LSU handles Oregon, 40-27

The LSU Tigers showed that their defense will be a force to reckon with Saturday with a gritty 40-27 win against No. 3 Oregon Ducks in Dallas, Texas.
Jarrett Lee looked like the 2010 version, which is better than he ever was in handling the Ducks blitz and stunts on the way to 14 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter, which broke the game open.

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LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu got the party started with a fumble return for TD in the first quarter, staking the Tigers to a 9-3 lead before Oregon roared back.
LSU's committee of running backs wore down the Ducks in the third quarter, outrushing them 100 to 10 at one point, before  a late Ducks drive.
 Oregon coach Chip Kelly  tried some things that worked against Auburn, but with 9 months to prepare, the LSU D was ready.
Reuben Randle caught a 10-yard TD pass that put LSU on top 13-9 in the second quarter.
Next up for the Tigers, Northwestern State.

LSU's 24-21 win against Bama one for the ages

When Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee aren't confused, they're pretty good.
Case in point, Jefferson's 75-yard slant to receiver Rueben Randle.
Another case in point: Lee's 47-yard lob to Randle on a 3rd down play late in the game.
Maybe the Tigers should call a timeout before every play, then they'd have confident quarterbacks under center.
Whatever you call it, LSU's 24-21 win against the defending national champs Alabama Crimson Tide was a major statement and huge win.
It meant that the Nebuchadnezzar-like (grass-eating) Les Miles doesn't have to take a back seat to any coach in the SEC.
It meant that Nick Saban can be outcoached.
It meant that LSU should be a top 5 team, schedule-wise.
But all that is for another day.
Now, LSU sits just a game behind undefeated Auburn Tigers, who need to lose to Georgia next week then Alabama for LSU to get a shot.

IT'S AUBURN WEEK: Can the Bayou Bengals Corral Cam Newton?

For Bayou Bengals fans, no other LSU game incites the raw emotion that Auburn week does.

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.

LSU's Miles questions preparedness after McNeese game

LSU's dramatic fake field goal over Florida (VIDEO)

The ball wasn't supposed to bounce on the ground.
But it bounced LSU's way. Again. LSU's 33-29 win @ Florida will go down in SEC lore and propelled the Bayou Bengals to No. 9 in both polls.