One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, five Mississippi, six Mississippi.
Six seconds is all it takes for Oregon to run a play, reset its offense and run another one. The Ducks’ offense, which ran 78.3 plays per game in 2010, has grown to national prominence for its up-tempo style, which poses a special threat for the LSU defense.
“They put a pressure of the next snap on you,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “I think we’ve progressed as best we can and continue to do so this week. It’s a great challenge in the speed of the game as well as the tempo of the game.”
Miles exhausted every resource in finding ways to prepare for Oregon’s breakneck speed. The coaching staff studied Auburn’s performance against Oregon in last season’s national championship game, met with other coaches familiar with the Ducks’ offensive style and used freshmen Jerrard Randall and Jakhari Gore in practice to emulate Oregon’s offensive weapons, junior running back LaMichael James and junior quarterback Darron Thomas.
“Jakhari Gore is LaMichael James,” Miles said. “He does a great job in terms of making those cuts and running some of those plays. Jerrard Randall has a Darron Thomas feel to him. We ran some live plays to push our defense and he’s very elusive. They’ll give our defense a great look at what Oregon will bring.”
Senior linebacker Ryan Baker said he’s comfortable facing a fast-paced offense and added that Texas A&M, who LSU defeated in the Cotton Bowl, had a similar offensive style.
“It really starts with their tempo,” Baker said. “Their tempo was very fast and at times they’d try and catch us on our heels. Guys just really gathered themselves and once the game slowed down for us, everything was fine.”
Baker said facing Oregon also requires players both on and off the field to maintain focus.
Defensive coordinator John Chavis enjoys using a rotation in his defense and regularly substitutes players to keep his team fresh. But the short period of time between Oregon’s plays makes that difficult, forcing the Tigers to place an added emphasis on substitutions during practice.
“Whenever they sub we have to get our guys in there,” said sophomore defensive end Barkevious Mingo. “We’re hoping they sub frequently, so we can keep bodies rolling in, keep everybody fresh and get new players on the field.”
With fewer opportunities to sub in fresh players, LSU defenders must also enter the game in peak physical form. Sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu said strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt increased the intensity of his fitness program in the spring with a focus on explosion, speed and change of direction.
The entire team also received some extra conditioning over the last week as a punishment following the Shady’s bar fight. Miles said his team accepted the discipline and he cut off the running to avoid tiring out the team.
“We don’t want to run them into the ground,” Miles said. “There’s a point in time where that’s enough. Now let’s just put our feet on the ground and go forward.”