Brian Kelly admits Brock Bowers is 'not a great matchup'

LSU gets its turn against the defending champs this coming weekend as the Tigers and Bulldogs meet in Atlanta for the SEC title. At the top of the priority list on the defensive side of the ball is stopping Georgia’s tight ends. Specifically, stopping mammoth sophomore pass catcher Brock Bowers, who has ripped apart every defense in the SEC East already.

Bowers is already up to 645 receiving yards and five touchdowns through the regular season, and has also ran in three scores as well, with one being a 75-yard house call on a TE reverse. How can coaches even try to stop him?

“Hope they don’t throw it to him,” joked LSU head coach Brian Kelly when asked about his plan to slow down Bowers. Seriously, that may be the best option, because he’s such a tough athlete to guard, per Kelly.

“Yeah, I mean, look, sometimes we break this game down to one player against another one. You’re hoping that in some situations that your zone coverage, where you have somebody underneath them over the top. Because really, I mean, if you look at it, if it’s just a one-on-one situation, he’s a pretty unique athlete. And that he can line up and has lined up at wide receiver, that’s not a great matchup for anybody.”

The Tigers just need to stick to the game plan and execute their coverages. But even if they do, Bowers is such a special player than he’ll be able to make a few plays regardless of the defense.

“So, you know, you’ve got to take some of those things away. You’ve got to be able to help with underneath coverage over the top. Sometimes, there’s bracket situations where you’ve got a corner with an inside linebacker and a safety and that triangle kind of takes away throwing lanes. Because if it’s just as simple as one guy versus one guy, that’s not a favorable situation. But you may get that sometimes.”

Brian Kelly finished by reiterating his earlier strategy: hope. Hope the throws are off and the quarterback is sacked before he can even let them go.

“And you’re hoping the pass rush gets there. You’re hoping that Stetson [Bennett] can’t find him, you know, things of that nature, because it is a match-up issue.”