LSU's got a whole lot to live up to this season. Beginning with school administrators and boosters right on down to fans and pundits, the Tigers are the consensus pick to dethrone Alabama and come out of the West.
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SEC Network analysts Booger MacFarland and Marcus Spears, both of whom starred at LSU, agree.
"LSU is tired of losing to Alabama," McFarland opined. But the two also agreed that the Tigers would not run the tale in 2016, and get tripped up by the unlikeliest opponent we've heard of yet—-Arkansas. Citing the rainy weather that can sometimes be a factor in Fayettevile in November, Spears said the Razorbacks would hand LSU their sole regular season loss on their way to winning the division.
That'll be a tough sell, though. The Tigers' second and third string units are more talented than anything Arkansas can boast. Last season, the Razorbacks put a hurtin' on LSU, holding Leonard Fournette to just 91 yards and 1 TD on 19 carries and winning the game handily 31-14. They also allowed Brandon Harris to have one of his best games of the season. If by some miracle they manage to keep Fournette in check again, a new and improved Brandon Harris is likely to have his way once more.
While the Razorbacks return a good amount of the defensive unit from last season, they still finished a mediocre 58th in the country in total defense and 68th in scoring defense. Which is to say they seem ill-equipped at this point to handle an LSU offense that promises to be much-improved.
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Offensively, they lost a ton of production. Most importantly, the 3,440 yards and 30 TDs posted by Brandon Allen. Junior Austin Allen will replace him, but he may be the biggest question mark on the roster. The Hogs should feel close to as big a loss at the running position, where Alex Collins, who departed early for the NFL, accounted for a staggering 61% of the team's rushing yards last season. He totaled 1,577 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground.
Truth be told, the odds are against the Tigers going without a stumble in 2016. Running the SEC West gauntlet unblemished has to be akin to going through a season undefeated in the NFL. But the chances that Arkansas will be the team that does it may be even less than slim to none.
