Blake Baker’s defense has become the backbone of LSU football, and Alabama is walking straight into the part of the field where the Tigers like to make life miserable. Baker, who was retained by Lane Kiffin after the coaching change, has built one of the country’s most aggressive pressure schemes, and the numbers back it up: LSU’s near-50% Pass Blitz Rate ranks seventh in the Power 4.
That style fits Baker’s coaching background. His approach traces to Manny Diaz, and after working under Diaz at Texas, Louisiana Tech, and Miami, Baker has carried over the same taste for pressure instead of sitting back with a passive four-man rush. LSU has leaned into that identity while still protecting itself on the back end.
The Tigers’ structure is a little unusual. They’ve long been a program that can count on strong defensive back play, and that has continued under Baker.
On standard downs, LSU ranked sixth among the Power 4 in Cover 1 usage at 34%, with Cover 3 making up another 35%. The rest came from a mix of split-field looks.
Coverage hasn’t been the issue. The pass rush has.
LSU finished with just 24 sacks, good for 100th in Sack%. So when passing downs arrive, Baker has to manufacture pressure, and he does it well.
The Tigers send five or more rushers on 70% of their blitzes, but they don’t leave the secondary exposed nearly as much as you might expect. Instead of living in man coverage, LSU flips into zone when it brings heat.
On pressure downs, Cover 1 drops to 30%, while Fire Zone coverage jumps to 52%.
There have been some rough spots. LSU has mostly handled weaker opponents, but the Tigers gave up 32 points in a loss to Ole Miss and 35 in a loss to Kentucky.
The Rebels hurt them through the air, while Kentucky found room both passing and running. Still, outside those two games, LSU has been excellent.
The Tigers rank fourth nationally in havoc rate at 22.2%, and they’re second in FPI and fifth in SP+.
The one area that has shown cracks is run defense consistency. LSU creates plenty of tackles for loss, but when the first wave doesn’t get home, the Tigers are vulnerable. They rank 80th in explosive runs allowed, and their rushing EPA per play sits in the bottom half.
That’s the tradeoff with this defense: heavy pressure up front, safer zone coverage behind it, and the chance for an offense to pop a run if it can survive the initial punch.
Up front, LSU’s biggest names are edge rushers Princewill Umanmielen and Jordan Ross, both transfer additions after strong 2025 seasons at Ole Miss and Tennessee. Umanmielen has been one of the best edge rushers in the country this year with 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, while Ross has 5 sacks and 9.5 TFLs. With so much attention outside, true freshman defensive tackle Deuce Geralds has taken advantage inside and already has 5 sacks of his own.
At linebacker, LSU may be without Whit Weeks again. The star inside backer has been out for more than a month, and after the bye week many expected him to return, but he was listed as doubtful on LSU’s injury report yesterday.
In his place, Davhon Keys and TJ Dottery have handled the work. Both are smaller, quicker linebackers, and both logged plenty of SEC snaps a year ago.
The secondary is the one part of the roster that wasn’t built mostly through the transfer portal. DJ Picket, a 6’4” corner and freshman All-American last season, has moved into a full-time starting role and leads the team with 7 pass breakups.
PJ Woodland, a 170-pound corner, starts on the other side after a solid year last season. Tamarcus Cooley is back at safety, while redshirt freshman Jhase Thomas is getting his first real starting run.
At nickel, Ty Benefield brings size and production after earning first team All-MWC honors at Boise State a year ago. The 6’3”, 216-pound hybrid DB is third on the team with 33 tackles.
From Alabama’s side, this is not a comfortable draw for the offense. Keelon Russell has not yet consistently shown he can handle a blitz-heavy defense without leaning on his own ability to escape pressure, and this LSU group looks like one that can make those free rushers count. Alabama’s offense has been able to hit some big runs at times, but it has not consistently done that, and the quick passing game has not really been there either.
If the Tide are going to score, the counter run game may be the best path. That points back to the second half plan from the Kentucky game. The question is whether Alabama has shown enough patience to stick with it since then.
There’s still work to do if the Tide want to look like a team worthy of its No. 5 ranking. Getting Ryan Coleman-Williams, Racin Delgatty, and EJ Crowell back healthy would help, but Alabama also needs more from Russell, Ryan Grubb, and the offense as a whole if it wants to leave with a win.
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Klatt also leaned into LSUs recent momentum at quarterback, noting Sam Leavitts strong play, while the injury situation for both teams adds another layer to a game that already feels like a measuring stick. He went as far as to pick LSU to win, projecting a 30-17 final, which only sharpens the stakes for Alabama as it heads into a matchup where the margin for error looks thin. [Read more 🡒]