Auburn Football: 2017 Game-by-game predictions
A lot can change in a year. Someone was getting fired following the result of the LSU and Auburn game on September 24, 2016. With time literally running out, LSU quarterback Danny Etling took the snap, rolled right and found tight end Thaddeus Moss in the right corner of the endzone for what appeared to be the game winning touchdown.
The crowd was stunned. LSU fans cheered, but then the official step onto the field to address the crowd, saying, “After review, the ruling was that the offense did not get the snap off prior to the….” You couldn’t hear the end of the setence, just like you couldn’t hear the conversation that took place later that week removing long time LSU head coach Les Miles of his duties.
Coach Ed Orgeron will be a new face on the other side of the field, but the rosters are still composed of many of the same players. LSU will counter the hard running of Kamryn Pettway with last year’s SEC rushing leader, Derrius Guice.
Guice will find the endzone, at least once. That hardly seems like a bold prediction. But it’s how the LSU passing offense fairs that will determine the outcome of this game. The Tigers haven’t come close to a mediocre passing offense in a long time. They have one top 50 passing offense since 2010. Unless Etling has a Heisman worthy season (spoiler alert – he won’t) the Tigers are going to have a hard time hanging with anyone that can top 20 points.