A couple of teams coming off of big wins clash here in an SEC West matchup. LSU bullied Southern after their disaster against Florida State in Week 1, while the Bulldogs won by 22 on the road against Arizona in a unique visit to a Pac-12 opponent for an SEC squad.
By Steve Wright
Follow @14powerscom
Here are the three keys for LSU to move to 2-1 on the year:
Be Ready For a Battle
It has flown under the radar, but Mississippi State might have had the best first two weeks of anyone in the SEC not named Georgia. The Bulldogs have played a pair of games – neither of which was a cupcake – beating a good Memphis team before challenging themselves with a true road game against an Arizona squad that is night and day better than their train wreck of 2021. The Bulldogs have an offense that is a nightmare to play against when it is clicking, and right now, it is very much doing so.
Let Jayden Daniels Loose
It is always a gamble to start a transfer quarterback. When you hit, however, it looks like a stroke of genius. Two weeks into the 2022 season, it looks like Jayden Daniels will be a hit.
It took Daniels a couple of quarters to get rolling against Florida State, but his ability in the final quarter is what almost (should have) resulted in an epic comeback win. Daniels was excellent in what was basically a live scrimmage against Southern last weekend, and he is completing 78% of his passes for five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He needs to be good on Saturday to keep up with the Bulldogs scoring.
Stop Will Rogers
We mentioned that the Mississippi State offense is rolling, but quarterback Will Rogers has been ridiculous through two games. Rogers is 77-of-98 through the air, passing for 763 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also been sacked just three times, partly due to the Mike Leach scheme, which sees Rogers get the ball out of his hands early, relying on his play design and skill position players to pick up huge yards after the catch. Flood the lanes Rogers wants to throw to with bodies and make sure that every first-up hit is a sure tackle to slow this passing game down.
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