LSU football schedule: The 1 potential trap game facing Tigers
By John Buhler
The 2021 LSU football team could slip up big time well before Halloween.
If Ed Orgeron wants to keep his job, his LSU football team needs to be better than a .500 team.
As much as it may pain the Bayou Bengals, 2019 was 2019. While LSU is not expected to go a perfect 15-0 en route to a national title in 2021, they cannot play like they did a season ago.
Though LSU is not favored to win the SEC East in 2021, the Tigers have the talent to finish in second place and get back to a New Year’s Six bowl. But first, they must avoid the trap game.
LSU football’s potential trap game for the 2021 college season
When looking at the LSU schedule, the Tigers do open the year on the road at the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl. While it is a good Week 1 matchup, there is no way LSU overlooks UCLA to begin the season. Their three other non-conference games are home dates vs. the McNeese Cowboys, the Central Michigan Chippewas and the ULM Warhawks. Then, they have their eight SEC games.
Assuming a Pasadena victory over UCLA to begin the season, LSU should go 3-0 before commencing SEC play. While their SEC opener is on the road at Mississippi State, they are not going to overlook the Bulldogs. The same principle absolutely applies when the Tigers have their SEC home opener at Death Valley vs. Auburn. Two wins there get LSU to a cool 5-0 on the year.
However, this is when the trap game concept will be applied. LSU could be overconfident heading into the Tigers’ Oct. 9 road date at the Kentucky Wildcats. This game is sandwiched between the Auburn home date and the cross-divisional rivalry game with Florida. LSU may begin to buy into the hype after possibly handling a rebuilding Auburn team under new head coach Bryan Harsin.
This is where LSU could get its heart ripped out. Kentucky will likely be a middle-of-the-pack SEC East team along with Missouri. Though not quite good enough to beat Florida or Georgia in divisional play, Kentucky could play the home dog card to its advantage to stun the visiting Tigers. If this game is to be played in primetime, then it could be an extra special night for Big Blue Nation.
If LSU wants to overlook Kentucky heading into their 2021 matchup, it would be a huge mistake.
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