Opponent Sideline Q&A (2014 SEC Football Preview)- Patrick Schmidt (LSU Tigers)

During the 2014 preseason to the college football season, Ole Hotty Toddy is prepared to bring Ole Miss fans the ultimate coverage preview to the 2014 season. We will be reaching out to fellow FanSided writers of other SEC schools and writers from other networks and publishers of other SEC schools to give us their in depth look of their team with what we call Opponent Sideline Q&A. Sep 28, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; One of the LSU Tigers cheerleaders shown on the field prior to the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

In today’s Opponent Sideline Q&A, Patrick Schmidt, who is the former editor of FanSided’s LSU Tigers’ site – DeathValleyVoice.com, was nice enough to share with us his take on LSU coming into the 2014 college football season. Patrick is now a lead writer for all of FanSided. Yes, that means he gets paid more than me. You can follow Patrick Schmidt on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt. Below is our sit-down interview with Schmidt about the Tigers in 2014.

Ole Hotty Toddy: Coming into the new NCAA College Football Playoffs this, what do you see are the chances LSU makes the four team bracket?

Patrick Schmidt: LSU will face an uphill battle to get into the College Football Playoff this season. They will be playing a number of underclassmen, including some true freshman in key positions, which makes it difficult to project them as one of the top four teams in the nation. LSU has won 10 games in four straight seasons, which may be in jeopardy this season, and you can’t make it to the playoff if you’re not in place to win 10 games, obviously.

OHT: Who replaces Zach Mettenberger?

PS: Brandon Harris is my pick to replace Mettenberger this year. He is a true freshman who enrolled early and looked much better than true sophomore Anthony Jennings at the LSU spring game in early April. Jennings started the team’s Outback Bowl win vs. Iowa after Mettenberger tore his ACL, but he was largely ineffective and the team essentially won despite him. Harris has special written all over him, His arm talent is superior to Jennings and he’s one of the top quarterbacks to come out of Louisiana in more than a decade. He will have some growing pains as a freshman, but his future is bright and will be the team’s started this year.

OHT: What are the expectations for Leonard Fournette (no. 1 prospect in 2014) his freshman year? How much playing time do you see from him this season?

PS: Expectations are through the roof for Fournette. Regarded as the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson will do that, but Fournette will live up to the hype his first season in Baton Rouge. At 6-1, 225-pounds, Fournette has the size, strength and power to carry the Tiger offense and step in for the departed Jeremy Hill who rushed for 1,400 yards last season. I expect he will be the starter with Terrence Magee continuing to thrive in his reserve role. Fournette should rush for around 1,200 yards behind an offensive line that returns four starters from last season.

OHT: Who is expected to standout the most on both offense and defense for the Tigers this season?

PS: The standouts on offense will be the offensive line. There are a number of future NFL draft picks on that line, but your readers don’t want to read about offensive linemen. So the real standouts will be a trio of freshmen. Harris, Fournette and wide receivers Malachi Dupre. They have LSU set up for a great future at QB/RB/WR, but it’s tough to compete for SEC titles and national championships which is the standard at LSU with three freshmen at vital positions. It’s never happened before and I don’t expect it will happen this season, but I do expect them to get better each week and continue to grow for a title run in 2015-2016.

Defensively, Rashard Robinson and Tre’Davious White are the next great cornerbacks to play for LSU. They may be the top CB duo in the SEC and should end up on some All-SEC teams at the end of the year. They are both sophomores, so they will be around when LSU makes a run at the national title in 2015-2016. Kwon Alexander is the team’s best linebacker and I think he was last season despite the presence of Lamin Barrow and i think this is the breakout season for former top recruit Kendell Beckwith. He cam to LSU without a defined position, but he can be a dominant linebacker or rush-end. Wherever he lines up, he can cause havoc. On the defensive line look for Jermauria Rasco and Danielle Hunter to be household names in SEC country with their ability to get to the quarterback.

OHT: Who are some newcomers to LSU that Ole Miss fans might not be aware of that could make an impact this year?

PS: The offensive newcomers I mentioned above in Harris, Fournette and Dupre are the headliners to LSU’s No. 2 ranked class last year, but I also like receiver Trey Quinn who broke Dorial Green-Beckham’s high school receiving yards record and could be a player who thrives as a possession receiver to complement the 6-3 Dupre. Defensively, a player I think will see some playing time is linebacker Clifton Garrett who can play on the inside or outside.

OHT: That Ole Miss and LSU game seemed to be a real upsetter for LSU fans in 2013. Could Ole Miss pull off an upset in Death Valley this year? Or can Rebel fans keep dreaming?

PS: Certainly, Ole Miss knows they can beat LSU so you can’t discount that confidence heading into this year’s contest. Having said that, playing in Tiger Stadium is as tough of a challenge as there is for road teams in college football. I am high on Ole Miss this year and I have been on record dating back to the spring of 2013 that Ole Miss can be a real sleeper for the division title this year. Now that was before the emergence of Auburn, but my rationale was the lack of experienced quarterbacks in the division and the fact Bo Wallace is the most experienced quarterback in the entire SEC. Couple that with big contributions from the marquee members of the 2013 class in Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell and Tony Conner to the rest of the roster and the Rebels will put the conference heavyweights on upset alert each week. I am not making a formal prediction, but it won’t be shocking to see Ole Miss beat LSU a second year in a row. Hugh Freeze’s teams have played LSU extremely well.

OHT: Was it you who broke the magnolia off our trophy?

PS: I think it was Obama.