Tyrann Mathieu is considered a leader of the defense. The spark that sets the gameplan in motion. He's the Nick Fairley of the 2011 season, and he's been a media superstar garnering plenty of attention for the Heisman trophy.
He's single-handedly prevented teams from scoring on LSU's vaunted defense by causing six turnovers. He had a forced fumble against Oregon and a forced fumbled against West Virginia, and both of those forced turnovers were crucial in the momentum for the game. The forced fumble against Oregon was returned by Mathieu for a touchdown, which helped the already successful offense gather more points.
While acting as a leader and a playmaker on defense, he's also the emotional spark that both rallies the LSU defense and agitates the opposing offense. It's no secret that Mathieu runs his mouth on the field. From pregame video of him taunting WVU players to a widely reported tweet calling out a Tennessee receiver, Mathieu knows how to play mind games. His relentless play is the #1 reason why LSU's defense is considered one of if not the best defense in the nation. Without him, that hype is depleted.
Tharold Simon may be the most unknown of the trio, but he's a vital component of LSU's defensive gameplan. He's their only cornerback with significant size standing at 6'3. He's considered a lockdown corner and has accumulated numerous stats that depict his value to the team: 8 passes broken up, 1 quarterback hurry, and 3 tackles for a loss. He also has one interception on the year, which came against Oregon.
The loss of Mathieu is detrimental to LSU's morale. The loss of Simon has altered the entire secondary.
It looks as if Brandon Taylor - a 6'0 200 safety - will move to corner and Craig Loston - banged up, 3 tackles on the year - will start at safety.
Ron Brooks is a senior cornerback that can come in to help, but one has to wonder how much confidence is placed on the veteran when a safety is being moved to fill in for the two suspended corners.
Spencer Ware is being considered the least of their problems, but I'm not sure why. He is their offensive production in games that matter. His stats are comparable to the two backups - both of whom are productive and capable - but his stats are also limited to lack of carries. He carried the ball 6 times for 20 yards against Northwestern St, and he carried the ball 4 times for 5 yards against Kentucky. Both of those games were easy blowouts for LSU, and Ware's legs were saved.
Look at these numbers for Ware in games that matter for LSU:
Oregon - 26 carries for 99 yards
Miss St - 22 carries for 102 yards
WVU - 23 carries for 92 yards
Florida - 24 carries for 109 yards
Tennessee - 23 carries for 80 yards
He gets the start for a reason each game. It's because he is the true workhorse. Anyone that has watched LSU play this year knows that Ware is very similar to Trent Richardson. He breaks tackles. He plows the line of scrimmage. He wears down defenses.
I'm sure being 5'11 230 pounds helps. Alfred Blue and Michael Ford both top out at 215. Speed and shiftiness is their strongsuit. Wearing the defense down - which has been LSU's M.O. - was all on Ware.
That is gone. The easy gameplan for Jarrett Lee to have easy play action passes is gone.
The spark on defense is gone. The tremendous depth at corner is gone. The experience at safety has been desperately shifted to corner.
People keep calling me crazy for thinking Auburn can win. I'm feeling overly confident now. If Auburn can open up the running game and control the clock, I have no doubt that we'll be in this game at the end with a chance to win. We usually fare well in games that we have a chance in. That's one thing I'll always give Gene Chizik.
....this was way more in depth than I had planned on....
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