of skills to the table, but an equally unique story to go with it. Hurts, which many SEC and college football fans in general know, was the Alabama quarterback for two years and led the Tide to a 25-1 record as a starter.
Hurts was replaced by freshman Tua Tagovailoa in the national championship win two years ago over Georgia and sat all of the 2018 season before transferring to Oklahoma this year.
The decision turned out to a fantastic choice as Hurts has thrown for 3,634 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 1,255 yards and 18 touchdowns. Behind his leadership, Oklahoma has rivaled the LSU offense, at least statistically all season, ranking No. 2 in total offense at 554.2 yards, just a hair lower than LSU's 554.4 yards per game.
The Oklahoma offense is also ranked No. 5 in the country in scoring offense with 43.2 points per game and features talent all over the field, most notably receiver CeeDee Lamb and running back Kennedy Brooks.
Lamb, a Biletnikoff finalist, has been stellar all season for Hurts, hauling in 14 touchdowns with 1,208 receiving yards to add. The LSU defense, which has been much improved over the last two weeks, will certainly have a gameplan to attack Lamb.
Freshman cornerback Derek Stingley, is coming off a two-interception performance against Georgia in the SEC Championship and could be tasked with shadowing Lamb throughout the night.
The LSU defense will be challenged but the unit is playing with more confidence and fielding better results. Allowing its last two opponents to score a combined 17 points is no easy feat, even if the Bulldogs were beat up from an injury perspective on Saturday.
Hurts and the Sooner offense will get their yards and probably be able to put points on the board. Bending but not breaking will be a huge point of emphasis for this LSU defense as gametime draws closer. Holding Oklahoma to field goals when it inevitably moves the ball, could be a major factor in moving on in the College Football Playoff.
While the Sooners have been much improved on defense in 2019, ranking just inside the top-25 in yards allowed (330.6) and allowing 10 points per game less than they did in 2018, Oklahoma still has a tendency to give up the explosive plays.
That's an area where the LSU offense thrives in and behind likely Heisman winner Joe Burrow, should be able to put points on the board. If Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Georgia all had trouble keeping this offense in check, why should Oklahoma be any different?
Burrow is coming off another Heisman-worthy performance against Georgia's No. 2 defense. He tossed for 349 yards and four touchdowns and combined to have more yards (406) than the Bulldog defense had allowed to any opponent all season.
He did so by spreading the ball around, completing passes to eight different players, including himself. With five weapons that can burn a defense at any time, Burrow said Saturday it makes the LSU offense as close to unstoppable as can be.
"We have five guys that can hurt you, and you're going to have to pick your poison," Burrow said. "If you want to take away Ja'Marr and Justin, you're going to have to deal with Thad, Clyde, and Terrace."
The LSU offense will likely see a new wrinkle in what the Oklahoma defense throws at it come Dec. 28. Burrow said every week this season, opposing defenses have shown the offense something new and unexpected that wasn't on the film.
"Every single week, you watch film all week, and it started back when we played Texas," Burrow said. "We watch film, and we go in and see something they haven't done all year. It happens time and time again every single week. I tell my coaches, why do we even watch film anymore? We see something new. We might as well go out there cold turkey."
"So I think we have a great coaching staff, and they make the adjustments that have enabled us to be successful."
