The 8-2 LSU Tigers host the 5-5 UAB Blazers in their final home game of the season on Saturday night.
By Steve Wright
Follow @14powerscom
Here are the three keys for the SEC West-winning Tigers as they look to carry their momentum into Atlanta.
1 – Stop DeWayne McBride
DeWayne McBride is the player that this entire UAB offense runs through. The running back is the leading back in the nation with 156 yards per game and second in the FBS with 17 touchdowns, continuing his form from 2021. Over the last two years, he has had 30 rushing touchdowns and over 2,750 yards, and he spearheads a Blazers’ rushing attack that is No. 6 in the nation, averaging 247.1 yards per game. This isn’t a team that will move the ball in chunks through the air, so the LSU front seven defensively will be where this is won and lost. Players have to stay assignment-sound, and they must make their tackles because McBride is a yards-after-contact machine.
2 – Red Zone Defense
The Blazers are exceptional on third down – the down and distance markers are in their favor generally because of their premier running game – but they are disastrous in the red zone. For everything they do well on the ground, they are just No. 108 in the country in red zone scoring percentage. The issue is that the defense has less space to defend as the field gets tighter and can focus on providing additional run support. This is an area where LSU has been very good in 2022, and I expect this to be an area where the Tigers win on Saturday.
3 – Jayden Daniels Takes Over
Jayden Daniels will be – by far – the best athlete that the Blazers have seen all season. Daniels has passed for 2,080 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year, and he is also the Tigers’ leading rusher with 629 yards and a further ten scores. Daniels has a knack for winning on plays that matter, but this needs to be about him doing his work early and getting out of the game as soon as possible.
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