By some miraculous act of God, Christian Boutwell, sports editor of LSU’s Daily Reveille, was able to get a phone to work in the Bayou and have a conversation with me about the Tigers' upcoming bout against UW. Jokes aside, I was able to pick Christian’s brain about LSU and got some fantastic insight about the Tigers and their clash with the Badgers. From Leonard Fournette to the Lambeau Leap, from Dave Aranda to the SEC-B10 rivalry, Christian hit it all.
Bobby Ehrlich: How serious is the injury to Fournette?
Christian Boutwell: He’s completely fine. He talked the other day and said he’s completely fine. When he got hurt, they stopped music at practice and people stopped talking. But he got in a boot right away to keep it straight. He’ll be completely fine come Saturday.
BE: How do the LSU guys feel about new defensive coordinator Dave Aranda?
CB: You look at game tape from last year and sometimes Vince Biegel looked faster than lightning because he could shoot through those gaps. Aranda kept the offensive lineman busy. I think LSU’s linebackers are excited about it. We haven’t seen [that type of defense] in a little bit.
BE: How has LSU prepared defensively for Wisconsin?
CB: Tre’Davious White was talking yesterday about how [Wisconsin] will spread it around. But, their primary goal is to shut down the run game. They want to stop the “ground and pound.” They also focused on getting off the field on third and long.
BE: How do LSU’s players feel about coming up to Wisconsin and playing at Lambeau? Are they excited about that?
CB: Oh, yeah. Tre’Davious White, one of LSU’s cornerbacks, said the farthest north he’s ever been was Arkansas before LSU played at Syracuse last season. A lot of guys are excited. Some of them have said if they score they’re going to do the ‘Lambeau Leap.’ I know Tre’ did. Some players though said they wouldn’t do it so they won’t get a penalty or a punishment from Les. I’ve seen some say Lambeau is the NFL version of Tiger Stadium. Clearly, they’re excited about that.”
BE: You mentioned the coaching staff saying if LSU’s players ‘Lambeau leaped’ that they would get in trouble?
CB: Yeah, I think Les may have given the guys an in-house punishment if they did it. Supposedly, to some of them, it’s not too bad and they’ll disobey it. The freshmen, maybe not. I think it’s a dream of every football player to do that, though. If it’s a senior and he picks one off and takes it back, you can expect them to do it. This is the only time they’ll be at Lambeau Field in college.
BE: Big Ten teams have this quasi-rivalry with SEC teams because I think they have a little bit of a little brother complex. The SEC always gets put on a pedestal and everyone always talks about how much better the SEC is than the Big Ten, football-wise. How do SEC teams feel about Big Ten teams?
CB: Behind closed doors they think they can beat them all. I think they expect to win. A lot of these Big Ten teams are just big and will try and knock you around a little bit.
BE: So, do you think LSU is coming into this looking at Wisconsin as a little guy? For Wisconsin, this is a huge game, is that not the case for LSU?
CB: LSU got punched in the mouth two years ago. I think that was a little eye-opening for them. I think this year, especially with having a defensive coordinator like Aranda, I think they’re a little more prepared and they’re ready for a punch. I think they know schemes too. I don’t think they look at them as a little guy. I think LSU is trying to get that first punch.
BE: Like Wisconsin, LSU has struggled with QBs in the past. The Tigers have had a fantastic run game and defense, like the Badgers, but a less-than-stellar QB. Is that going to continue again this year?
CB: Brandon Harris is a third-year starter. Our offensive coordinator has delegated some offensive control to his position guys. Dameyune Craig is the new wide receivers coach and he was a quarterback at Auburn. He’s been really communicating between Brandon and the wide receivers. It’s been little technical football things that now Brandon knows. The wide receivers are giant and they are athletic guys. Between communication and having giant wide receivers, Brandon has all the tools to go out and have a great year. He’s just gotta go out and do it.
BE: Do you have a prediction?
CB: I think it will be a tight first half. Maybe 17-7 at halftime. Then 34-17, 34-14 by the end. Leonard Fournette is too much. The line is giant guys. I think 34-17.
