Louisiana 2015 – 2016 College And NFL Football Season Previews
In the Cajun country of Louisiana, five college football teams make up a good portion of the interest on Saturday afternoons and evenings and give Louisiana sports betting enthusiasts something to sweat every weekend. In reality, though, LSU provides much of the focus, with the quartet of Tulane, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette making up the small portion that remains. On the professional level, the Saints are one year away from starting their 50th season in the Big Easy, and have taken fans to incredible highs and deep lows during that span.
Lafayette and Monroe are part of the Sun Belt Conference, while Tulane is situated in the American Athletic Conference and Louisiana Tech has a spot in Conference USA. Each of these teams tends to find itself in a nearby bowl game, if they reach the postseason at all.
Lafayette has run off four straight nine-win seasons, while Tech has a chance to win its division for the second year in a row, but have to play its toughest games on the road. Meanwhile, Monroe seems destined for a season that hovers around the .500 mark and Tulane is hoping for that as well after suffering through a 3-9 campaign in 2014.
LSU Tigers 2015 Football Season Preview
One indication of just how tough life in the SEC can be can be seen in the fact that the LSU Tigers are considered to again have enough firepower to finish anywhere from 10-20 in the final college polls—yet still finish fourth in their division. Head coach Les Miles needs to get every bit of talent out of his team in order to challenge for even higher ground, but questions at quarterback and a new defensive coordinator might short-circuit that need.
Behind center, either Brandon Harris or Anthony Jennings will call the signals. Jennings has the maturity to handle the job, but Harris has more talent and potential. At running back, Leonard Fournette came in as one of the top recruits in the country, but has yet to show his skills. The Tigers are hoping that changes, especially given all the work that Fournette put in over the past year to build up strength.
Regardless of whether Harris or Jennings gets the quarterback job, tapping the potential of the receivers is a necessity. Two in particular to watch will be Travin Dural and Malachi Dupre, with the latter having injury issues that have held him back.
The offensive line will miss La’el Collins, but still has enough talent to protect the passer and open up plenty of holes along the way. On defense, the big question mark is on the line, where musical chairs was the method of operation in 2014, but with new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, some quality ends should work well with the 3-4 defense.
Kendell Beckwith leads the linebacking unit after a strong freshman campaign, and should get even better for the 2015 college football season. Finally, the always fertile area of the secondary has talent all around, with Tre’Davious White the leader of this group. Meanwhile, Jalen Mills and Jamal Adams make two of the best safeties in the country.
New Orleans Saints 2015 Football Season Preview
A mediocre year in a bad division was almost good enough to reach the 2014 NFL playoffs, but at 7-9, the Saints are looking to improve on that mark in 2015. They still have Drew Brees at quarterback, which means plenty of offense is on the way, though the team may start to groom rook Garrett Grayson for when Brees decides to move on.
The combination of Mark Ingram and newcomer C.J. Spiller is an intriguing blend of speed and power, with Erik Lorig set to offer help at fullback. The receiving area took a huge hit with the departure of Jimmy Graham, but they still have Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks. However, there’s only raw talent after that.
The offensive line should be much improved with the addition of Max Unger at center, rookie Andrus Peat at tackle or guard, and returning All-Pro guard Jahri Evans. On defense, New Orleans is strong on the ends up front, but at linebacker, the shaky status of Junior Galette might affect how the overall unit does. The secondary is talented with Jarius Byrd and Kenny Vaccaro at safety and incoming free agent Brandon Browner set to start at one of the corners.