Pound the ball with Trent and Lacy up the middle. They've struggled with taking down big guys with a head of steam. They remind me of the 2009 Texas defense. Remember they had a vaunted secondary and led the nation in non-offensive TDs (special teams included). But they were too small upfront to take our quick strikes up the middle to Ingram, Richardson, and Upchurch. We took advantage of that; against LSU, we didn't.
Don't ask AJ to handle those long-developing passing plays all the time. They're not his forte and IMO it hurt his confidence. Not having success early on will make you less likely to have success down the road. Run the plays that our players are best at executing to get their confidence up early. Lack of success early on can really kill the fire of a team.
On defense, we just gotta do what we do baby. Lee threw two consecutive INTs against us. Jefferson didn't because he didn't pass much. Our secondary handled their excellent receivers very well. They won't be able to run against us, I don't think the option will have success, JJ will have to air it out some.
Here's a question...do we kick field goals, or do we punt the ball when inside the 35? If we punt it, Honey Badger gets it, and he's completely upped his game since the last time we played him. He's been great all season but he's hitting his stride right now.
Miles has gotten much better as a coach since 2007. Last year when he was so excited after beating Bama, I had a feeling he was coming into his own. He called a timeout before halftime to kick the field goal. He even got the attention of the ref beforehand to tell him look for me when the play is over I'm going to be calling a timeout. That should tell you that this ain't your daddy's Les Miles. He's come a long way.