At a quick glance, LSU and Mississippi State could not be more different.
LSU is the No. 1 team in the BCS rankings and is on the inside track to go to New Orleans for the BCS National Championship game.
The Bulldogs are 5-4, near the bottom of the standings in the Southeastern Conference West division and are in danger of missing a bowl game this season.
But in film study, the teams show similarities, especially in personnel at the quarterback position.
Chris Relf, the likely starter for the game, shows skill as a running quarterback, just like LSU’s Jordan Jefferson. Both teams also have a second option in a pocket passing quarterback, Mississippi State’s Tyler Russell and LSU’s Jarrett Lee.
“It’s pretty much like last week with Jefferson and Lee,” linebacker Nico Johnson said. “Jefferson was more running, and the other was more passing. No. 14 [Relf] is more running. He can pass, but he’ll run more. They’ll run more options with him than they will with the other quarterback.”
The similarities carry on to the box score as well. In the 2010 season, both Relf and Jefferson averaged 3.7 yards per carry. Both quarterbacks also have two rushing touchdowns this year, giving Relf nine and Jefferson 11 for their respective careers.
Relf is not the only one on the team who can wreak havoc carrying the football for the Bulldogs. Running back Vick Ballard has had four 100-rushing yard games so far this season, including one in his last game against Tennessee-Martin and a season high of 166 in the season opener against Memphis.
Even with similar personnel at the quarterback position, defensive coordinator Kirby Smart has the tough task of getting his defense to make a tough game plan adjustment in one week, with the style of offenses between LSU and Mississippi State being so different.
“The game plans are not similar because they have two different styles of offenses,” Johnson said. “LSU is more of a power team, more smash-mouth. Mississippi State, they have the offensive coordinator that used to be at Florida (head coach Dan Mullen), so they love to catch you off balance, to get you out of position. LSU is more downhill.”
This style of offensive attack is done well in Starkville and has caught the attention of Alabama coaching staff.
“No one has been able to put these guys over at Mississippi State away,” head coach Nick Saban said. “They’ve played some tough teams and played well. They play well on defense, they’re physical and they run the ball well.”
This adjustment is difficult, going from a smash-mouth offense to an Urban Meyer-like offense that revolves around the spread, but it is one the Tide is ready to make.
“It’s one thing we have to do if we want to be successful,” Johnson said. “If we want to win, we have to make the transition. That’s one thing we’ve been focused on this week.”
