Behind Enemy Lines with LSU Wire’s Tyler Nettuno
Welcome to our first edition of ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ of the 2023 season. We here at Razorbacks Wire swapped questions with LSU Wire’s Tyler Nettuno earlier this week.
The LSU Tigers are 2-1 with dominant victories over Grambling State and Mississippi State following a Labor Day weekend defeat at the hands of No. 4 Florida State, 45-24.
Arkansas comes into this game following a 38-31 setback at the hands of new Big 12 opponent BYU.
Saturday night’s game will take place in Baton Rouge at 6 p.m. and be broadcast nationally on ESPN with the ‘A’ team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit.
The teams have split the last two meetings and the last three games have all been decided by a field goal.
1. How good is this LSU team? Are they as good as they looked Saturday in Starkville, or should things be tempered on them a bit?
Nettuno: I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle between the Week 1 performance against Florida State and Saturday’s in the win over Mississippi State. As far as what you can expect the rest of the way, however, I lean more toward the latter. This is an experienced team, but it also has a lot of transfers that will take time to gel together. I think you’re seeing that improvement now.
2. Jayden Daniels, how has he improved? Will he be the difference in this game? Arkansas held him in check pretty well in last year's meeting.
Nettuno: I would say the biggest improvement has come in terms of his poise and willingness to throw the ball downfield. That took time to develop last season, but he’s really done a nice job of picking up where he left off in that regard, and he has a lot of explosive potential. Last year’s game was a cold-weather morning kick, which I think could explain some of the sluggishness. I expect a stronger performance at home in a night game.
3. Arkansas is coming off a loss, and hasn't looked very good through three games. Do you think LSU might overlook them and be looking ahead to the Magnolia Bowl next week?
Nettuno: It’s possible, but with this being a rivalry game paired with how tight this game was last year, I kind of doubt it. KJ Jefferson didn’t play last year, and I’m sure this coaching staff recognizes that this will be a different kind of test defensively than that game was.
4. LSU is a 17.5 or 18 point betting favorite at most sportsbooks. Do you think this is a fair line?
Nettuno: At first, it struck me as a bit high, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense given that this game is in Baton Rouge and the teams seem to be trending in opposite directions. As we’ll get to with my score prediction, I think this line is actually pretty spot-on.
5. Score prediction?
Nettuno: I have LSU winning 35-17.
