3. What will Leonard Fournette do for an encore against Syracuse?
In just two games, Fournette has quickly established himself as the man to beat for the 2015 Heisman Trophy. Last weekend against Auburn, the running back romped for 228 yards on 19 carries (12 yards per carry) and scored three times on the ground.
The numbers are impressive enough, but the way Fournette was able to achieve them is what blew everybody away. He literally ran through many of Auburn’s defenders on his way to a career day at home in front of the adoring crowd in Death Valley.
Coach Ed Orgeron said of his star running back afterwards, “That was the most dominant performance of any college player I’ve seen in my 30 years coaching. It was unbelievable,” via CampusRush.com.
Up next for LSU (No. 8) is undefeated Syracuse. The Orange features one of the top run defenses in the nation, allowing just 46.7 yards per game and two rushing touchdowns in three games. To be fair, this team hasn’t faced a punishing offense like the one they’ll see this weekend, so it’s hard to imagine this level of success against the run will continue.
This is a battle of strength vs. strength. Based on the way Fournette and the rest of LSU’s running backs made minced meat out of Auburn’s defense, however, we’re giving the Tigers a slight (ok, maybe it’s more along the gargantuan side) edge in this one.
This nationally televised game can be viewed on ESPN beginning at 12 p.m. ET.