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?
Well, LSU has concluded the 2008 campaign, at 9 - 5, playing their first complete game in the final game of the season. The 38-3 thumping of Georgia Tech in the Chick fil A Bowl brought a tantalizing end to the ups and downs experienced by the true LSU fan. On there third quarterback of the season, LSU finally hit a stride, found a zone. Jordan Jefferson's steady if green hands were more than enough to get the Tigers to play in a relaxed, confident tone as the Tigers rolled to a 28-3 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. If the recruiting season shapes up, the quarterback play may not be an issue for at least another 5 years. The special teams play proved to be the firestarter: Georgia Tech's Andrew Smith fumbled a punt early in the second quarter with LSU up only 14-3. LSU’s Ron Brooks jumped on it and soon enough thoroughbred running back Charles Scott scored the second of his three first-half touchdowns to make it 21-3. The LSU defense, a frustrated lot for most of the season, played poise and inspired football, foiling the Tech spread option attack for the most part. Looking back, the SEC West was never LSU's to grab, not with troubling nemesis Arkansas completing its 2-year deal with the devil, not with Ole Miss resorting to all kinds of trickery. But, hey, it was a good ride. What can we expect in 2009? From the looks of it, the defense will lose a step, but the offense figures to return to a solid nucleus. In the SEC, that's all you can ask.
I've got to give it up to him. Nick Saban is the evil genius of the SEC. He is becoming what Steve Spurrier was without the sarcasm and sass. He's crafted in short order a machine that is threatening to win a national championship in his 2nd season. As an LSU fan, I can't help but be reminded of how he turned the LSU Tigers into world beaters the same way he has done with the Tide. And make no mistake, they aren't just beating people; they are shellacking teams. What they have done is simply put together the best regular season in the SEC since Auburn's unrewarded 2004 campaign. (Tuberville, we'll miss you). But what stands out to me, as the Tide gets ready to take on the once-lost Florida Gators this Saturday in the SEC title game, is how many blowouts Bama put together. Not many teams were even in the game in the 4th quarter. As much as I don't like what Saban did to LSU, I respect him as a coach and I respect the way he prepares young men to play the game. I especially like how he recently defended Slyvester Croom, Tuberville and Philip Fulmer. All that said, Tebow is still Superman. Florida 35 - Bama 13
In the end, Saban did it (so typical). It was to a Nick Saban squad that ended the orange-and-blue reign of one of Auburn football's most liked and respected head coaches. The 36-0 shutout to instate hyper-rival Alabama was too much for Tubby to wince away, to deflect, dodge and leap over. He had to lay on his sword this time. I still can't believe Tommy Tuberville is out. He did exactly what the great ones do. Win. But even that wasn't enough for Tubby, even went undefeated in 2004 (13-0). But Tuberville, unlike 99 of 100 other coaches (what are the odds?) got zero. Zelch. Nada. I'll say this: Tubby was a formidable opponent, that always fielded a team worthy of respect and honor. As an LSU fan, it was a privilege to look over from the Purple and Gold sideline to see his snarling at a referee and snickering to himself with his arms folded. He'll be missed. He never backed down from a fight or battle. If a reporter mentioned a percieved superiority of an opponent, Tubby would fire back that his team could match them power to power. He was often wrong, but you had to love the gusto. In the end, he simply ran out of time, made to look old and out of date by the new-breed coaches such as Urban Meyer, Saban and even Les Miles who fielded huge HeMen-like teenagers who could run, catch, juggle. The old school coach got schooled. In 10 seasons at Auburn, Tuberville compiled an 85-40 record, reaching the No. 2 national ranking at the end of the 2004 campaign.
In tribute I post this Tuberville archive from the past 2 seasons, including some highs and lows for Auburn football.
This one's for you, Free Man. The embattled Georgia Bulldogs, heir apparent to the championship flag that has been hoisted in Gainesville and then Baton Rouge successively, has turned in another typical season under coach Mark Richt. Richt is a good coach, turning the Bulldogs into must-see TV and flaunting with greatness along the way. This season the Bulldogs played everybody straight up and honest, and found themselves 3 weeks in the season as far back as No. 3 and No. 4. Richt has never politicized the BCS, never selfishly promoted his team like some coaches. Took his losses like a man. But that latest loss, the one to Georgia Tech? That's bad football, many in Athens say. But what many in the nation say is how could a preseason No. 1 that dismantled some good SEC teams get run over by a middle-of-the-road ACC team? Let's recap: Georgia led 28 - 12 at halftime. But Georgia had to score a TD just to pull within three points on Matthew Stafford’s last touchdown throw to A.J. Green with 4:04 to play. Tech melted the clock with the most basic, and apparently devastating plays ever crafted in football: the option. To say UGA had no answer to Tech's option is like saying Mark Richt is a little younger than Bobby Bowden. Tech churned out 400 yards on the ground and turned in a 26-point third quarter that went as fast as Jackets quarterback Josh Nesbitt could toss his two-yard laterals to his halfbacks. To make matters worse Bulldogs senior split end Mohamed Massaquoi (11 catches for 180 yards) had the field to himself. It was like Tech made a concerted effort to give Stafford (407 yards passing) the game ball. It still wasnt' enough for the Dawgs. To be sure, the Bulldogs will play in a decent bowl game on New Year's Day. But it will be another year of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens. Which, under Richt, is a typical UGA season.
I could say it was a heartbreaker, but truth be told, the hearts of LSU fans have been broken weeks ago, sawn in two, actually seven pieces (the number of Jarrett Lee interceptions run back for scores). The Arkansas loss just reminds us that we should have been expectant of a letdown after a championship-winning season. If anything this game showed us that Jordan Jefferson could play quarterback on the road, in a noisy SEC environment and produce, albeit with many transgressions. The defense simply didn't keep its poise in the end, with costly personal fouls aiding Arkansas' offense on its final drive. Les Miles will have quite a decision to make next year with Jarrett Lee, Andrew Hatch and Jefferson all want to line up behind center. As for now in Tigerland, it's basketball season.
What a stinker, wha - wow. We'll take it. That's what Saturday night in Tiger Stadium felt like after a 40-31 LSU win over Troy. “That certainly was not the recipe for victory we prescribed, but victory is sweet, and I promise you our football team is enjoying it at this moment,” LSU coach Les Miles said after LSU had completed the biggest comeback in school history, coming back from a 31-3 deficit in the third quarter. Quarterback Jarrett Lee had his seventh interception returned for a touchdown in the second quarter to make it 24-3 and send a swarm of LSU fans to the exits. “I’ve never been part of a comeback that big. That shows you a lot about our team. We played hard and fought back. Not one time in our minds did we think we were going to lose this game.” Lee completed 11-of-14 passes in the fourth quarter for 138 yards and a touchdown. The comeback started at halftime. “We go into halftime and we tell that defense that you have to come out and play like you finished the first half, and in fact, you’re our chance to win this game,” Miles said. “You guys play like that for the remainder of this game while we get it fixed on offense.” Troy's coach, well on his way throughout the 3rd quarter to his biggest win at the school and the program's biggest, said momentum turned suddenly. “We weren’t able to close the book on it and get the last nail in there,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. “(LSU) got some things done and some big plays in the passing game really hurt us more than anything as far as getting momentum back.
Instead of going to practice Monday morning LSU redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee needs to go to an eye doctor to get bifocals for his bad, bad case of far-sightedness. Can anyone else see it? He CANNOT SEE in the middle of the field. Isn't there a name for it? It's when you see a dot or something if you try to look straight forward. How else to explain Lee in overtime throwing his fourth interception -- the third pick of the game by Alabama's Rashad Johnson. Lee has now been picked off in 6 games this year and the opponent has returned it for a TD. That's 42 points. None bigger than the one he gave to Johnson right before the half that turned a 14- 7 lead into a 14- 14 tie. LSU lost this game because of Lee, plain and simple. The 27 - 21 loss to a solid but not spectacular undeated Alabama team is squarely on his shoulders. Even the coaches seemed to lose confidence in him. He ... I ... can't even write anymore ... it ... hurts. Too (whimper) bad.
Let's face it: This year, although not terribly awful, has not gone the way an LSU Tiger fan would have wanted. First, our heir apparent quarterback Ryan Perrilloux is 86'd. Then, we get smashed by Florida, allowing 51 points with time on the clock for more if they didn't show mercy at the end. Then, to make matters worse, Georgia comes to town and runs us out of our own stadium, 52- 38. So, it is with great pleasure that we relish the opportunity before us on Saturday: You kidding me? Alabama (9-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference), the No. 1 team in the nation, is visiting my No. 15 LSU Tigers (6-2, 3-2)? You mean we have a chance to ruin a perfect Alabama season? Why, it would hal-way make up for what has transpired over the past 2 months if we could just pull it off. We wouldn't even have to score 50 points. I wouldn't be mad. I'd just take the W. To top it off, it's against Satan himself (in the Bayou, it is), Nicklaus Saban, former championship coach. Not to mention everything Saban says now just seems suspect. Note his wording on trying to basically say that the game is not about him. "I have to be honest. I do take great pleasure in winning. I take a real enjoyable view of our team's accomplishments. But I really do remove me from that. It's about this team, the guys who work hard whom I'm fortunate to represent, and if there is a little bit of pleasure derived by their accomplishment, it's minimized when it comes to me personally, and I really mean that." Grrrrrrr. On the other side of the ball of course, is our far-sighted freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee; a defense with more structural holes in it than the Titanic; and a rabid fan base that has gotten accustomed to winning this game. It'll be a hard-fought, and hard-hit game, but I expect the winners to be in purple and gold. LSU 24 Bama 20.
Let's see, here: Alabama embarrasses Georgia 41-30 ('Scuse the final score: Tide led 31-0 at half.) Florida crushes LSU 51-21. LSU is humbled by Georgia, 52- 38. Florida dehumanizes Georgia 49 - 10. Will Alabama embarrass LSU at home?
LSU had finally put away an opponent; Tiger Stadium was electric, the fans satiated for being offered as sacrifice the lowly Green Wave (who was without their best athlete). Yet, on their way toward the end of the 35 - 10 victory, the uncharacteristic wave of boos started to resonate through Tiger Stadium. Sigh. Near-sighted quarterback Jarrett Lee had throw another interception. And once more it was returned for a touchdown. Still, the fans response rankled some. “If you booed the play, that’s one thing,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “That guy’s giving you everything he’s got. … It may not be perfect, but we’re going to put him out there and we’re going to count on him. He’s going to have to get better. I just don’t think there’s any reason to boo.” To be fair the boos weren' necessarily directed at Lee. They were a forecast reaction letting the Tigers know that such performance won't be forgiven against No. 1-ranked Alabama. Lee has shown that he can play, but he's also shown that he's a redshirt freshman that can't easily escape the pocket. “As I dropped back I was getting hit,” Lee said. “I let it go kind of expecting where the receiver was going to be and, of course, the linebacker was dropping back and picked it off.” Either way, Bama won't be easy. This text
Florida's Tim Tebow rocked an unusual look on Saturday, wearing a Bible Scripture above his cheeks. The Scripture is Philippians 4:13, which says "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." There are also other translations that all say basically the same thing. Tebow and Florida walloped Georgia 49 - 10.
"Whether it's administrative support or friends that are in crucial positions, I appreciate how everyone has handled this and has been supportive," Tennessee coach Philip Fulmer said days before his Volunteers got smashed by No. 2 Alabama 29 -9. "That's been a real positive for us. I look forward to rewarding that support." Ah, in Tennessee support seems to be eternal: To say that Fulmer, with 17 years at the helm, is in the proverbial hot seat is an understatement. There are UT fans that loathe him. Despite this, his squad was in the SEC Championship Game a year ago, losing to LSU, the eventual national champion. But the fall this season hit everyone blindly. Not that they've lost but how bad they've looked. Against Alabama on Saturday, the Vols looked like a PAC 10 team. Of course, many say this is all just what-goes-around-style getback for a coach that hasn't been livin' right, but that's besides the point. I've never rooted for the Vols, but this free-fall has been painful to watch. The perennial 9-3 season is soooo last year. Still, Fulmer amazes me how he can keep his job. That, is truly, amazing. UT's administration must really hate going through the motions of a national hiring search, because the job ... quite literally ... is Fulmer's to lose. Forever. Of course, we all know the Volunteers program has been on a slow descent for several years. Meanwhile Alabama, Florida and Georgia, LSU have been talking about how to win championships. Maybe he peaked 10 years ago, when Spurrier's Gators were king: Then Fulmer won back-to-back SEC championships (1997 and 1998). Back then UT took a backseat to nobody, but the Gators. UT fans say the loss of David Cutcliffe, Fulmer's longtime offensive coordinator, who is now the head coach at Duke, made a huge impact. But teams lose assistants all the time. Was Cutcliffe that good?
Matthew Stafford showed up big-time Saturday afternoon in Tiger Stadium, leading the Dogs to a huge 52-38 win against LSU. How did that happen, you say? Here's 5 reasons how:
JARRETT LEE IS BLIND: LSU freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee has an eye affliction: He can't see linebackers. Dude has been picked off in each of the last 4 games by linebackers in the middle of the field. LSU's margin of defeat Saturday was exactly the margin of his two picks that were returned for touchdowns. “I still feel like [Lee's] a quarterback we can win with and I think Hatch is a guy we can win with,” said receiver Demetrius Byrd. Aw, aint that cute.
KNOWSHON MORENO'S RUNNING: The sophomore rushed for 168 yards the hard way: Up the middle. Georgia's offense had seven plays of 20 yards or longer, including Moreno's 47-yard run to set up the Bulldogs' third touchdown and a 68-yard scoring burst that made it 38-17 late in the third quarter. LSU's Charles Scott was valiant for the Tigers but in the end he wasn't a factor since LSU played much of the 2nd half down by 2-3 touchdowns.
UGA'S OFFENSIVE LINE: Say all you want about it being "makeshift" and "hodgepodge." It's dang good, too. Consisting of three freshmen and two sophomores, it held a blitzing LSU defense to only one sack. The Bulldogs have had four different starters at left tackle because of injuries. In fact, Georgia has allowed only one sack in its past three games. It was the difference maker in a game that had to be won upfront.
MATT STAFFORD IS A VETERAN: “He just got right back in the saddle and started throwing strikes, and started throwing some strikes under a little bit of duress,” coach Mark Richt said. He wasn't lying. Stafford (17-of-26 for 2 TDS (plus one one on the ground) made the LSU defense pay for every miscue, every blitz. “Matthew is really maturing. He is standing in there when everything is flying around him and focusing downfield and throwing strikes, and that’s what he’s got to do.”
THE BIG PLAY QUOTA: Georgia started off the game with one, and ended the game with one, big plays. None bigger than Stafford's 48-yard touchdown strike to A.J. Green to give Georgia a 31-17 cushion. Or was it Moreno's 47-yard gain on a simple toss play in the second quarter? Or perhaps it was Moreno's stirring 68-yard touchdown run in the third quarter? Or was it either of substitute middle linebacker Darryl Gamble's 2 interceptions he returned to the house? Or was it ... (get it?)
This one goes out to Free Man: The Georgia Bulldawgs are gonna walk into Tiger Stadium tomorrow and be in their most hostile environment yet this season against their 2nd-most formidable opponent (Alabama). Here's 3 ways Georgia can escape with the W:
(1.) BLITZ UP THE MIDDLE: LSU's bread and butter running plays are to send Charles Scott and Kieland Willaims straight up the gut. This has been so effective that Scott led the league in rushing until Florida plugged the center of the field up by sending 8 in the box. LSU has yet to prove it can or even wants to run around the ends, but it'll have to if it wants to get close to 200 yards on the ground.
(2.) ZONE, ZONE, ZONE: LSU's quarterback Jarrett Lee can sling the ball down the field quite well even when not set, but he tends to loft balls across the middle on slant patterns. South Carolina and Florida both got gifts from him that way, and both dropped at least 1 other sure interception. I don't see any reason why that will change against Georgia.
(3.) CRANK DAT SOULJA BOY: UGA got in a zone last season only when it let the music blare in practice and during the games in the locker room. They need a spark, a motivational ploy to raise them to the next level. In Tiger Stadium, they'll need it.
Here are 3 reasons why Georgia won't escape with the W.
(1.) LSU WILL GO DEEP, YOUNG MAN: LSU's receivers Demetrius Byrd and Brandon Lefell are both excellent speedsters. They have an advantage that UGA's freshman sensation A.J. Green doesn't have: experience. They've got to take advantage of it. Byrd can run a fly pattern like nobody's business, get him the ball. If LSU connects on just one of these balls its 7 points.
(2.) MORE KIELAND WILLIAMS: LSU entered the season looking to establish Williams as the go-to back, but that was before Scott got some huge runs in the first couple games this year. Bested on the field, Williams had to sit and watch as Scott got the majority of the carries. But now defenses know the plays that Scott is running, so he's being bottled up. Enter Kieland Willaims again: Last week against South Carolina, it was Williams that broke the back of the Gamecocks churning out more than 40 yards on the last drive to seal the victory.
(3.) PRESSURE ON STAFFORD: Matthew Stafford will carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey if you give him time. Jump out on him early and often. Send a defender from the corner, send one from up the middle. Send them all. If not, you're gonna have a time stopping A.J. Green and Knowshon Moreno, who can break a game open.
There, I've said my piece. Now look for the score: LSU 28 - UGA 24.
The Crimson Tide has rolled early and often this season in grinding out a 7-0 record. The feature a power back, Glen Coffee (760 yards this season, averaging 7 yards a pop), that compares favorably with the conference's best (Knowshon Moreno, who has 762 yards at 6 yards a pop). They've got a steady quarterback, John Parker Wilson (8 TDs) that can manage a game. A more than serviceable defense. So, what's their weakness, you say? It's the second half of games. If the second half of the Georgia game (one in which Bama raced to a 31-0 lead) didn't raise an alarm - final score Tide 41, UGA 30 - then last week's near debacle against Ole Miss did. Bama held a commanding 24-3 in the first half, then was outscored 17-0 in a second-half drop-off that was not unlike the stock market the same week. In fact in the last 3 games, Bama has not showed a willingness or aptitude to finish those games. In those three first halves, Alabama has outscored opponents 69-3. In the second half, the combined count is an alarming 61-13 in favor of the opponents. For Bama opponents, that's a startling silver lining: Stay in the game in the first half, and you can pound them out in the 2nd. A second-half slide is usually a result of conditioning. Maybe Nick Saban's workout programs don't emphasis staying power or energy retainment, whatever. With games against Tennessee (this Saturday), LSU and Auburn remaining, Bama is sure to stumble at least once (could it be LSU)? The loss of Terrance Cody is a big one, but it won't matter much in the big scheme. Bama's that good.
The game SEC fans have circled on their calendars since the schedules came out is upon us this weekend. Saturday afternoon when No. 11 LSU (5-1, 3-1 SEC) faces No. 9 Georgia (6-1, 3-1) at Tiger Stadium. A loss by the Tigers and they effectively cede the SEC West to Alabama. A victory by the Dawgs and they can remove one hefty rook from the chest game which is their schedule. SEC immortality awaits (Florida's got one more loss in them, and Alabama's loss is coming speedily). Georgia has a habit of going nuts on an opponent once every season. Last year Florida got their bell rung. This year it has yet to happen, but precedent is against the Tigers. In the 2005 SEC championship game a No. 3-ranked LSU team went to Atlanta and got pimp-slapped by the Bulldogs 34-14. They did what no other SEC team could do: Knock 260-pound JaMarcus Russell out of the game. LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson recently recalled the humiliation. "It was a real bad feeling," guard Herman Johnson said. "Nobody liked that plane ride home, everybody was real upset. I've wanted to play them ever since that game." This year Georgia, as good as they are, is struggling to find an identity. This year there's no soldier boy, the blackout didn't work, they need a gimmick. What will it be?
LSU, like many teams, has frequently needed the referees to nip a persistent opponent at one time or another. Sad is the day when the LSU Tigers need a tackle from a referee. Sadder still is when the major footnote of a major LSU game is the fact that the ref tackled somebody (of course, Spurrier investigated it). But in Baton Rouge, that's what it's come down to. The LSU-South Carolina game will be forever remembered (and immortalized) as the day an SEC ref forearm-stabbed a Gamecocks player. The funny thing? LSU needed it. Gone are the blowouts and wildly superior physical performances of last year. This bunch has to all-out blitz - every time - to ensure a sack. I'm not down on my boys when it comes to a championship, I'm just not particularly bearish this year, not with the re-emergence of Joe Eterno, er, Paterno's Penn State. Not with the unflappable Texas Longhorns playing a schedule every bit as rough and rugged as Georgia's. Not with a 1-loss USC team blowing teams out the stadium. And I didn't even mention the best Alabama team in nearly 20 years. But we'll be alright. TRANSLATION: Lester Miles bought himself at least 2 years of mediocrity with last year's championship, so if we lose two it's still a bonus.
The diabolical Steve Spurrier has had 2 weeks to prepare for the Tigers. No doubt he has some razzle-dazzle planned for one of the Gamecocks' biggest games this season at home. Look for something worthy of YouTube, and something ESPN would want to lead off with. For it was only one year ago that LSU went into its bag of tricks and did a fake field goal that ran on all the highlight shows for about 2 weeks. Spurrier's not one to rest on his Florida trickery, he's got at least one, maybe two in the bag. Thing is, LSU is smarting from the worse loss since the David Green-led Georgia Bulldogs smoked them in 2004. Les Miles and Gary Crowton will no doubt dial up a few things to get ready for the Gamecock Nation. South Carolina is playing for respectability, LSU is still playing for a national championship. Saturday's game will go a long way to establish both ends, but unfortunately, only one team can win. PREDICTION: LSU 28- SC 24
Sat, Sep 5 vs McNeese State (CANCELLED)
Yesterday @ Mississippi State W 21 - 19 Final
Sat, Sep 19 vs Auburn W 45 - 21
Sat, Sep 26 @ Syracuse
Sat, Oct 3 vs Eastern Michigan
Sat, Oct 10 @ South Carolina
Sat, Oct 17 vs Florida
Sat, Oct 24 vs Western Kentucky
Sat, Nov 7 @ Alabama
Sat, Nov 14 vs Arkansas
Sat, Nov 21 @ Ole Miss
Sat, Nov 28 vs Texas A&M
