coaches analysis on ESPN, claim we are #1 in stealing signs

Jan 13, 2020, 2:46 PM

Provides some good analysis intermixed with a lot of nonsense. Must be all SEC coaches or Buckeye coaches

National championship game coaches confidential: LSU vs. Clemson
By Adam Rittenberg and Chris Low

Clemson and LSU last played each other in the 2012 Peach Bowl, but when the teams convene Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship game (8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN App), they'll see similarities across the field.

LSU has the current Heisman Trophy winner and expected No. 1 overall NFL draft pick this spring in quarterback Joe Burrow. Clemson has possibly the 2020 Heisman favorite and the presumed No. 1 draft pick in 2021 in quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

LSU has the nation's highest-paid assistant in defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. Clemson has the nation's second-highest-paid assistant in defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

Clemson has a talented and terrifying wide receiver tandem in Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross. LSU has the Biletnikoff Award winner in Ja'Marr Chase, as well as Justin Jefferson, who had a record-setting performance (14 receptions, 227 yards, four touchdowns) in the CFP semifinal against Oklahoma.

But only one team will be celebrating well into the New Orleans night. We surveyed coaches who have faced LSU and Clemson to break down the factors that will shape Monday's game and determine which team wins the national title.

How Clemson can stop LSU's prolific offense

Coaches are primarily focused on LSU's offense versus Clemson's defense and how Venables attempts to slow Burrow and a historically elite unit. LSU has been machine-like with passing yards (5,561) and points (684), thriving under new passing game coordinator Joe Brady, the 2019 Broyles Award winner for the nation's best assistant coach.

Only one team has held LSU to fewer than 36 points (Auburn allowed 23). Burrow has eclipsed 300 passing yards in all but two games, putting together the greatest single-season passing performance in SEC history (5,208 yards, 55 touchdowns, six interceptions).

A Power 5 defensive coordinator said LSU's offense was able to "out-personnel" all 14 of its opponents this season.

"That's rare," he said. "You watch the tape, and they have the ability to not only make plays when they out-scheme an opponent, but also when their opponent seems to out-scheme them."

Asked after Clemson's semifinal victory over Ohio State about LSU, Venables told reporters, "It's sickening, it's sick. I don't even want to talk about that right now."

"I just can't see anybody stopping LSU's offense," a Power 5 defensive coordinator said, "but if anybody can do it, it's [Venables]."

Venables has done arguably his best work this season. Clemson had three linemen drafted among the top 17 picks, as well as a second-round pick (cornerback Trayvon Mullen) and a fourth-round pick (end Austin Bryant) from the 2018 defense. Despite the attrition, Clemson leads the FBS in points allowed (11.5 ppg), passing yards allowed (151.5 ypg) and interceptions per pass attempt (4.9%), while ranking second in yards per play (4.16) and red zone touchdown percentage allowed (35.7%).

Some coaches aren't sold.

"I don't think the Clemson defense is anywhere near what it was last year," a Power 5 head coach said. "It was an NFL defense. The safeties, I just don't think they're as good. The linebackers, they're tough kids, but they're not really space kids, and that's one thing [Joe] Brady does so well. He gets speed in space."

The good news is Venables has had extra time to prepare for LSU. A Power 5 coordinator who faced Clemson credits Venables for "junking up the front and outnumbering you," which allows a less talented group to make plays collectively, rather than relying on elite individual efforts.

"This is not the Clemson of old without those D-linemen," a Power 5 head coach said. "Now, they're playing with great confidence, but they have to create pressure by blitzing. That's going to be the interesting thing in this game."

Clemson's ability to keep Ohio State out of the end zone secured a win in the CFP semifinal. The Buckeyes piled up 516 yards but only two touchdowns. A similar bend-but-don't-break approach likely is needed against LSU.

"Can Clemson mix up their three-man, four-man and five-man rushes to slow LSU down?" a Power 5 defensive coordinator asked. "LSU is still going to move the ball, but can Clemson make them kick field goals in the red zone? That's the way they win this game."

Venables could pattern his game plan after Auburn's. Those Tigers showed LSU a unique look in the secondary with an extra safety. As a Power 5 defensive coordinator explained, Auburn approached LSU as an offense that throws on every down and stayed in its third-down package the entire game.

LSU finished with 508 yards and 30 first downs, but it had to work for points, failing 10 times on third down and on both fourth-down attempts. Auburn allowed only one pass longer than 21 yards.

"[The LSU] coaching staff didn't know what kind of coverage Auburn was in because they'd never seen those looks before," an SEC coordinator said. "It made it very difficult for them to check themselves into the right play."

Venables is known for signaling in playcalls as late as possible (coaches say Clemson also is the national champion in signal-stealing). LSU will counter with tempo, as it has 67 touchdown drives of three minutes or less this season.

"You saw [Ohio State coach] Ryan Day caught [Venables] changing defenses really late and snapped the ball," a Power 5 coach said. "So what you've got to do with Brent is huddle up some, go up to the line of scrimmage and call your play fast, before he can get a grasp of what you're trying to do. The other thing is tempo hurts them."

Venables' use of linebacker Isaiah Simmons against LSU will be a big factor, coaches say. Simmons won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, but he's uniquely versatile and can line up at all three levels of the defense.

Coaches are somewhat split on how Simmons should be employed against LSU.

"He's their only pressure guy," a Power 5 coach said. "I think they'll move him around and they'll disguise, but he's the best athlete on their defense, so they're going to have to use him for pressure."

A Power 5 defensive coordinator thinks Simmons instead could be used as "an eraser" against LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who should be closer to full strength following a hamstring injury in December. Edwards-Helaire eclipsed 100 rushing yards against Auburn, Florida and Alabama, and he caught the ball very well in wins over Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

While Auburn wasn't gashed by LSU's wideouts, it struggled with Edwards-Helaire, who recorded 136 rushing yards and 51 receiving yards in the win. A Power 5 defensive coordinator noted Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins gashed Clemson before being slowed by an ankle injury.

"Nobody's really had that guy who can match up with Helaire out of the backfield," another Power 5 defensive coordinator said. "Alabama didn't. Auburn really didn't, and that's ultimately what did them in. It will be interesting to see how that changes and shapes things."

The same coach thinks Clemson's best chance at upsetting LSU is having Simmons take away Edwards-Helaire, cornerback A.J. Terrell limiting Chase and others generating pressure on Burrow.

"If they can win the game 27-24 or 31-27, that's going to be how it happens," he said.

Coaches agree Venables must find ways to pressure Burrow, but they say the Heisman winner's escapability on third down is an underrated element of his game.

"Even when the pocket collapses and you think you've got him, he's athletic enough to run for the first down or buy enough time to find an open guy," a Power 5 coach said. "He's always a step ahead."

How LSU can slow Clemson's offense

Venables isn't the only defensive coordinator who'll have his hands full Monday. LSU's Aranda will attempt to slow a Clemson offense that averages 45.3 points per game and 7.5 yards per play.

Although Clemson started slowly against Ohio State, it scored 29 of the game's final 36 points. When the Tigers needed a scoring drive, Lawrence delivered in masterful fashion, leading the offense 94 yards in just four plays and 78 seconds. Lawrence's willingness to run and his success stood out against Ohio State, as the sophomore led Clemson with 107 rushing yards, including a 67-yard score.

Several coaches expect another heavy dose of Lawrence runs against LSU.

"A lot of his runs don't come off of dropback passes," a Power 5 coach said, "but when he extends plays in the pass game, he extends them to throw the ball. That makes it hard because they will do different things with him in the run game, and I think you're going to see them do even more with him."

Another Power 5 coach said LSU should move its safeties closer to the line of scrimmage to account for Lawrence and top running back Travis Etienne. "The run ended up beating Ohio State more than the pass," the coach noted. This approach requires cornerbacks Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton to single-cover Ross and Higgins.

"LSU's corners on Clemson's receivers will be the matchup to watch," a Power 5 coach said. "Stingley is a really good player and will make a lot of plays. But if you study him, he still gives up a lot of deep balls. He makes his plays, but he will also get beat on deep balls and misjudge them. Those two Clemson receivers, Higgins and Ross, they make plays when they're covered, and they're not slow. They can run."

Aranda's defense is based on deception. LSU tries to apply steady pressure without always bringing extra rushers. LSU should provide different looks than Clemson saw from Ohio State. "I was surprised how simple Ohio State was against them," a Power 5 defensive coordinator said.

Coaches feel neither team's defensive line is elite. They are more split about Clemson's offensive line, which has four All-ACC selections. A Power 5 coach said the group declined a bit this season, but another Power 5 coach said the line makes Clemson's offense even tougher to face.

"Clemson has always had skill players, great receivers and great backs, and, of course, Deshaun Watson at quarterback," the coach said. "But even in the ACC, their offensive line was average at best for a few years. Now they have a legitimate offensive line, the kind of line that should be able to hold up against LSU."

LSU's defense struggled at times this season, but since allowing 37 points and 402 rushing yards to Ole Miss on Nov. 16, the Tigers have tightened up. They have allowed only 344 rushing yards in their past four games combined. Linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson has 4.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss during the span.

"Aranda does a phenomenal job of protecting those guys in the back end, probably as good a job as anybody's done all year, and it's gone underappreciated," an SEC offensive coordinator said. "His talent is not elite this year. They also know if they give something up, they still have a chance to win.

"They give up 28 points, they're gonna win."

Coaches predict the outcome

Coaches have a lot of respect for Clemson, but most think the national title switches hands Monday.

Power 5 defensive coordinator: "My initial thought is that LSU will win. It probably won't be close when it's all said and done."

Power 5 offensive coordinator: "I'd be shocked if Clemson can hang in there. Shocked. I could see it being a 24-point game."

Power 5 head coach: "I think LSU wins. It's probably the two best offenses in college football, and LSU's defense is better than Clemson's."

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Power 5 defensive coordinator: "I think LSU will win. I wouldn't discount Clemson ever, but I think LSU's the better team."

Clemson entered last year's championship game with less pressure and proved to be the better team. Interestingly enough, the defending champs face a similar situation Monday. LSU is the favorite with the Heisman Trophy winner and the virtual home-field advantage.

"I think LSU wins the game," a Power 5 coach said. "They're more battle-tested, but Clemson has been there, done it and just believes. Sometimes the pressure of 'We haven't done it and want to do it so badly' gets to you. We'll see if that happens to LSU."

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coaches analysis on ESPN, claim we are #1 in stealing signs

zero respect***

Re: coaches analysis on ESPN, claim we are #1 in stealing signs

Re: coaches analysis on ESPN, claim we are #1 in stealing signs

I wonder who this idiot was

in predictions they claim LSU's defense is better than ours

It's obvious no one watches the games

Terrible journalism. If you're not going to disclose your

And that, my friends, is why none of those Power 5 coaches

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