Three Matchups to Follow: No. 1 LSU vs No. 4 Oklahoma
LSU and Oklahoma come into the Peach Bowl on Dec. 28 with no shortage of talent, but the Sooners in particular will be asking some players deeper on the depth chart to make heavy contributions.
With the suspension to defensive end Ronnie Perkins and broken collarbone to starting safety to Delarrin Turner-Yell, there will be some some unexpected matchups to follow.
LSU Passing Attack vs. Justin Broiles (Oklahoma safety)
One of the areas the Tigers were going to have an obvious edge was in the passing game. The Oklahoma defense has shown improvement over the 2018 team that allowed 294 passing yards per game, one of the worst marks in football.
In 2019, Oklahoma is allowing 198.5 passing yards per game, No. 24 in the country, but will be missing a key member of the secondary against the Tigers. Turner-Yell, the talented sophomore safety, recorded 75 tackles and three pass breakups before suffering the broken collarbone in practice last week that will keep him out.
With Turner-Yell out, redshirt sophomore safety Justin Broiles will reportedly start in his place. Broiles has appeared in every game for the Sooners in 2019 and recorded 15 tackles.
Joe Burrow and company were going to have little problems moving the ball on Oklahoma to begin with, but with possibly the Sooners' best defensive back not in the fold, it will only make things easier for the machine-like Tiger offense.
Oklahoma enters the Peach Bowl as 13.5-point underdogs to LSU primarily because most believe the Sooner offense won't be able to keep up with the Tiger offense. Sooner coach Lincoln Riley shared his thoughts Sunday before the team left for Atlanta.
“A lot of people said that we weren’t gonna play great defense here, a lot of people said you can’t replace all these offensive players that went to the NFL, a lot of people said you’re not gonna win the Big 12 this year, a lot of people said you’re not gonna go to the playoff after losing Kansas State,” Riley said. “So that’s not the first time we’ve been told something like that and I like how our team’s responded, so hopefully we can keep doing that.”
Oklahoma Defensive Line vs. LSU Offensive Line
Another position group for Oklahoma that will have one less starter up front is the defensive line, as starting defensive end Ronnie Perkins will be serving a suspension. Perkins has been the most consistent force at pressuring the quarterback for the Sooners this season.
His six sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss both lead a unit that has 35 combined sacks, good for top-30 in the country. But losing a player that has allotted for more than a sixth of those sacks isn't a good sign.
With Perkins out of the lineup, Oklahoma could look to Marcus Stripling or sophomore Isaiah Thomas to fill the hole left by Perkins. Thomas has appeared in 10 games and recorded two sacks and two tackles for a loss while Stripling has appeared in 13 games and recorded one sack.
The LSU offensive line comes in playing with a ton of confidence as it has proved to be the most improved unit on the team in 2019. The line has been a key cog in an offense that leads the country in yards per game (554.4) and third in scoring (48.7).
For its efforts this season, the O-line was awarded the Joe Moore Award late last week, given to the nation's best offensive line.
With Perkins out, LSU's path to moving the ball on a Sooner defense already banged up in the secondary becomes even greater.
Derek Stingley Jr vs. CeeDee Lamb
If you love college football, the Oklahoma-LSU matchup will feature two of the country's best at their positions in the Tiger freshman cornerback and the Sooner junior receiver.
Stingley has put together one of the most impressive freshman campaigns in recent SEC memory, leading the conference in interceptions (6) and passes defended (21). For his efforts, Stingley was named a consensus All-American, including first-team AP, ESPN, SI and USA Today All-American honors.
On the other side, Lamb has proven to be one of the dominant receivers in college football, hauling in 58 receptions for 1,208 yards and 14 touchdowns, earning him a spot as a Biletnikoff finalist.
The beauty of what Stingley has provided this LSU defense is the team can put him on the opponent's best receiver and know not only he will able to hold the opponent in check, but make game-changing plays in the process.
"Here's what happens, you have Lamb out there, you leave him one-on-one, you gotta win," Orgeron said. "Then if you double cover him, you don't have enough people in the box to contain Jalen [Hurts]. That's the game the whole way."
If you love college football, watching Stingley go head-to-head with one of the best in Lamb will be a treat for everyone.
