CFP Peach Bowl Preview

Brandon Olsen

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The first of two matchups for the College Football Playoffs is between the #1 Louisiana State Tigers and the #4 Oklahoma Sooners. The winner of the Peach Bowl get to take on the winner of the Ohio State/Clemson game in the National Championship game on January 13th.

Oklahoma Offense

We’ll be taking a look at the Sooners offense first, and this is what they do. This is the reason that every NFL head coaching job that opens has fans clamoring for their team to look into Lincoln Riley. Riley is one of the most creative play-designers and play-callers in the nation. While this offense isn’t as talented as the offenses he’s had the previous two years, when he had Heisman winning quarterbacks, it’s still capable of putting up numbers on the board.

Whether it be from his right arm or his tree-trunk thighs, this offense flows through Quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Sooners are going to try to spread out the LSU defense as much as they can before they send Hurts barreling through the offensive line to the next level. Kennedy Brooks and Jalen Hurts are the only contributing backfield players that will be active for the Peach Bowl since Trey Sermon is injured and Rhamondre Stevenson is suspended.

On the outside, CeeDee Lamb and Charleston Rambo will have their hands full as they’ll be battling with Kristian Fulton and Derek Stingley Jr. Lamb and Rambo should have their fair share of wins in the passing game but lesser contributors like Lee Morris, Jadon Haselwood, and Nick Baquinne will have to find ways to succeed against a talented LSU defense.

Up front, Oklahoma is as strong as about any other team in the nation and shouldn’t have an overly difficult time keeping a clean pocket and opening up rushing lanes for both Hurts and Brooks. Led by Creed Humphrey, this Oklahoma offensive line needs to have a good game in order to neutralize the front four of LSU.

LSU Offense

It’s still shocking to see how much improvement LSU has made from last year to this year. Of course, all of that improvement starts with the meteoric rise to superstardom from Quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow went from being widely considered a potential day three pick to being an almost lock as the first pick in the draft and the Heisman winner.

Although Joe Burrow has had his rise and his production is absolutely off the charts, there’s another man in the LSU backfield that’s improved tremendously. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, especially over the last two months of the season, has absolutely erupted onto the scene and skyrocketed up draft boards everywhere. Unfortunately, Clydro suffered a hamstring injury during practice so it’s unclear just how good he is to go, but if he’s still banged up, John Emery Jr. will be expected to be the next man up with Tyrion Davis-Prince still injured too.

At receiver, LSU has two guys are like a bodega, always open. Justin Jefferson and Biletnikoff Award winner Ja’Marr Chase have been two of the most productive receivers in college football and are undoubtedly the two players outside of Joe Burrow who benefited from Joe Burrow’s improvement.

The offensive line of LSU is undoubtedly the weakness of the offense, with everyone praising Joe Burrow’s escapability because he always HAS to escape pressure. The biggest concern for LSU today is whether or not their offensive line will be able to keep the pocket clean enough for Burrow to be able to consistently make plays.

Oklahoma Defense

Before we get too into the Oklahoma defense, I’d just like to say that if you were going to make a comment about Big XII defenses, see your way to the door now. Last year? Oklahoma had one of the worst defenses in the nation across the board. This year? The Sooners have made significant improvements and often times it’s been their defense that kept them in or won them games.

Up front, Neville Gallimore is the man that sets the tone for the Sooners. At 6’2″ and 302 pounds, Gallimore is one of the most athletic defensive linemen in college football. Gallimore’s performance will have a significant impact on whether or not Oklahoma can slow down Joe Burrow and LSU’s passing attack.

At the second level, Kenneth Murray is your guy. One of the most athletic linebackers in the nation, Murray has tremendous speed and he plays with an intensity that few, if any, can match. A potential first-round pick due to his athleticism, pass defense, and energy, Murray has to step up today to slow down Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the LSU run game.

On the back end, we’ll likely see LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase shadowed by #11 on Oklahoma, Parnell Motley. Motley isn’t a household name but he’s coming off his best performance of his career against Baylor in the Big XII Championship where he absolutely locked down Denzel Mims the entire game.

LSU Defense

Coming from the SEC, this is where you’d expect LSU to be at their best but times are a-changing down south. On the defensive line, Rashard Lawrence is a senior who does a lot of the work that won’t show up in the box score. Lawrence will definitely have his hands full as he does battle with Creed Humphrey all day.

At the second level, Jacob Phillips will lead the Tigers linebackers. Phillips has solid instincts but he’s going to have to be on top of his game as Jalen Hurts will be looking to run early and often to carve up these Tigers.

The bread and butter of LSU’s defense is their incredible secondary. Kristian Fulton and Derek Stingley on the outside with Grant Delpit moving all over the defense could be enough to cause the Sooners to throw fits. The Peach Bowl might be the greatest test so far for these Tigers outside of Alabama

X-Factors

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Just to clarify, when I’m speaking about X-factors here, I’m merely talking about the guys who will have the biggest impact on this game, not necessarily just the best players. These are the guys that if they play well, their team should win, if they don’t, good luck.

For Oklahoma, the X-factor players are Jalen Hurts, Neville Gallimore, Kenneth Murray, and Jalen Redmond. Hurts’ performance has never mattered more than it does this week with the injuries and suspensions that the Sooners have offensively. No matter who he’s getting the ball to, Hurts needs to play well. Gallimore and Redmond have to find ways to consistently make plays in the backfield, whether it’s to slow down Joe Burrow of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, it has to happen. Kenneth Murray needs to play a game similar to the first half of the Baylor game where he was playing like a bat out of hell before his minor injury.

LSU’s X-factor players are Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Grant Delpit, and Rashard Lawrence. LSU has one less X-factor because I think they’re a more complete team that could survive without all of them. Edwards-Helaire is the offensive player that I think has more more riding on his performance than anyone else, if he’s unable to get going, I’m not sure this offense is going to be able to consistently perform. Defensively, Rashard Lawrence is going to have to push the pocket from the interior, Jalen Hurts struggles mightily especially against interior pressure. Grant Delpit is on here for one major reason, I’m expecting LSU Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda to have him spy Jalen Hurts for the majority of the game, in which case, Delpit needs to be able to come up and finish plays.

Overview

The Peach Bowl is easily the game that I’m most excited for in the College Football Playoff. The matchups here are fantastic with Jalen Hurts vs Grant Delpit, OU’s receivers vs LSU’s corners, Neville Gallimore vs LSU’s interior offensive line, Kenneth Murray vs LSU’s backfield. This has all of the makings to be an instant game of the year candidate. Clear your afternoon, you’re in for a treat.

Although the Sooners are rightfully the underdogs, they have a chance in this game. LSU still has a reputation for their defense and although they’ve got plenty of talent there, they’ve got their weaknesses. The Sooners just might be one of those teams that could exploit these Tigers on multiple levels.

Spread: LSU -13.5

Honestly, I wouldn’t touch the Peach Bowl spread with a 10-foot pole. It’s just too big of a risk and too large of a spread. The game relies so much on whether or not LSU can slow down Jalen Hurts and we’ve seen them get absolutely gashed by mobile quarterbacks.

Over/Under: 76.5

I’d take the over all the way. These teams both have the ability to put up points in bunches and although they might start slow today, both of these teams will be electrifying once they hit their stride.