No. 19 LSU, Army clash for the first time since 1931, and for the first time in Death Valley
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Army coach Jeff Monken showed no interest in discussing No. 19 LSU's possible weaknesses or trying to come up with reasons why the Black Knights could conceivably stage an upset in Death Valley on Saturday night.
“It will take a monumental effort for us to challenge these guys and have an opportunity to be in the football game,” Monken said, adding that the Tigers are “enormous, they’re fast, they’re violent, they’re skilled.
“This is as talented a team as we’ve ever faced since I’ve been here as the coach,” Monken said. "So, they don’t have an Achilles' heel.”
Monken felt he could speak genuinely about the talent gap between Army (2-4) and LSU (5-2) because he doesn't worry about the psyche of players who enroll at West Point.
“The guys in this locker room are also young men who have made a commitment to serve their country and, frankly, many of them may at some point find themselves in harm’s way,” Monken said. "They’ve got the courage to do that, to take on that job. So, I think this place and the makeup of a West Point cadet probably lends itself to having guys who — they want to be challenged and they want to be put in difficult situations.”
And Monken said his players know this weekend will present one of the most difficult situations they'll ever face on a football field.
“Our guys watch college football all the time. They’re not stupid," Monken said. "Our guys aren’t scared. … It’s a tough opponent, a good opponent and they’re excited for the opportunity.”
Dual-threat LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels leads one of the nation's top offenses and the Tigers are favored by more than four touchdowns, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. But LSU coach Brian Kelly this week emphasized his respect for Army and all the service academies, and suggested his players should feel the same way.
LSU even painted a camouflage design in its end zone to honor Army's first visit to Tiger Stadium.
“The respect and the honor that we have in playing this game, we’re excited about this weekend,” Kelly said.
A DIFFERENT ERA
LSU and Army have played only once previously. That game was at West Point back in 1931, and Army won, 20-0.
Needless to say, times have changed.
“We got guys from the state of Louisiana on our team. Not one of them got offered a scholarship by LSU," Monken said, adding that when Army has defeated major conference teams in recent years, it was because of extraordinary effort and sound fundamentals.
“It’s never because we’re more talented," Monken said. "Our guys have just executed better on those particular days.”
TOUGH CHOICES
LSU is one of just two teams in the top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision — along with Oregon — currently ranked in the top 10 nationally in both rushing and passing.
The Tigers are seventh in passing (337.7 yards per game) and 10th in rushing (214.6). Meanwhile, Daniels, who has rushed for 515 yards this season, leads the nation in total offense with 401.3 yards per game.
When asked how a defense is supposed to scheme against an offense that balanced and prolific, Monken responded, “ don’t know what you do."
GETTING DEFENSIVE
LSU was giving up a lot of yards and points this season until about half way through its victory over Missouri. During the last six quarters, which includes all of a 48-18 victory over Auburn, LSU's defense has given up 32 points. That's a significant improvement over the 70 points allowed during the six quarters before that ( 55 against Ole Miss and 25 in the first half against Mizzou).
"Guys knowing their roles allows 11 guys to play together. We didn’t do a great job of that early on," Kelly said.
Now LSU defenders are “seeing how this all fits together,” Kelly continued. "Not that they didn’t want to do the job, but sometimes they wanted to do somebody else’s job, too.”
Kelly also noted that his defensive staff responded to an epidemic of missed tackles by working on tackling fundamentals for 20 minutes a day.
RECENT SLIDE
Army has dropped three straight since surprisingly knocking off UTSA, 37-29, in mid-September. Since then, the Black Knights have lost to Syracuse, Boston College and Troy.
Against the Trojans last week, Army was shut out at home for the first time in two decades. Turnovers — 13 so far — have plagued Army's offense this year.
Army has fared better defensively, allowing 20.2 points per game, fewer than LSU's average of 25.
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