LSU football score prediction vs. Arkansas: Scouting report on SEC home opener

BATON ROUGE — LSU football will have another challenging SEC matchup this weekend, as the Tigers host Arkansas in Tiger Stadium on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).

Coach Brian Kelly and the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 SEC) head back home after taking down Mississippi State in Starkville in dominant fashion last Saturday, 41-14.

Arkansas (2-1) fell to BYU at home last weekend, 38-31.

Here's our scouting report and score prediction for Saturday's matchup between No. 13 LSU and Arkansas.

Make KJ Jefferson, Arkansas' offensive line uncomfortable

Arkansas put up 31 points last week but it was not a pretty performance for its offense, especially from its offensive line.

The Razorbacks' offensive line committed six penalties, including four in the fourth quarter as they were trying to claw back from a seven-point deficit. Quarterback KJ Jefferson was sacked four times and pressured 11 times on the night, according to Pro Football Focus.

LSU has the talent and depth up front to disrupt Jefferson and attack the Razorbacks' offensive line in waves. Harold Perkins, Maason Smith and company will have to play up to their potential — as they did last week — in order to slow down Jefferson, whose size and arm strength make him one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.

LSU's offense must continue to make big plays

Despite consistently pressuring BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis and shutting down the Cougars' run game, Arkansas' defense allowed too many big plays on Saturday.

The Razorbacks surrendered three touchdowns that went at least 20 yards, allowing an average of 14.6 yards a completion while playing a lot of press-man coverage.

Coincidentally, LSU also saw a lot of press-man coverage last week against Mississippi State. It resulted in Jayden Daniels having arguably the best performance of his career, completing five throws of more than 25 yards and connecting on 30 of his 34 pass attempts against Mississippi State.

If Arkansas continues to be aggressive in coverage and Daniels plays like he did last week, LSU will put a lot of points on the board against the Razorbacks.

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Player to watch: Luke Hasz

Hasz, a freshman tight end, has quickly become a go-to target for Jefferson this season.

At 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds, Hasz was a four-star prospect and the No. 3 recruit in Oklahoma, according to 247Sports Composite, before signing with the Razorbacks. He's played more than 35 snaps in Arkansas' first three games and had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown last week against BYU.

How LSU plans to combat his presence up the seam will be something to watch.

Score prediction: LSU 38, Arkansas 21

LSU builds off its explosive performance against Mississippi State by exposing Arkansas' suspect secondary with more big plays. Jefferson keeps Arkansas within striking distance but his performance isn't enough to put LSU in any real danger.

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Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football score prediction vs. Arkansas, scouting report