LSU wins 24-19 against Johnny Football. Here is the complete game. This text
Showing posts with label LSU defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LSU defense. Show all posts
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, November 21, 2011
LSU DESTROYS Ole Miss 52-7
The Tigers (11-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) matched their best start since 1958, the days of Billy Cannon. It was the worst whipping Ole Miss has recieved since a 49-0 shellacking from Georgia in 1974.
Jefferson started his second consecutive game, going a perfect 7 of 7 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. That was all the Tigers needed after building a 35-3 lead at halftime. Alfred Blue, the Tigers No. 3 running back, powered the Tigers with 74 rushing yards. Spencer Ware added 70 yards and a touchdown.
Ole Miss (2-9, 0-7) has lost six straight games and a school-record 13 straight conference games. Barry Brunetti rushed for a team-high 74 yards as the Rebels managed just 195 total yards.
"It's unfortunate to have a coach (Houston Nutt) end a home stand in a fashion like today," LSU coach Les Miles said in the wake of the news that Nutt would be fired at season's end. "That being said, we look forward to our future. It's something that we're really pointed to. It's a short week, but we're looking forward to taking on a very talented Arkansas team (next weekend)."
Sunday, September 04, 2011
LSU romps over Oregon 40-27
But it was the Tigers that looked like the champs last night, running away from Oregon with a score of 40-27.
With the fate of their quarterback Jordan Jefferson hanging in the balance, the Tigers took it to the Ducks.
"I asked them to put to the perimeter all the things that could be considered distractions," LSU coach Les Miles said. "I enjoyed Jarrett Lee's gutty effort. I liked how the offense did the things they needed to do."
Oregon's much-touted De'Anthony Thomas fumbled on consecutive possessions in the third quarter, leading to 14 points for the Tigers.
"Those are self-inflicted wounds," coach Chip Kelly said. "The drops, the turnovers and the penalties are the things that really killed us. Against a team like that, you're not going to win the game."
Jarrett Lee won the game for the Tigers, a quarterback that the Tiger faithful haven't seen start under center since 2009 against Louisiana Tech. But he was sharp.
"We've had a lot on our minds as team coming into this game," Lee said. "It's not something that we wanted to happen. But you have to put that to the side and move forward."
Next up for the Tigers, Norwestern State.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
IT'S AUBURN WEEK: Can the Bayou Bengals Corral Cam Newton?
I mean, it's tiger vs. tiger for goodness sakes. Auburn is one of those rivalries where you really do hope the other team does well when they don't play each other. LSU fans never want to play a weak or sad Auburn team, and I'm sure real Auburn fans feel the same way about LSU.
This year both come into the contest undefeated with Auburn coming off a 63-point outburst. Luckily their defense can give up as many.
Auburn's coach sees it another way.
"Defensively, I keep using the word resilient," Tigers coach Gene Chizik said in a recent interview. "Here's what I like about our defense: They keep fighting. They're into the game.
When these two squads are at their best and loaded with talent, there is nary a college football game in the land that can boast two fine war machines so often in the middle of the season.
The memorable finishes have been plenty, and this year promises to be just as good.
Of late LSU, or should I say Les Miles, has owned Auburn winning 4 out of 5 matchups. The one he lost? A 7-3 debacle ruined by bad officiating, but I digress.
For the record, Cam Newton looks even scarier than Tim Tebow did three years ago. Of course, we won that one.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Can LSU's offense beat Tennessee?
Well, the 3-1 Vols aren't exactly licking their chops.
Last week, the Volunteers gave up 429 yards to a UAB quarterback and receivers that flew around like meteors. Tennessee still won, but barely.
LSU will not pass for 400-some yards.
LSU will not pass for 300 yards.
LSU is averaging 110 yards, dead last in the SEC.
"Offensively nobody is satisfied in our building," said Miles said recently.
As the fans' discontentment grows to the point of being disillusioned, Miles continues to put a happy face on the offense, I mean, they're 4-0, right?
"Our running backs are coming to life and our line understands the commitment to running the ball," Miles said. "If that characteristic maintains itself over time, we will be a very good offense."
But that "will be" may take a while.
Tennessee, for its part, can't keep its quarterback upright. Matt Simms was downed something like six times against UAB. He's been sacked 14 times in three games and as a result he's said he's kind of "mastered" it. Wow.
But Tiger Stadium is a terribly difficult place to play -- for both teams, it seems.
And Jordan Jefferson has not shown the gumption to play gutsy, confident football yet.
So, the Drave Nevis, the defensive line, and Patrick "Heisman" Peterson will need to score six or so.
Let's hope so, because LSU's offense won't put much points on the board.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
5 Reasons Why LSU's Barely Beat Miss St. 30-26
Whew. Talk about nail-biters.
LSU's 30-26 win against Mississippi State last week probably looked worse on paper than it did in person.
I was there.
LSU had some key mistakes in the game, but somehow, someway it all still looks highly correctable. Here are 5 reasons why they barely beat Mississippi State.
It was raining cats and dogs before the game
Let it be known: The field conditions weren't an excuse for how LSU played; Mississippi State obviously played in the same conditions, but it was soggy and wet as marshland out there during the game. Why? Because there was somewhat of a torrential downpour before the game (as it's been all week throughout the South). The ball, although wiped off, wiped down and wiped clean continually, was still wet as a bar of soap. The Bulldogs mostly did handoffs and laterals, so they weren't as affected. LSU on the other hand had to curtail some things as a result. You saw the consequences. Again, not an excuse, but just a reason.
2. LSU's Running Game is So Last Year
Senior Charles Scott has seen bigger holes in donuts than he's seen in his offensive line this year. It's not just Scott either. Kieland Williams and track star Trindon Holliday won't be seeing daylight this year with the line not performing. So what's the matter you say? Nothing, except that the Tigers are missing the biggest baby ever born in the state of Louisiana, Herman Johnson.
3. Jordan Jefferson's Role has Changed When Jefferson won the starting signal caller role this spring he was basically going to be a game "manager" who picked his spots and basically watched the running game amass untold yardage and touchdowns. But now that the groundgame has been, well, grounded, Jefferson is actually being asked to, well, win games. That takes talent but it takes moreso leadership, something the sophomore hasn't acquired yet. Will he get it this year? Time will tell.
4. 3rd and Chavis Okay, you know i had to touch upon the defense. To be truthful, no way LSU is 4-0 without their defense, which won at least 2 games single-handedly. The rap on Chavis is that when he was at U-T he wouldn't adjust until way after halftime, sometime between the after-game showers and the drive home. And he seemed genuinely stumped when it came to the Florida games. Mississippi State runs a version of, you guessed it, Florida's offense. Chavis was genuinely stumped ... for a while, but evidently he settled down and adjusted (or did Chad Jones just ignore his assignments and single-handedly and instinctly react in the heat of the moment to win the game?) I'll take the former for 300, Alex.
5. Mississippi State is kinda good? Yeah, Miss. State is darn decent. They will beat a top 10 team this year, and I'm just glad it's not the Tigers ... this year. It's the SEC, baby, anything can happen. Give it time, and it will. Watch.
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Sunday, March 08, 2009
Les Miles: Starting Lineup up for Grabs
LSU football Coach Les Miles said nearly all the starting jobs are open to competition as spring football drills begin.
That means if you saw a starter last year and he's back with the team, he may not be starting this year, including at quarterback.
Going 8-5 a year after winning the national championship will do that to you. Now, the honeymoon is over.
Sophomore Jordan Jefferson will battle the nation's No. 1-rated dual-threat quarterback prospect, true freshman Russell Shepard for head signal-caller, with the transer of Andrew Hatch and the possible third-stringer Jarrett Lee.
New defensive coaches will also bring a new look to the Tigers of '09. But will it mean more wins?
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Monday, January 07, 2008
Whatever Happens Tonight Between LSU-Ohio State I Just Wanna Say ...
I have thoroughly enjoyed the LSU Tigers' 2007 football season! Thanx for the ups, the downs (only 2 downs and the BCS Gods corrected those in one week!), and the topsy-turvy, gutsy season that you turned in!
I remember before the season started,
I told Les to SHUT UP, and he did.
I will forever be grateful, Les, if you would just beat Ohio State. You got Saban for us. You got Tuberville. Now, get the Buckeyes!
GEAUX TIGERS!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Buckeyes' Wells Talks Smack About LSU Defense
"I think if you really look at the film, teams could run on LSU," said Ohio State running back Chris "Beanie" Wells said. "So I really wouldn't say that's (one) of their strengths."
Wow.
Teams could run on LSU.
That's what he said. By that, I think he means Arkansas' Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. And to be sure, LSU allowed more yards on the ground in its last three games (680) than it had through the first 10 (660).
After 10 games, the Tigers' defense was allowing 66 rushing yards per game. Only two teams had rushed for more than 100 yards, while four other opponents were limited to 20 rushing yards or less.
But Wells is basically saying he'll get a buck and change against a rested, returned-to-form LSU defense.
Now, that's guts.
Nevertheless, Wells is fed up of hearing about how the Buckeyes can't keep up with LSU.
"I'm tired of people talking about how Ohio State has no speed," he said. "Of course I feel like we don't get the respect that we deserve. We're the underdogs in this game. But it's just something we have to take in stride."
Wells was named the team MVP after leading the Big Ten in carries with 254 and ranking third in yards with 1,463.
But while he had a superb game against Michigan (see stat box) he'll likely have a game similar to what he did against Illinois. Seriously. That's no diss, that's just what will likely happen. But i'll give it to Wells, he played the entire season with a broken bone in his left hand and an ankle injury since spring.
So, he's tough, but he's no McFadden, so don't look for those type numbers against Dorsey and Co.
Wow.
Teams could run on LSU.
That's what he said. By that, I think he means Arkansas' Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. And to be sure, LSU allowed more yards on the ground in its last three games (680) than it had through the first 10 (660).After 10 games, the Tigers' defense was allowing 66 rushing yards per game. Only two teams had rushed for more than 100 yards, while four other opponents were limited to 20 rushing yards or less.
But Wells is basically saying he'll get a buck and change against a rested, returned-to-form LSU defense.
Now, that's guts.
Nevertheless, Wells is fed up of hearing about how the Buckeyes can't keep up with LSU.
"I'm tired of people talking about how Ohio State has no speed," he said. "Of course I feel like we don't get the respect that we deserve. We're the underdogs in this game. But it's just something we have to take in stride."
Wells was named the team MVP after leading the Big Ten in carries with 254 and ranking third in yards with 1,463.
But while he had a superb game against Michigan (see stat box) he'll likely have a game similar to what he did against Illinois. Seriously. That's no diss, that's just what will likely happen. But i'll give it to Wells, he played the entire season with a broken bone in his left hand and an ankle injury since spring.
So, he's tough, but he's no McFadden, so don't look for those type numbers against Dorsey and Co.
Monday, November 05, 2007
LSU's comeback vs. Alabama 11/3/07 (video)
Les Miles gambles on 4th down. Again. And gets it. Touchdown, LSU! Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson drops back to pass, LSU safety Chad Jones blitzes up the middle, it's a ... FUM-BOL! LSU gets it! Jacob Hester goes over the top, TOUCHDOWN LSU!
Saturday, November 03, 2007
5 Reasons Why LSU beat Alabama
1. DEFENSIVE LINE: Glenn Dorsey, Marlon Favorite and Al Woods plugged the middle for the Tigers more than any game this season in the SEC. Alabama couldn't run the ball very effectively and, with a 10-point lead, it meant John Parker Wilson had to pass to stay competitive (7 sacks, including one big one at the end). Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman on the ends both ate the lunches of their counterparts on the other end of the ball.
2. RECEIVERS: Early Doucet and the LSU receiving corps is back, which is what they haven't been since the 2nd game of the season (Virginia Tech). There has always been talent all over the unit, but it struggled without Doucet, and the emergence of Demetrius Byrd, who caught a go-route for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter, made Alabama pay dearly. Alabama's D.J. Hall, who leads the SEC and is 16th nationally with 95.5 yards receiving a game, had a relatively quiet night after a school-record 13 receptions for 185 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Tennessee two weeks ago. Tide senior Matt Caddell also had a big game, but frequently disappointing Ray Brown had the game of his life with 2 TD catches against the Tigers. But Alabama got increasingly one dimensional as the game wore on.
3. INSTANT REPLAY: Never has a team dominated the replay booth like LSU did, going 3-1 on crucial calls in the game. None were bigger than a 3rd down reception for more than 30 yards on 3rd down that Wilson through in the fourth quarter. LSU also got a very fortunate, and close call when a fumble was overturned late in the 3rd quarter. If any of those plays would have went the other way, LSU would have most likely lost the game, especially being down by 10 points at the time. "We should have won, and I'm really angry right now," Alabama linebacker Darren Mustin said. "I feel like we had that game won, but we just let them take it away from us."
4. 'BAMA COULDN'T RUN: Tide tailback Terry Grant, who led Alabama 667 yards for the season before the game, had 10 yards on 10 carries with under 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Grant had been running behind a thin and young offensive line for most of the season, and it did him in as Nick Saban tried to slow the LSU pass rush by running it. LSU was not really effective on the ground as well as Jacob Hester turned in a demure performance outside of his two touchdowns, which were huge. But in the end LSU's defensive line was simply too much for Alabama's O-line.
5. NICK SABAN WAS OUTCOACHED: Les has got Balls of steel. And can we coach better than Saban? Well, he beat him. Why? Because Saban played a straight game. Saban saw in the first half that his team was not physical enough for the Tigers, not mano-o-mano, but he didn't go into his bag of tricks. "We don't play with enough discipline," he said. "It drives me nuts. My hands are bruised from smacking them together when we made mistakes, when we did the wrong things." Les, on the other hand, reached down into his bag and had quarterback Matt Flynn catch a nifty pass from the receiver Doucet. Even late in the game, knowing he didn't have a running game, he did no counters, no misdirections. It cost him. Big time. He got outcoached. "We kept hanging in there, kept fighting," Miles said. "We found a way to win. I've never seen that many mistakes in a game. We'll never play that poorly again."
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Why Florida lost to Auburn: Stomach pains?
As the Gators prepare to face LSU this week, a new culprit emerged from Saturday's loss to Auburn.
It wasn't Tim Tebow's arm that doomed the mighty Gators.
It was offensive coordinator Dan Mullen's stomach.
Mullen had been in the hospital the night before in severe pain, and gutted it out by showing up for the game. Still, coach Urban Meyer refused to see it as a negative if your play-caller is sweating profusely and his insides are burning.
"The negative right now is we probably have 10 seniors," Meyer said. "How many of which are actually playing a lot? ... How are we going to respond? Obviously, I don't have that answer. I feel like there's a lot of character on this team and some good people."
The Gators showed they can come from behind, rebounding from a 14-0 halftime deficit and tying the game at 17 with 7:36 remaining. They even looked like they might pull off a comeback, but the imaginative offensive play-calling that had put 59 point on the board just two weeks ago, couldn't come up with much more than Tebow run plays on 1st and 2nd down (leaving about 3rd and 2) then throwing it on 3rd down. The offense, predictably, stalled on its final drive.
Doesn't the Florida staff have sick days? Geez. How many of us would report to work - even check ourselves out of the hospital - to go to work? Obviously, it showed.
Even the commentators posed questions about Mullen's play-calling, especially since Tebow ran 16 times — often right up the middle. There were even more eyebrows raised when it was learned that Mullen had an emergency appendectomy late Friday night.
Mullen was having side pains at dinner Friday and then had blood tests. Meyer said he learned about 11:30 p.m. that Mullen needed surgery.
Mullen missed the team's first walkthrough but arrived at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in time for the game.
"He is a tough guy," Meyer said. "He did everything he possibly could. That didn't affect the game. He still called a fine game. We still could have done things better."
Forced to punt to Auburn with about 4 minutes to play, Chas Henry shanked one 25 yards — the last of the four special teams miscues.
The other three were:
—Florida was flagged for running into the punter on Auburn's opening possession, which turned good field position into a first down and the Tigers eventually scored a touchdown on the drive.
—The Gators had a 34-yard field goal attempt blocked in the second quarter.
—They faked a punt and picked up the first down late in the third, but were flagged for illegal formation and were forced to kick it away.
"It hurts a lot," Medder said. "It feels like you're getting stabbed."
The final blow came after the shanked punt. Quarterback Brandon Cox, obviously hyponotized into believing he is an All-American, played way above his head. And running back Ben Tate drove Auburn into position for the game-winning field goal with powerful runs that seemed to break Florida's will with every yard.
Tommy Tuberville silenced his critics, at least, for a week. But he's still on an island. The university president doesn't celebrate with him, the fans know that his best teams are behind him. But he got to laugh last on Saturday. For once this season, everything he tried worked. Even freshman Wes Byrum made a 43-yarder — twice — to snap Florida's 11-game winning streak and its 18-game home winning streak. War Eagle?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
LSU takes over No. 1 in poll: But USC DIDN'T LOSE. Is it fair?
LSU is No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since Nov. 2, 1959.
The Tigers edged past Southern California in the AP Top 25 on Sunday, even though the Trojans remained undefeated (they won fugly, but they won). But is it fair? Personally, I don't think so.
I think the voters were caught up in the wily shifting of the top 10 after an infamous day in college football: Five of the top 10 lost; Oklahoma, Florida, Texas and Rutgers and West Virginia all went down. But to rob USC of its No. 1 ranking just because they were sloppy, that aint cool. LSU has been hella sloppy in a 34-9 win over Tulane. Senior Matt Flynn was sacked 6 times and LSU trailed 9-7 with 2 minutes left in the half. USC's 27-24 victory at Washington on Saturday night really wasn't as close as it sounded. USC did all it could to lose the game, actually including getting a punt blocked and interception by Louisiana native David Booty. Things had to go awfully wrong for USC to lose the game, and they almost did (a ball bounces right off a USC receiver's hands right into the hands of a Washington defender??). LSU didn't beat a worthy-enough opponent to move to No. 1, and I'm a fan.
USC is the first team to lose the No. 1 ranking after a victory since Nov. 3, 2002, when top-ranked Miami dropped after beating Rutgers 42-17 and No. 2 Oklahoma moved up after a 27-11 victory over No. 13 Colorado.
LSU, which recovered from its own first-half malaise to beat Tulane 34-9 on Saturday, received 33 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,593 points. USC got 32 first-place votes, 11 fewer than last week, and 1,591 points.
This just loudens the call for a college playoff system, which I'm all in favor for.
The voting was the closest since the second poll of the 2002 season, when Miami and Oklahoma tied for No. 1 and each received 27 first-place votes.
Next up for LSU, Florida and Tim "Superman" Tebow.
LSU pops Tulane, but flaws exposed
Time to put it out there: Matt Flynn has been shaky. He's not played bad this year, but he just hasn't played great. Not against Virginia Tech, not against South Carolina, and not against Tulane. He got sacked 6 six times against Tulane this past weekend. SIX! Let me make this clear: LSU’s offense is not potent (40 points a game?). It just gets alot of possessions. A great defense will do that for you.
Ryan Perriloux will get significant P.T. against Florida. Write it down. Tulane exposed some major flaws the Tigers have, none as big as protection for Flynn.
In the first half, Tulane gave them all they could handle, trailing 10-9.
"We saw the offense put their heads down," LSU defensive end Kirston Pittman said. "But we went over and told them, ’Pick y’all’s heads up. It’s going to be a long game. They have to play for 60 minutes. We just have to overcome a little adversity.’"
Jacob Hester’s second touchdown of the game and Charles Scott’s pair of scoring runs helped LSU (5-0) amass 24 unanswered second-half points in a 34-9 victory Saturday.
"It was a mental thing today," Scott said. "We were not focused at all in the first half. And we can’t come out and do that with anybody, especially not Florida."
The defending national champion Gators had their own problems with Auburn
Saturday night, losing 23-20 in the final seconds. But the Gators come to Baton Rouge next weekend in a must-win for them if they still have national title hopes.
"It’s obviously not what we wanted, but I think it could be good for this team to come out here and get a little bit of a wake-up call," Flynn said. "This team stepped up."
“Guys were thinking a little ahead,” LSU receiver Brandon LaFell said, “trying to dress all fancy because we got new uniforms, and their minds weren’t in the game in the first quarter.”
LaFell said Tulane players were jumping up and down, calling LSU overrated as the teams headed to their locker rooms at halftime in the Superdome.
“That’s why we came out so hard in the second half,” LaFell said.
Still recovering from an ankle sprain, Flynn was inconsistent in the face of constant pressure and was intercepted once. Yet he shook off six sacks to throw for 258 yards.
Tulane, which has lost 16 straight to LSU since its last victory in the series in 1982, played with emotion and made it a better game than anticipated.
“Thank goodness the defense played well the entire game,” coach Les Miles said, “except for a few spots late in the first half and maybe a little in the second half, but if they hadn’t played well it could have been a long night.”
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Quotes from Week 4 around the SEC
There were heavy hits all over the field, including one in which Craig Steltz flattened Jared Cook to break up a long pass over the middle. Cook stayed down for a couple minutes before coaches got him up and off the field.
"We just tried to dislodge them from the ball. If we can't catch it, nobody can."
- LSU safety Craig Steltz, after leveling South Carolina receiver Jared Cook, who lay motionless for several seconds after the hit.
"It was pretty close until then and that just put another dagger in them. It always works (in practice). We felt confident with it. I've been playing soccer all my life, but I also can catch footballs."
- place kicker ColtDavid, after his fake field goal-touchdown run.
"We had to try something different. Blake Mitchell "maybe didn't do all that poorly, but we had to give (Chris) Smelley a chance. We're going to give him a chance next week and see what happens."
- Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier on why he replaced his starting quarterback with the backup.
“We’re not anxious to play L.S.U. again.Let’s put it that way.”
- Steve Spurrier said.
No. 22 Georgia beat NO. 16 Alabama in dramatic fashion on Saturday, 26-23 in overtime, before 92,138 in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Saban-haters are on in full force, and it'll only be a short time before the Tide turns against Saban, probably before the showdown with LSU on Nov. 3. But, you've got to be happy for Georgia, perennially to 2nd and 3rd place among SEC bigdogs.
“It’s huge for us,” Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We’re young. It’s big to win in the SEC anywhere, especially on the road in a place like this where it seemed like there were 200,000 people. It’s big for us in terms of morale.”
“I think the biggest difference in the game was in terms of time of possession and the ability to keep the ball.” - Alabama coach Nick Saban
Tim Tebow, err, Superman, accounted for all of the Gators touchdowns Saturday, proving his worth. Ole Soup threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for two scores, as third-ranked Florida held on for a 30-24 victory over Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Tebow completed 20-of-34 passes for 261 yards and ran for 166 yards on 27 carries for the Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC), who played on the road for the first time this season.
"They played very well against us on defense. They forced us to show immaturity and make some mistakes. They played hard. I admire the way they do things. It was a tough win." -Florida head coach Urban Meyer.
"Obviously we are disappointed with the loss. But we put ourselves in a position to win. We came back and fought. We gave us ourselves a chance on the last drive, if we had just made some plays. We just didn't get it done. It was a good effort by the team. We made some improvement after a very tough week. We showed some leadership. I am proud of that. Florida is a good team. They are talented. We are a couple players short."
- Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Thoughts of the SEC as Week 4 approaches
AUBURN'S HURTIN: It used to tickle me last year that Brandon Cox was regarded as a good quarterback and Kenny Irons was seen as just an okay running back in the wake of Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams' departures to the NFL. Now that Irons has went on to greener pastures in pros as well, Cox is being exposed as an overrated stickpin. And Tommy Tuberville is feeling all alone, as he looks around him and sees no blue-chippers. Ole Tubby is on a island. Has it escaped anyone's mind that Tubby has avoided the criticism that Lloyd Carr received from losing to App State in Week 1, even though Tubby should be 0-3 right now, instead of 1-2? Last week against Mississippi State, Tuberville finally realized that the problem is under center, not the defense, although it could be better. Without a superb O-line, Cox just is not mobile enough to hang in the pocket as Armageddon ensues around him. Tuberville may have hit the panic button too late though; backup quarterback Codie Burns may be more agile but cant' possible right the ship before it runs into at least three more icebergs (Alabama, Arkansas, LSU) along the way. Oh, not to mention this Saturday's game against pass-first New Mexico State. Oh, and believe the hype: Ole Tubby's job is on the line.
FLORIDA AINT GOING AWAY: To LSU fans, the "Florida problem" started as a nagging issue two weeks ago, morphed into a concern after week 2, then became an outright issue last week as they throttled Tennessee 59-20. That's right, Tennessee lost by 39 points. Tim Tebow is nothing short of Superman, and the Second Coming rolled up into one for Florida fans. And he figures to only gain confidence in his passing skills as time goes on. In Florida, we're witnessing something that comes along only about every 20 years: A bonafide superstar college athlete. Not even Reggie Bush, as hyped a collegiate as we've seen in the last decade, is fawned over like Tebow. LSU will have to play disciplined football to win it, regardless of the fact that it's in Death Valley.
'BAMA IS BACK: Ole St. Nick(or, um, Satan, as we call him in these parts) lives in Tuscaloosa and is bringing back memories of a certain houndstooth-crowned one. Nick Saban has quickly transformed the Alabama football into a powerhouse program. Last weekend's last-seconds come-from-behind victory at Arkansas was the coronation. SEC, forewarned: 'Bama's back. Key play in the game: Darren McFadden rides the bench as his team clings to a 5 point lead inside of 3 minutes left in the game. Arkansas coach Houston Nutt would go on to say that his star running back had a "mild concussion," but it's a major coaching error to leave him out of the ballgame when he had been so effective and could have easily been a huge decoy on a playaction (the safety definitely would have stepped up) without taking a hit, or a fake handoff-bootleg or something. Either way, this is Coaching 101.
IN ARKSANSAS, IT'S 2006: The Razorbacks are playing like they won't be intimidated by three straight losses to end last season and last week's last-seconds defeat to the Crimson Tide. Arkansas will continue to ride uber-star Darren McFadden, and you know? He will deliver.And powerful McFadden and fleet-footed Felix Jones are the best running back duo in the nation (since Ronnie Brown and 'Lac Williams at Auburn) and just need a little more solid quarterback play and imaginative playcalling by the coaches to run the table in the SEC. Can they beat LSU? If this game were played early in the second, possibly in weeks 2 or 3 I'd say yes, but with possible national title hopes on the line for LSU I don't see them losing focus that late in the season.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Is LSU more banged up than it's letting on? (Gamecocks await)
As the college football world comes to grips with the balance of power, LSU's fearsome squad may be more banged up than they're letting on: wideout Early Doucet didnt' play against Middle Tennessee and he may not play Saturday against South Carolina. LSU coach Les Miles called his injury "pretty significant." Word on campus is that he evidently suffered a groin injury against Virginia Tech. Quarterback Matt Flynn also didn't play last week because of the ankle injury suffered against Virginia Tech. He is expected to start against South Carolina, though. If Flynn couldn't go they would have to turn the reins over to second-string quarterback Ryan Perriloux, who threw three touchdown passes last week. At this point, he's got more yards and TD passes (6 to 2) than Flynn and probably would give the Gamecocks more problems, limited only in the number of plays he knows how to run. In any event, if LSU is more roughed up than it is admitting then, Virginia Tech really took a larger toll out of them than the nation thought. The win was not as easy and more costly. In any event, Miles has admitted to local media that he is not playing straight when it comes to reporting his team's injuries."If it comes out of my mouth, you use it," he said. "If it doesn't [and] if you root for your team - if in fact this is your team - then you would choose not to report anything not described by me.
"Everything is news, but sometimes news doesn't help your team. I would encourage [the media] to see it my way."
Somebody who won't see it his way is South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier
Spurrier has been coy about his team's chances against LSU, preferring to talk about their SEC East foes instead.
Olde Ball Coach might be still mad LSU didn't hire him when it had the chance to in 1986.
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