Although this coming weekend will signal the actual start of the 2017 college football season, the BYU Cougars already had the privilege of getting a jump start to their campaign this past Saturday and came away with a victory over the Portland State Vikings, 20-6.
Third-year quarterback Tanner Mangum was efficient, going 16-of-27 for 194 passing yards and a touchdown in his first start as BYU’s official starting QB for the season. Junior running back Squally Canada also ran for a career-best 98 yards along with another score, showing that he’s capable of taking over Jamaal Williams’ job (who’s now in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers) as the team’s lead back.
However, and despite what the score would indicate, the Cougars should’ve had a much better performance against a Division I-AA program in Portland State, which finished with a mere 3-8 record in 2016. Their offense merely generated 365 offensive yards versus a much inferior opponent and went just 4-of-13 on third downs in Saturday’s win. The Vikings also had one more first down conversion than them along with a slim edge in ball possession.
The boys from Brigham Young will see a spike in level of competition this coming Saturday against LSU. This means that their offense has to put up better numbers, but that’s really easier said than done.
Unlike the Cougars, the LSU Tigers had to wait like the majority of FBS schools to get their feet wet this season. Still, the Tigers are more fresh coming into Saturday’s game against the Cougars, and they also have a significant advantage in terms of overall success.
LSU finished with no less than eight wins in each of its campaigns since the start of the millennium, and not even the departures of their top two players – QB Brandon Harris (transferred to North Carolina) and stud RB Leonard Fournette (the first running back taken off the board in this year’s NFL Draft) – will deny them of having the upper hand against BYU.
Senior Danny Etling was a serviceable playcaller last season sharing reps with Harris, throwing for over 2,100 yards and 11 TDs along with a sweet QB rating of 135.5. The Tigers are all about the run game, though. Luckily, junior running back Derrius Guice (nearly 1,400 rushing yards and 15 TDs in 2016) appears more than competent to pick up the prolific ground attack that Fournette left off.
Above all else, LSU will bring its stifling defense to the table once more. The team finished fifth in the nation last season at just 16 points allowed per game and seventh overall with a little less than 310 yards allowed per contest.
What makes Saturday’s showdown against the Cougars more interesting is that the Tigers were supposed to host their Week 1 home game on neutral ground at the NRG Stadium in Houston. But given the threat of Hurricane Harvey in the area, the game has since been moved to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, giving the Tigers virtual home-field advantage due to circumstances beyond their control.
Writer’s Prediction
LSU (-16) gets off to a resounding start in 2017 with a convincing 30-10 win.
