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NOT TURN THE BALL OVER!!! Not terribly insightful here, but anyone who thinks this isn't the most important issue for this game is crazy. LSU has done very well with 7 interceptions to only 1 pick thrown and a +7 overall turnover ratio. Georgia, on the other hand is, a well-documented, -9 in turnover ratio. LSU hasn't exactly looked like world-beaters this season, but we'll make them look like they've earned a #4 ranking if we lose the turnover battle. Joe Cox MUST get the ball in AJ Green's hands, but at the same time, he MUST not force the ball into double and triple coverage. For as well as Cox has played since the first game, he absolutely cannot throw it to a Tiger.
stop Charles Scott. Scott has not impressed this season, being LSU's 2nd leading rusher with only 179 yards and no touchdowns. However, last season he hadn't looked too sharp until he torched Georgia for 144 yards and 2 scores. He looked like a star in the making against Georgia, running over, around and through UGA defenders in 2008. Our interior line and linebackers MUST bottle up Scott and force Jefferson/Shepard to be the hero. Neither of those guys are polished passers, so the ends need to contain and our dbs need to be ball-hawks. If Scott tops the century mark, LSU wins.
get the ball in Caleb King's hands 20+ times. Yes, Foltz, I said it. King is clearly the best option at tailback. He is obviously the better pure runner, and he appears to have a good enough grasp on protection schemes to be the primary option at tailback. Samuel certainly needs to get his touches, but we need a running back to find his groove and force the defense to focus on stopping the ground game. The O-line needs to put it together this week and give King some lanes. I think King needs to top 80 yards on the ground and catch at least 2 screens (with another couple screen calls to Samuel/Thomas/Chapas). We need that type of production to keep an aggressive, ball-hawking defense honest.
Well, there are 3 keys that I could come up with just off the top of my head. Obviously, penalties and special teams (especially kick coverage) will play a vital role as well, but the 3 above I feel like are the most pivotal issues. Being an unwavering UGA fan, my call is 31-20 Georgia. A late field goal puts it out of reach and the UGA defense keeps LSU out of the end zone in the final minutes.