LSU must succeed in two critical areas to beat Arkansas in Week 12

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LSU football is in the midst of one of its worst streaks in years, having lost four of its last five games. All hopes of reaching the postseason are gone, and the rest of this season is about pride, development, and recruiting.

The first step in finding success in those areas is beating this week’s opponent, Arkansas. This upcoming matchup presents a prime opportunity to secure a much-needed victory.

Arkansas is firmly at the bottom of the SEC standings this season, as they have yet to win an in-conference matchup. However, they’ll still present a serious challenge for LSU, as their offense has been one of the highest-scoring units in the country, averaging 35.4 points per game. Given LSU’s struggles to put points on the board this season, Arkansas could prove to be more of a test than many expect.

If LSU ends up in a shootout, it could spell trouble.

Here are two areas where the Tigers need to thrive to take down the Razorbacks.

Be Efficient On The Ground

LSU’s offense has been one of the worst units in college football this season. They rank 99th in the FBS in points per play and 104th in red zone scoring rate, per TeamRankings. There are issues throughout the offense, but the primary reason for this is the poor performance of the offensive line.

According to PFSN, LSU’s offensive line ranks third-worst in the SEC this season, with the 16th-ranked run-blocking grade and the 13th-ranked pass-blocking grade in the conference.

For the Tigers’ offense to open up, the run game needs to improve first and foremost. That could happen this week.

LSU’s offensive line has undergone some shuffling. Freshman left tackle Carius Curne has taken over for Tyree Adams, who was injured in the Tigers’ contest against Vanderbilt in Week 8. Curne is young and has made mistakes, but he has shown improvement so far.

On the other side is a competition between redshirt freshman right tackle Ory Williams and Weston Davis, the latter of whom holds PFF’s second-lowest blocking grade in the SEC. Williams replaced Davis against Alabama, and although he didn’t perform exceptionally well, there’s hope he will be an improvement over his predecessor if he gets the start.

The Razorbacks have been one of the most porous rushing defenses in football this season, allowing 184.1 rushing yards per game. That’s the second-highest mark among Power Four teams, per ESPN.

If the Tigers can get the ground game going on Saturday, the offense has the chance to look like an entirely new unit.

Keep Taylen Green Contained

Blake Baker has done an outstanding job coaching the Tiger defense this season, limiting opponents to 19 points per game. That being said, his defense has consistently had one glaring flaw: it cannot seem to stop dual-threat quarterbacks. LSU has faced four true dual-threat SEC quarterbacks this season, and in those outings, they’ve allowed an average of 28.5 points per game.

Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green might be the most dangerous runner of any quarterback LSU has faced all season. He’s led the Razorback offense to an average of 484.4 total yards per game this season, ranking eighth in the nation. He also has PFF’s top-ranked non-running back rushing grade in the country at 92.6.

If the Tigers can’t find a way to keep Green in the pocket, they could find themselves in a shootout. And based on how the offense has looked all season, a shootout is the last place LSU needs to be.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football needs these two things to happen to beat Arkansas

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