Here is our look at our LSU Tigers futures and Odds for the upcoming 2013 -2014 College Football Season. How will they fare in the vast field of talent that is the SEC?
At 16/1 betting odds to win the BCS Championship for 2013, the LSU Tigers
might be overlooked as they have almost all of their players returning at key
positions and the addition of offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron, to the Tigers
coaching staff. This could be a team that’s worth the 
value.
Recap
To come out of the best conference in all of the college
football unscaved is the impossible task, unless if you’re Alabama. The Tigers
had a very good season at 10-3 and ranked 8th in the country, but
they didn’t finish off the season the way that they had wanted.
LSU had 9 1st downs in comparison to Clemson’s 32
1st downs. Clemson had more than double the yardage of LSU. You
figure this is a blowout…wrong! LSU took a 24-16 lead in the Chick-fil-a-BOWL
over Clemson, but the Tigers managed to outscore LSU 12-0 and defeat them with
a field goal on the last play of the game.
To be competitive in a game where they were dominated, shows
you just how good that LSU is. This is a team that needs a little fine-tuning
with all of their experience.
Fire Me, Hire Me
Cam Cameron might have gotten fired by the Super Bowl
Champions Baltimore Ravens during mid-season, but he got a ring and landed on
his feet with a veteran LSU Tigers team.
Cameron has developed some of the best quarterbacks in the
NFL, Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers to name a couple. Cameron has all of the
pieces set up. His job will be to mold Zach Mettenberger into one of your
prototypical dropback passers and get more production out of him. Mettenberger
has a gun for an arm; all of the tools are there.
Top Receivers
Returning
How rare is it when a college team has its 4 top targets
returning in one season? Odell Beckham (713 yards, 2 TD), Jarvis Landry (573
yards, 5 TD), Kadron Boone (348 yards, 4 TD), and James Wright (242 yards) are
all returning to try to knock off teams like Alabama and Ohio State. With the
addition of Cameron and the maturation process and familiarity between passer
and receiver, look for the passing game to prosper and we’ll be seeing big
numbers from this group and they should be worthy to back (in most cases) for our NAAF picks.
The “Hill” to Climb
Experience is key; LSU knows what they have to do and have
top rushers, Jeremy Hill and Kenny Hilliard, returning. His team didn’t play
well, but Hill is coming off of a huge bowl game in which he accounted for 124
yards and 2 TD’s. This is a player that had 12 touchdowns on the season in just
8 full games.
Look for Jeremy Hill to have a monster season as LSU will
create the element of unpredictability in the eyes of opposing defenses.
Regardless of losing players like Barkevious Mingo to the
NFL; this defense is loaded. Linebacker is a strong position and look for
Jermauria Rasco (DE), Anthony Johnson ( DT) ,and Lavar Edwards (DE) to all be a
major force on the line.
This is a team that played top level competition and allowed
just 17.5 points per game.
Recruiting
Recruiting is always a focus, but LSU isn’t a team starving
for players. They have plenty of youth on the offense.
No 5 stars recruits were landed, but the Tigers picked up 4
newcomers in the top 100 headed by the 41st recruit, Kendall
Beckwith. Beckwith is a dual-threat quarterback that can possibly play wide
receiver or outside linebacker. He has a combination of size and good mobility.
The Tigers also addressed the defensive side of the ball
with cornerback Jeryl Brazil and defensive tackle Greg Gilmore.
Their recruiting system fits in line with the team as a
whole; they’re very well rounded and don’t have many weaknesses.
Outcome
Cam Cameron will have something to prove and improve the
game of Zach Mettenberger. There are no concerns with the
defense. This can be a one loss team and is a legitimate contender depending on
the play of Mettenberger.