LSU's "Big Cat" Drill Pays Dividends

During preseason there were reports that LSU was bringing back the "Big Cat" drill.  When I noticed this as the official LSU press release, I thought:  "so what."  When I saw an article covering the return of the "Big Cat" drill in the New Orleans Times Picayune I thought: "Must be a slow news day on the LSU beat" and "glad I write a blog as a hobby and do not have to write about something that seems so unimportant."  I just realized on my way to church this morning that LSU won Saturday's game against Tennessee for a variety of reasons but, one of the big keys to this victory was the return of the "Big Cat" Drill.

So what is the "Big Cat" drill and how can I ignore the obvious 13-man defense reprieve penalty in favor of this preseason drill as the reason LSU beat UT? 

The "Big Cat" drill is a drill in which a single defensive player is pitted against a single offensive player. The two players square off, a coach blows a whistle and the two players hit each other and attempt to gain a dominate position.  Here is a video of the "Big Cat" drill courtesy of LSUsports.net:

How did this common, ordinary drill equal a victory over the Tennessee Volunteers?

It may be obvious that LSU's offensive and defensive lines have both improved in one-on-one match-ups with opponents this year.  It may also be obvious that Stevan Ridley runs almost every play like he is living the "Big Cat" drill.  But specifically in the LSU-UT game,  LSU's "Big Cat" drill made all the difference in the outcome.  Late in the game Tennessee could have run out the clock by making a 4th and 1 that was really more like a 4th and inches.  LSU's entire defense played seemed to want in on this "Big Cat" drill.  I am not sure which player met the Tennessee running back head-to-head first but, LSU's D won that one and it was a game changer.

The offense also won a game changing "Big Cat" drill. The game was over, LSU had lost the game 14-10.  LSU fans all over the world were cussing their TVs, stunned that LSU had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for a second season in a row.  Fans in the stands were already making mental notes of how to make effective posters and cheers that would communicate the idea of calling two plays in the huddle when time might be a factor.  Would "two plays, two plays" be a more effective cheer than "call two, call two"? Maybe just a poster with a telephone and a giant "2" would do the trick.  When all of a sudden someone noticed a man in stripes standing in the middle of the field looking as if he might have something to say.  The man in stripes clicked on his microphone, put both of his hands on top of his head and said something about ineligible players on the defense.  LSU was going to get one more try, one more play to attempt to redeem a miserable offensive scoring effort that had only managed one touchdown on the very first play of the game and then only one of two attempted field goals  later in the game.  While everyone watching thought they knew that this meant LSU would win the game, scoring on one play was not a foregone conclusion.  The Volunteer defense had as much of a chance to stop this last play as LSU had a chance to make the play.  The play was a simple run between the guard and tackle on the left side. A Tennessee player was in the right position to stop LSU running back Stevan Ridley right at the line of scrimmage.  Just like in the "Big Cat" drills a few months earlier, Ridley was man-on-man against a defender.  Ridley's experience in the "Big Cat" drill paid off.  He wrapped the ball up with both hands, got lower than the defender and drove into the end zone.

Maybe LSU deserved to lose that game but they won that game in large part because of the return of the "Big Cat" drill.