Last week, the Lion defense can be described as playing with one word…..inspired. For 2 1/2 quarters, the Lion Defense kept San Diego State out of the end zone and it looked like the Aztec rushing attack, which had been highly rated was going to be grounded. Then, the things that had haunted the Lion defense last year came back. Injuries, lack of depth, hydration issues, conditioning, and the San Diego State offense came roaring back and scored on two explosive plays, two turnovers (not the defense’s fault) and really, the Aztecs only had 2 long scoring drives in addition to a field goal. The Lion defense was a lot better than the score indicates, despite everything.

This week, the Lions face a tough set of playmakers from the UC-Davis Aggies that they faced last year, led by all Big Sky Quarterback Miles Hastings and Another Big Sky Standout in Running Back Lan Larison. Last season, both of these guys just tore our defense apart as Hastings threw for 251 yards and a touchdown, while Larison ran for 109 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Aggie defense racked up 31 first downs and over 500 yards of offense against the Lions, with over 200 coming through the ground. Both Larison and Hastings showed once again in their season opening loss to California-Berkely how they are still effective at least individually. Cal did pick Hastings off three times and did not allow any passing touchdowns, but Hastings still kept slugging away. He completed 24 passes for 9.2 yards per completion, so when he hit his target, he made it count, but he had 3 misfires against a so-so Cal defense. So, what is a Lion to do?

First, I think you can bet Hastings is going to attack, so having a 4-2-5 nickel and dime package and throwing different look at Hastings will try to make him uncomfortable. The Lion secondary was not exactly bad last year, but they were not as good as they are this year. Improvement is certainly noticeable in that area, but also the Lions need to use their athleticism to make Larison’s life as difficult as possible because those two guys are the drive shaft of the Aggie offense. You probably won’t shut down either one totally, but if you can do what the Lions did last year to Zack Calzada and put him on his duff just enough to put some fear in him and drop Larison like they did Marquez Cooper for the first half, this one could really be interesting because UC-Davis does not have the depth that SDSU had, and it is time to start playing “make the other team turn the ball over” because that will totally deflate any offense. Last year was last year and this is this year.

In order to have a prayer, the Lions cannot allow Hastings to have all day to throw and let the UC-Davis receivers run wild, and they absolutely cannot allow Lan Larison to run all over the field. It is going to be about going on offense while playing defense, which means pressure on both of those guys. That means you Kendall Paul, Max Epps, and Jordan Rios, and on the D-Line, Clifford Funderburk and Leon Young, time to plug that middle and force Larison to run for his life, and Hastings while you are at it.