Showing posts with label All Bob's 2010 LSU Posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All Bob's 2010 LSU Posts. Show all posts
April 2, 2011
LSU Football Looking Good After Saturday's Scrimmage!
Video via LSUsports.net
The Defense stood strong at the beginning of today's scrimmage but the Offense came on strong in the end. Defensive linemen singled out for praise included Anthony Johnson and Michael Brockers. DT Josh Downs missed some playing time because of injury. When Downs is back to full strength, the inside may be better than last year. Lamin Barrow and Kevin Minter were singled out as solid contributors at linebacker. The defense got two turnovers.
New Offensive Coordinator Steve Kragthorpe seems to have worked miracle with Jordan Jefferson. Jefferson now has an improved ability to accurately describe what is happening on the field. Jefferson threw 4 touchdown passes, Lee threw 2, and Mettenberger threw 1. Rueben Randle caught 3 touchdown passes and tight end Deangelo Peterson caught 2. Running backs Spencer Ware, Michael Ford, and Jakhari Gore all did well today. It is beginning to sound like that LSU may have a more balanced offense this year. However, I do recall hear and reading quite a bit about how improved Jefferson was about this same time last year. Let's hope it materializes on the field this year or that another quarterback will be allowed to step up and take over. I am very surprised to learn that Mettenberger is clearly the #3 quarterback behind Jefferson and Lee. It does sound like Mettenberger is the QB of the future, it is just that many felt that Mettenberger would be the leader or at least #2 coming out of Spring.
LSU's special teams played a major role in LSU's winning record last year and LSU has lost an outstanding kicker, punter, and return man. Derek Helton and Josh Jasper pinned opposing offenses deep in their own territory all year last season. Jasper was "Mr. Automatic" with field goals. And who can forget the amazing touchdown returns by Mr. Patrick Peterson? With all of the losses of personnel on special teams you would expect a real drop off in special teams play.
There probably will be some drop off, however; Coach Miles is reporting that Drew Alleman is splitting the uprights and appears to have a stronger leg than Jasper. Miles also seems confident with the punting of our "punter from the land down under" Aussie Brad Wing. More good early news for LSU special teams is that Coach Miles is happy with new Special Teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. With McGaughey as Special Teams Coordinator I expect to see LSU kick off return and punt return teams to show marked improvement. From what I am gathering from McGaughey's coaching style, we can expect the coverage teams to come to the field well prepared and fired up.
LSU Football 2011 is looking good after Saturday's scrimmage!
January 10, 2011
Thoughts on Les Miles' Situation
No one but possibly Les Miles knows for sure what will happen when Michigan comes calling Tuesday. It is possible that coach Miles believes that taking the Michigan position would allow him to return home and become a hero by restoring his alma mater to its football glory days once again. Even after coach Miles had his worst season as LSU's head coach (8-4), many of us knew that a Les Miles LSU team would bounce back and this year's 11 win season capped off with a Cotton Bowl victory proved us right.
When Miles came to LSU, he had only been a head coach for four years. As Oklahoma States' head coach, Miles had a 28-21 record and was 1-2 in bowl games. But, as a head coach at any school Miles has only had one losing season and that was his first year at Oklahoma State. After noticing that Oklahoma State had only finish 7-5 with a 33-7 loss in the Alamo bowl the previous season, some less savvy LSU fans may have wondered why LSU would even consider Les Miles as a candidate to coach the Tigers. But, from Miles first season at the helm of LSU, there was a magic. The previous year, coach Saban had left the Tigers with a last second bowl loss to Iowa but a solid 9-3 record overall and plenty of talented ball players. Miles managed to make that very solid LSU team even better.
Miles arrived at LSU only shortly before hurricanes Katrina and Rita and no one would have blamed him for packing his family up and heading back to Oklahoma, or Colorado, or Michigan, or even Ohio but, Miles not only stayed at LSU but led the Tigers to an 11-2 overall record. The first couple of years some claimed that Miles success was largely a result of Saban's outstanding recruiting. Saban is without question an outstanding recruiter but, Miles is an outstanding coach as well as a great recruiter. Miles has already proven himself at LSU. Miles' 62-17 record is even better than Lou Holtz's 60-21-2 record as Arkansas's head coach. Holtz's record at Arkansas established him as a premier coaching commodity and allowed him to realize his dream of becoming the head coach at Notre Dame. I suppose I am one of the few people that remember Holtz as a Hog. I bet Holtz would have completed a legendary career at Arkansas had he not been fired for some unspecified reason.
We know what happened with Holtz's coaching career, that's history. What we will not know for years is what will become of Les Miles coaching career. Coach Miles has a big decision coming up in the next few days. Here are my thoughts about coach Miles choices:
If Miles chooses to take the head coaching position at Michigan -
Michigan may improve, given enough time. Miles will have to interview and hire strong coaches that can recruit and understand how to coach in today's Big Ten. Even the best head coaches need strong supporting coaches and players to succeed. At LSU, Miles began with Bo Pelini, an outstanding defensive coordinator and after struggling on defense when Pelini became Nebraska's head coach, found a really strong seasoned SEC defensive coordinator without a job when he hired John Chavis. Upon arrival at LSU, Miles also inherited a very strong offensive coordinator in Jimbo Fisher. Fisher is now head coach at Florida State and the jury is out on whether LSU has found a consistently solid offensive coordinator yet.
Should Miles go to Michigan, he will not have to worry about offense. Michigan's offense consistently ranked higher than LSU's offense the last two years. On the other hand, the offense installed by Rich Rodriguez does not look like the type of offense that reflects Miles downhill running philosophy. To establish the type of offense that Miles' seems to favor, he will have to recruit bigger linemen and running backs at Michigan. That will take time.
What will be a more immediate concern is Michigan's anemic defense. Miles did narrowly miss out on recruiting 5-star defensive tackle William Campbell to LSU. Campbell went to Michigan. If he is still there, that could be a start to rebuild Michigan's defense. Still, Miles is going to need to locate a John Chavis or Bo Pelini type of coach to head Michigan's defense. I don't think Chavis or Pelini will be available and there are not very many coaches available with the talent of these two coaches. Miles is not a defensive coach and Michigan definitely needs a stronger defensive coach.
If Miles chooses to go to Michigan, my best guess is that Michigan will have to give him around five mediocre-to-losing years to produce a consistent winner. Michigan is not stocked with top players as LSU was when Miles arrived and it is doubtful that Michigan alum would be satisfied with a record like Miles compiled at Oklahoma State. If Miles goes to Michigan, I will still believe that Miles is the best LSU coach ever but, you have to wonder if my view will prevail or those that will still claim that Miles' real success at LSU came on the coattails of Nick Saban.
Miles's success at Michigan is not a forgone conclusion. I think novelist Tom Wolfe said something to the effect that you can never go home again. I think in the Bible in Mark 6:4 there is something about having trouble succeeding in your own home. Miles may not be the guy to resurrect the Wolverines.
If Miles chooses to remain head coach at LSU -
LSU was only about 3 plays from playing in the BCS national championship this year and LSU played a number of freshmen and redshirt freshmen this year. If that kind of success does not set up a tall enough task, LSU will again be playing in the SEC West - the toughest division of the toughest conference in the nation - and LSU opens next year with Oregon as their first out-of-conference opponent. As Urban Meyer can attest, coaching in the SEC is not for the faint of heart. No one can second guess or blame a man that chooses not to step up to what LSU's head coach will face next year. What is probably terrifying and exciting at the same time for Les Miles is that he has an LSU team that clearly has the potential to make a run for the BCS National Title this year or if not this year, certainly next year. I don't believe Les Miles is scared. You get into coaching for opportunities like the one Miles has at LSU. Make no mistake, Miles has worked hard to earn this enviable situation - set up a system, recruited the players and hired supporting coaches.
Miles, like Nick Saban before him, has recognized the native football talent in Louisiana, locked down that talent, and added outstanding out-of-state recruits to the larger core of Louisiana's finest football players. Players from Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Georgia regionally as well as talented players nationally are attracted to the level of play in the SEC and LSU has become a fixture at the top of the SEC. It may have been easier to recruit at Michigan twenty or thirty years ago but, LSU and the SEC attract the best talent these days. Staying at LSU will afford Miles a better chance to succeed.
Miles is at a juncture where he can continue at LSU and become the next Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, or Bear Bryant. Whoever coaches at Michigan will always coach in the shadows of Bo Schembechler. Jim Harbaugh, Mighigan's first choice to take the reins, and Les Miles are attractive to Michigan because they want some part of Bo Schembechler and Schembechler's success back at Michigan. Alabama had a similar problem after Bear Bryant. What Alabama learned was that a coach that had coached in the SEC, their league, against their current competition had the best chance to succeed. Miles knew Schembechler and may have even learned his best lessons while playing and coaching under Schembechler but, make no mistake, Les Miles is an LSU man now. Hopefully, Les Miles realizes that fact.
Michigan and LSU have been successful before Les Miles and will likely be successful at some point when coach Miles fades into history but coach Les Miles has found what very few coaches have found at the level he is coaching. Coach Miles has found a program that he fits with and a program where he has found unparalleled success. Most LSU fans love and adore coach Miles. A few fans will never like him. For now, Miles is larger than life in Louisiana.
Will Miles choose to step up and take his place as a Louisiana institution, one of the few that Louisianans look to with pride or will he try to go home again to a place that has not been his home for a very long time? What would have happened if legendary running back Jim Brown had chosen to leave the Browns after a few successful seasons. I guess it has worked out OK for Brett Favre after leaving Green Bay. I really like Les Miles. Miles staying at LSU would show a whole lot of character. My son is only 8 but, if he is good enough and Miles is still coaching at LSU in 10 years, I want my son to play for coach Miles.
When Miles came to LSU, he had only been a head coach for four years. As Oklahoma States' head coach, Miles had a 28-21 record and was 1-2 in bowl games. But, as a head coach at any school Miles has only had one losing season and that was his first year at Oklahoma State. After noticing that Oklahoma State had only finish 7-5 with a 33-7 loss in the Alamo bowl the previous season, some less savvy LSU fans may have wondered why LSU would even consider Les Miles as a candidate to coach the Tigers. But, from Miles first season at the helm of LSU, there was a magic. The previous year, coach Saban had left the Tigers with a last second bowl loss to Iowa but a solid 9-3 record overall and plenty of talented ball players. Miles managed to make that very solid LSU team even better.
Miles arrived at LSU only shortly before hurricanes Katrina and Rita and no one would have blamed him for packing his family up and heading back to Oklahoma, or Colorado, or Michigan, or even Ohio but, Miles not only stayed at LSU but led the Tigers to an 11-2 overall record. The first couple of years some claimed that Miles success was largely a result of Saban's outstanding recruiting. Saban is without question an outstanding recruiter but, Miles is an outstanding coach as well as a great recruiter. Miles has already proven himself at LSU. Miles' 62-17 record is even better than Lou Holtz's 60-21-2 record as Arkansas's head coach. Holtz's record at Arkansas established him as a premier coaching commodity and allowed him to realize his dream of becoming the head coach at Notre Dame. I suppose I am one of the few people that remember Holtz as a Hog. I bet Holtz would have completed a legendary career at Arkansas had he not been fired for some unspecified reason.
We know what happened with Holtz's coaching career, that's history. What we will not know for years is what will become of Les Miles coaching career. Coach Miles has a big decision coming up in the next few days. Here are my thoughts about coach Miles choices:
If Miles chooses to take the head coaching position at Michigan -
Michigan may improve, given enough time. Miles will have to interview and hire strong coaches that can recruit and understand how to coach in today's Big Ten. Even the best head coaches need strong supporting coaches and players to succeed. At LSU, Miles began with Bo Pelini, an outstanding defensive coordinator and after struggling on defense when Pelini became Nebraska's head coach, found a really strong seasoned SEC defensive coordinator without a job when he hired John Chavis. Upon arrival at LSU, Miles also inherited a very strong offensive coordinator in Jimbo Fisher. Fisher is now head coach at Florida State and the jury is out on whether LSU has found a consistently solid offensive coordinator yet.
Should Miles go to Michigan, he will not have to worry about offense. Michigan's offense consistently ranked higher than LSU's offense the last two years. On the other hand, the offense installed by Rich Rodriguez does not look like the type of offense that reflects Miles downhill running philosophy. To establish the type of offense that Miles' seems to favor, he will have to recruit bigger linemen and running backs at Michigan. That will take time.
What will be a more immediate concern is Michigan's anemic defense. Miles did narrowly miss out on recruiting 5-star defensive tackle William Campbell to LSU. Campbell went to Michigan. If he is still there, that could be a start to rebuild Michigan's defense. Still, Miles is going to need to locate a John Chavis or Bo Pelini type of coach to head Michigan's defense. I don't think Chavis or Pelini will be available and there are not very many coaches available with the talent of these two coaches. Miles is not a defensive coach and Michigan definitely needs a stronger defensive coach.
If Miles chooses to go to Michigan, my best guess is that Michigan will have to give him around five mediocre-to-losing years to produce a consistent winner. Michigan is not stocked with top players as LSU was when Miles arrived and it is doubtful that Michigan alum would be satisfied with a record like Miles compiled at Oklahoma State. If Miles goes to Michigan, I will still believe that Miles is the best LSU coach ever but, you have to wonder if my view will prevail or those that will still claim that Miles' real success at LSU came on the coattails of Nick Saban.
Miles's success at Michigan is not a forgone conclusion. I think novelist Tom Wolfe said something to the effect that you can never go home again. I think in the Bible in Mark 6:4 there is something about having trouble succeeding in your own home. Miles may not be the guy to resurrect the Wolverines.
If Miles chooses to remain head coach at LSU -
LSU was only about 3 plays from playing in the BCS national championship this year and LSU played a number of freshmen and redshirt freshmen this year. If that kind of success does not set up a tall enough task, LSU will again be playing in the SEC West - the toughest division of the toughest conference in the nation - and LSU opens next year with Oregon as their first out-of-conference opponent. As Urban Meyer can attest, coaching in the SEC is not for the faint of heart. No one can second guess or blame a man that chooses not to step up to what LSU's head coach will face next year. What is probably terrifying and exciting at the same time for Les Miles is that he has an LSU team that clearly has the potential to make a run for the BCS National Title this year or if not this year, certainly next year. I don't believe Les Miles is scared. You get into coaching for opportunities like the one Miles has at LSU. Make no mistake, Miles has worked hard to earn this enviable situation - set up a system, recruited the players and hired supporting coaches.
Miles, like Nick Saban before him, has recognized the native football talent in Louisiana, locked down that talent, and added outstanding out-of-state recruits to the larger core of Louisiana's finest football players. Players from Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Georgia regionally as well as talented players nationally are attracted to the level of play in the SEC and LSU has become a fixture at the top of the SEC. It may have been easier to recruit at Michigan twenty or thirty years ago but, LSU and the SEC attract the best talent these days. Staying at LSU will afford Miles a better chance to succeed.
Miles is at a juncture where he can continue at LSU and become the next Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, or Bear Bryant. Whoever coaches at Michigan will always coach in the shadows of Bo Schembechler. Jim Harbaugh, Mighigan's first choice to take the reins, and Les Miles are attractive to Michigan because they want some part of Bo Schembechler and Schembechler's success back at Michigan. Alabama had a similar problem after Bear Bryant. What Alabama learned was that a coach that had coached in the SEC, their league, against their current competition had the best chance to succeed. Miles knew Schembechler and may have even learned his best lessons while playing and coaching under Schembechler but, make no mistake, Les Miles is an LSU man now. Hopefully, Les Miles realizes that fact.
Michigan and LSU have been successful before Les Miles and will likely be successful at some point when coach Miles fades into history but coach Les Miles has found what very few coaches have found at the level he is coaching. Coach Miles has found a program that he fits with and a program where he has found unparalleled success. Most LSU fans love and adore coach Miles. A few fans will never like him. For now, Miles is larger than life in Louisiana.
Will Miles choose to step up and take his place as a Louisiana institution, one of the few that Louisianans look to with pride or will he try to go home again to a place that has not been his home for a very long time? What would have happened if legendary running back Jim Brown had chosen to leave the Browns after a few successful seasons. I guess it has worked out OK for Brett Favre after leaving Green Bay. I really like Les Miles. Miles staying at LSU would show a whole lot of character. My son is only 8 but, if he is good enough and Miles is still coaching at LSU in 10 years, I want my son to play for coach Miles.
January 6, 2011
The Cotton Bowl - LSU vs. Texas A&M (Part 6)
I just finished reading Rivals preview of the Cotton Bowl. Just below the article, 5 Rivals experts predict the outcome of the Cotton Bowl. Four of the 5 experts predict Texas A&M will beat LSU. I don't think so.
This is nothing new for the Tigers. Various experts have been predicting that the Tigers will lose all year. Some experts predicted that North Carolina or West Virginia or Mississippi State or Florida or certainly Alabama would defeat the LSU Tigers this year. LSU found a way to beat each of these teams. SEC sportswriters collectively predicted in a preseason vote that LSU would finish 4th in the SEC West yet, with one game left, the Fighting Tigers are 10-2. LSU may have been run all over by Cameron Newton but, Auburn only beat LSU by 7 points.
I attended both LSU and Texas A&M. My experience at both schools was outstanding. The LSU Tigers and the Texas Aggies are my two favorite football teams. The Fighting Texas Aggies have plenty to be proud of this year but, LSU has already handed the best 3-loss team in the country one of their three losses. I feel strongly that LSU deserves more respect from the experts. Alabama, who destroyed an 11-1 Michigan State team 49-7 in a major bowl, is the best 3-loss team in the country. Here is a brief video I found on youtube that highlights the LSU victory. LSU fans will want to watch the entire video.
This is nothing new for the Tigers. Various experts have been predicting that the Tigers will lose all year. Some experts predicted that North Carolina or West Virginia or Mississippi State or Florida or certainly Alabama would defeat the LSU Tigers this year. LSU found a way to beat each of these teams. SEC sportswriters collectively predicted in a preseason vote that LSU would finish 4th in the SEC West yet, with one game left, the Fighting Tigers are 10-2. LSU may have been run all over by Cameron Newton but, Auburn only beat LSU by 7 points.
I attended both LSU and Texas A&M. My experience at both schools was outstanding. The LSU Tigers and the Texas Aggies are my two favorite football teams. The Fighting Texas Aggies have plenty to be proud of this year but, LSU has already handed the best 3-loss team in the country one of their three losses. I feel strongly that LSU deserves more respect from the experts. Alabama, who destroyed an 11-1 Michigan State team 49-7 in a major bowl, is the best 3-loss team in the country. Here is a brief video I found on youtube that highlights the LSU victory. LSU fans will want to watch the entire video.
January 5, 2011
The Cotton Bowl - LSU vs. Texas A&M (Part 5)
With the Cotton Bowl just two days away things are getting exciting for Tiger and Aggie fans everywhere. I am sure the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan area is starting to swell with excited people clad in purple and gold and maroon and white. This close to the game feels like a good time to start comparing the relative strengths of players at key positions. Here are my thoughts on the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterbacks. Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill appear to be more successful versions of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. I say "appear to be" because I strongly believe that playing in the SEC and particularly in the SEC West this year is much more difficult than playing just about anywhere else in the country. Even with such stout and quick defenses LSU's quarterback play has been extremely spotty and that is being kind. While the Aggies Jerrod Johnson is a much better runner and probably a better all around athlete than Tannehill, Tannehill has proven to be a better decision maker in the pocket and a more efficient passer. I have read several reports, Mike Sherman midway through the season realized that Jerrod Johnson had not returned to full form so Sherman opted for a less athletically gifted, but more level headed, Tannehill. There are reports today in the New Orleans Times-Picayune that Jordan Jefferson has made great strides since the end of the season but until we see that show up on the field, Texas A&M has proven producing talent at the quarterback position: Advantage Aggies.
Running Backs. Both teams have a 1000 + yard rushers. A&M's Cyrus Gray rushed for 1033 yards and LSU's Stevan Ridley rushed for 1042 yards. Gray split time with a strong running back named Christine Michael most of the year who broke his leg and is not expected to play in the Cotton bowl. While Ridley had a lion's share of the carries for the Tigers this year, five other players got quality carries. Richard Murphy, Micheal Ford, Alfred Blue, Spencer Ware, and Russell Shepard could easily start at running back and may prove to make a key rushing play in the Cotton Bowl. The Aggies are one injury away from not having a prepared starting running back. Advantage Tigers.
Wide receivers. Jeff Fuller, Ryan Swope, and Uzoma Nwachukwu are all talented receivers. Cyrus Gray also catches the ball really well out of the backfield. The Aggies lost a solid wide receiver when they moved Tannehill from receiver to quarterback. Terrence Toliver, Rueben Randle, and Russell Shepard are the three best under-performing wide receivers in the nation. The Tigers also have a load of talented receivers waiting in the wings. The receivers have had a few drops and maybe could have made a few more tough catches but if the LSU receivers can get some solid quarterback play, the Tiger offense could dominate any team. Because of a lack of solid quarterback play: Slight Advantage Aggies. Though I did not include tight ends in the receiving discussion, DeAngelo Peterson could easily tip this game back to advantage Tigers. This receiving category is hard to call.
Offensive Line. Both Texas A&M and LSU have solid offensive lines which has led to few sacks and strong rushing from both teams. Much of the story of Texas A&M's success can be attributed to a very young line maturing and learning to work together. LSU began the year with an inexperienced but tight-nit group that by all reports were set to live up to high expectations and on the first play of the season offensive guard Will Blackwell broke his leg. The Tigers still proved to be a much improved offensive line. Many Tigers still wonder what might have been had Will Blackwell been blocking Auburn's Nick Fairley instead of back up center T-Bob Hebert. Blackwell is more than 20 pounds heavier than Hebert and Hebert was pushed around all day by Fairley. To contain today's SEC defensive linemen you have to weigh at least 300lbs and and have good strength and agility. Blackwell's return to 100% for the Cotton Bowl is why I have to give the lean here to the Tigers.
I expect the Cotton Bowl to most like be won by which ever team is able to running most effectively. In my opinion that team will be LSU. But this game could go either way.
I was sorry to learn that my prediction from this mornings article about Rich Rod being fired came true. ESPN is reporting that Michigan has not contacted Les Miles. Michigan would be lucky to get Miles but I feel certain that Les Miles realizes that he is home in Baton Rouge and he has very many truly special years left at LSU. I have never faltered in my support for Coach Miles and I hope he remains loyal to the Bayou Bengals. Stay away Michigan, Miles is enroute to becoming LSU's best coach ever, the SEC's best coach ever and the Nation's best coach ever. It is a tall order but, his best shot at achieving these goals is at LSU.
On a final note - I am watching the Under Armour game on ESPN and can't wait to see Jarvis Landry in purple and gold next year.
Quarterbacks. Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill appear to be more successful versions of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. I say "appear to be" because I strongly believe that playing in the SEC and particularly in the SEC West this year is much more difficult than playing just about anywhere else in the country. Even with such stout and quick defenses LSU's quarterback play has been extremely spotty and that is being kind. While the Aggies Jerrod Johnson is a much better runner and probably a better all around athlete than Tannehill, Tannehill has proven to be a better decision maker in the pocket and a more efficient passer. I have read several reports, Mike Sherman midway through the season realized that Jerrod Johnson had not returned to full form so Sherman opted for a less athletically gifted, but more level headed, Tannehill. There are reports today in the New Orleans Times-Picayune that Jordan Jefferson has made great strides since the end of the season but until we see that show up on the field, Texas A&M has proven producing talent at the quarterback position: Advantage Aggies.
Running Backs. Both teams have a 1000 + yard rushers. A&M's Cyrus Gray rushed for 1033 yards and LSU's Stevan Ridley rushed for 1042 yards. Gray split time with a strong running back named Christine Michael most of the year who broke his leg and is not expected to play in the Cotton bowl. While Ridley had a lion's share of the carries for the Tigers this year, five other players got quality carries. Richard Murphy, Micheal Ford, Alfred Blue, Spencer Ware, and Russell Shepard could easily start at running back and may prove to make a key rushing play in the Cotton Bowl. The Aggies are one injury away from not having a prepared starting running back. Advantage Tigers.
Wide receivers. Jeff Fuller, Ryan Swope, and Uzoma Nwachukwu are all talented receivers. Cyrus Gray also catches the ball really well out of the backfield. The Aggies lost a solid wide receiver when they moved Tannehill from receiver to quarterback. Terrence Toliver, Rueben Randle, and Russell Shepard are the three best under-performing wide receivers in the nation. The Tigers also have a load of talented receivers waiting in the wings. The receivers have had a few drops and maybe could have made a few more tough catches but if the LSU receivers can get some solid quarterback play, the Tiger offense could dominate any team. Because of a lack of solid quarterback play: Slight Advantage Aggies. Though I did not include tight ends in the receiving discussion, DeAngelo Peterson could easily tip this game back to advantage Tigers. This receiving category is hard to call.
Offensive Line. Both Texas A&M and LSU have solid offensive lines which has led to few sacks and strong rushing from both teams. Much of the story of Texas A&M's success can be attributed to a very young line maturing and learning to work together. LSU began the year with an inexperienced but tight-nit group that by all reports were set to live up to high expectations and on the first play of the season offensive guard Will Blackwell broke his leg. The Tigers still proved to be a much improved offensive line. Many Tigers still wonder what might have been had Will Blackwell been blocking Auburn's Nick Fairley instead of back up center T-Bob Hebert. Blackwell is more than 20 pounds heavier than Hebert and Hebert was pushed around all day by Fairley. To contain today's SEC defensive linemen you have to weigh at least 300lbs and and have good strength and agility. Blackwell's return to 100% for the Cotton Bowl is why I have to give the lean here to the Tigers.
I expect the Cotton Bowl to most like be won by which ever team is able to running most effectively. In my opinion that team will be LSU. But this game could go either way.
I was sorry to learn that my prediction from this mornings article about Rich Rod being fired came true. ESPN is reporting that Michigan has not contacted Les Miles. Michigan would be lucky to get Miles but I feel certain that Les Miles realizes that he is home in Baton Rouge and he has very many truly special years left at LSU. I have never faltered in my support for Coach Miles and I hope he remains loyal to the Bayou Bengals. Stay away Michigan, Miles is enroute to becoming LSU's best coach ever, the SEC's best coach ever and the Nation's best coach ever. It is a tall order but, his best shot at achieving these goals is at LSU.
On a final note - I am watching the Under Armour game on ESPN and can't wait to see Jarvis Landry in purple and gold next year.
Winners and Losers in the Bowls after the first 30
It's January 5 and 30 college football bowls have been played. Who are the big winners and losers? I will also include relevant or sometimes irrelevant information regarding the Cotton Bowl teams - LSU and Texas A&M.
Big Winners - TCU, Stanford, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Florida State, Alabama. TCU and Stanford proved to those of us with an SEC bias that they deserve the high rankings that they have been receiving in the polls. I still think that Alabama could have beaten either of these teams and I list Alabama in the big winners column because they totally dominated co-Big 10 champ Michigan State. Michigan State was a very solid 11-1 that had beaten the Big 10 rose bowl representative Wisconsin by more than a touchdown during the regular season. Alabama was by far the best 3 loss team in the country and will deserve a high preseason ranking to start next year. Ohio State finally beat an SEC team in a bowl after an extremely long drought dating back decades. By beating a very good Arkansas team, Ohio State proved that they still are a factor in the national title picture. With a bowl win in his first season as a head coach, Jimbo Fisher proved that Florida State may be a sort of football phoenix rising from the ashes of a once great football team that had seemed burnt out in recent years. As an LSU fan, I like the fact that the University of Florida may have to occupy themselves more with maintaining its position as the top college football program in the state. And let's not forget that Jimbo Fisher was LSU's OC before jumping ship to Florida State. Mississippi State has become a solid SEC contender for the first time in memory. Miss. State head coach, Dan Mullen has proven that he is one of the best coaches in the country. If you can win at Mississippi State, you can win anywhere. I am not sure many figured that Mississippi State would beat Michigan and I am certain even fewer would have guessed that Miss. State would have beaten the Wolverines by a score of 52-14. When your team passes the half-a-hundred score in a bowl game, your team is a big winner.
For my Cotton Bowl readers - LSU beat both Alabama and Mississippi State in the regular season. The Alabama game was close but LSU beat Miss.State 29-7 and Miss State did not score until the second half.
Losers - The Big 10, Nebraska, Michigan, Connecticut, Georgia. If Ohio State had not beaten Arkansas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl there would not have even been a light at the end of the tunnel for the Big 10. Ohio State did have a bit of help from usually sure-handed Arkansas receivers that dropped an unusually large number of very good passes. Maybe the game or the excellent pressure by the Buckeye defense had Ryan Mallett throwing the ball harder than normal. It does not sit well with the Big 10 or the PAC 10 to see a non-automatic BCS qualifying team holding the Rose Bowl trophy. It was one thing to see the University of Texas hoist the Trophy after beating USC a few years ago. It is quite another thing to see Texas Christian University horned frogs hoisting the trophy after beating the Big 10 champs. And what about Washington beating Nebraska? I seriously considered putting Washington in the "Big Winner" category. I suppose the Big 10 fans are somewhat relieved to note that Nebraska's Holiday loss took place December 30, prior to 2011, so that there is no confusion years from now about what conference Nebraska was representing. Nebraska was a serious contender for at least a top five finish in all the polls for much of the year. My guess is that they will learn from this year and come back stronger next year. Michigan, one of the top football programs of all time, has fallen on hard times. Have they fired Rich Rodriguez yet? I haven't seen the latest and I am not eager to make the effort to find out if a very good coach has been fired. Things are not working out at Michigan. I bet he and West Virginia would like a do over. Mississippi State is possibly the most improved team in the country, however; they did finish 5th out of the 6 teams in the SEC West. If Michigan's situation is bad, Connecticut's situation is worse. Finally, Connecticut has built a program that is on the verge of proving that they belong on the field with regular national contenders like Oklahoma and they not only lose the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl by four touchdowns, their coach doesn't even fly back with them to Connecticut. The loss of head coach Randy Edsall, the architect of the UConn success story, is a major set back and I am not convinced that taking the head coaching position at Maryland was the best option Edsall may have had available. From an SEC perspective the move only looks like a slight move upward for Edsall and almost an insult to the Connecticut folks. On a final "losers" note, one has to wonder how long Georgia will put up with being somewhat irrelevant in the SEC, let alone not even being considered in the National Championship picture. Losing to a Florida team, while uncomfortable, is no disgrace for Georgia. Losing to a team from Florida other than Florida, Miami or Florida State is fairly embarrassing for the folks from Georgia. In case you are not following, Georgia lost to the University of Central Florida in a pre-January bowl this year.
For my Cotton Bowl readers - Nebraska's loss had to be a slight blow to Aggies that may have noticed. Texas A&M narrowly beat Nebraska 9-6 during the regular season with some close calls not falling in Nebraska's favor. Many LSU fans may have been sympathetic to Nebraska's loss since Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini is just a few of years removed from having been LSU's defensive coordinator. LSU may have been embarrassed by association from Georgia's loss but LSU and Georgia did not play each other this year. On the "let's start a wild rumor" thought - If Georgia head coach Mark Richt is let go, I wonder if he might be interested in an offensive coordinator position at an outstanding SEC West program. Richt is still HC at Georgia and LSU does not have a vacancy at the OC position yet but, it might be something to keep in mind if Georgia keeps sliding and LSU cannot make it into the top half of the nation in offensive production. I suppose those last thoughts were out of character for me.
Sorry for being premature and mean spirited. It is not like me. Maybe it is because I was just interupted/annoyed by an anonymous "out-of-area" called that I suspect was about to try to sell me something. Hope that wasn't someone calling to offer me Cotton Bowl tickets or some other unnamed cool thing or opportunity. If you were the caller, I am about to leave. Call back and leave a message with your number and briefly tell me what you are offering. I will call back as soon as possible, if I am convinced that it is something cool.
Heads up - I am thinking about posting two articles today. Check back if you like.
Big Winners - TCU, Stanford, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Florida State, Alabama. TCU and Stanford proved to those of us with an SEC bias that they deserve the high rankings that they have been receiving in the polls. I still think that Alabama could have beaten either of these teams and I list Alabama in the big winners column because they totally dominated co-Big 10 champ Michigan State. Michigan State was a very solid 11-1 that had beaten the Big 10 rose bowl representative Wisconsin by more than a touchdown during the regular season. Alabama was by far the best 3 loss team in the country and will deserve a high preseason ranking to start next year. Ohio State finally beat an SEC team in a bowl after an extremely long drought dating back decades. By beating a very good Arkansas team, Ohio State proved that they still are a factor in the national title picture. With a bowl win in his first season as a head coach, Jimbo Fisher proved that Florida State may be a sort of football phoenix rising from the ashes of a once great football team that had seemed burnt out in recent years. As an LSU fan, I like the fact that the University of Florida may have to occupy themselves more with maintaining its position as the top college football program in the state. And let's not forget that Jimbo Fisher was LSU's OC before jumping ship to Florida State. Mississippi State has become a solid SEC contender for the first time in memory. Miss. State head coach, Dan Mullen has proven that he is one of the best coaches in the country. If you can win at Mississippi State, you can win anywhere. I am not sure many figured that Mississippi State would beat Michigan and I am certain even fewer would have guessed that Miss. State would have beaten the Wolverines by a score of 52-14. When your team passes the half-a-hundred score in a bowl game, your team is a big winner.
For my Cotton Bowl readers - LSU beat both Alabama and Mississippi State in the regular season. The Alabama game was close but LSU beat Miss.State 29-7 and Miss State did not score until the second half.
Losers - The Big 10, Nebraska, Michigan, Connecticut, Georgia. If Ohio State had not beaten Arkansas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl there would not have even been a light at the end of the tunnel for the Big 10. Ohio State did have a bit of help from usually sure-handed Arkansas receivers that dropped an unusually large number of very good passes. Maybe the game or the excellent pressure by the Buckeye defense had Ryan Mallett throwing the ball harder than normal. It does not sit well with the Big 10 or the PAC 10 to see a non-automatic BCS qualifying team holding the Rose Bowl trophy. It was one thing to see the University of Texas hoist the Trophy after beating USC a few years ago. It is quite another thing to see Texas Christian University horned frogs hoisting the trophy after beating the Big 10 champs. And what about Washington beating Nebraska? I seriously considered putting Washington in the "Big Winner" category. I suppose the Big 10 fans are somewhat relieved to note that Nebraska's Holiday loss took place December 30, prior to 2011, so that there is no confusion years from now about what conference Nebraska was representing. Nebraska was a serious contender for at least a top five finish in all the polls for much of the year. My guess is that they will learn from this year and come back stronger next year. Michigan, one of the top football programs of all time, has fallen on hard times. Have they fired Rich Rodriguez yet? I haven't seen the latest and I am not eager to make the effort to find out if a very good coach has been fired. Things are not working out at Michigan. I bet he and West Virginia would like a do over. Mississippi State is possibly the most improved team in the country, however; they did finish 5th out of the 6 teams in the SEC West. If Michigan's situation is bad, Connecticut's situation is worse. Finally, Connecticut has built a program that is on the verge of proving that they belong on the field with regular national contenders like Oklahoma and they not only lose the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl by four touchdowns, their coach doesn't even fly back with them to Connecticut. The loss of head coach Randy Edsall, the architect of the UConn success story, is a major set back and I am not convinced that taking the head coaching position at Maryland was the best option Edsall may have had available. From an SEC perspective the move only looks like a slight move upward for Edsall and almost an insult to the Connecticut folks. On a final "losers" note, one has to wonder how long Georgia will put up with being somewhat irrelevant in the SEC, let alone not even being considered in the National Championship picture. Losing to a Florida team, while uncomfortable, is no disgrace for Georgia. Losing to a team from Florida other than Florida, Miami or Florida State is fairly embarrassing for the folks from Georgia. In case you are not following, Georgia lost to the University of Central Florida in a pre-January bowl this year.
For my Cotton Bowl readers - Nebraska's loss had to be a slight blow to Aggies that may have noticed. Texas A&M narrowly beat Nebraska 9-6 during the regular season with some close calls not falling in Nebraska's favor. Many LSU fans may have been sympathetic to Nebraska's loss since Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini is just a few of years removed from having been LSU's defensive coordinator. LSU may have been embarrassed by association from Georgia's loss but LSU and Georgia did not play each other this year. On the "let's start a wild rumor" thought - If Georgia head coach Mark Richt is let go, I wonder if he might be interested in an offensive coordinator position at an outstanding SEC West program. Richt is still HC at Georgia and LSU does not have a vacancy at the OC position yet but, it might be something to keep in mind if Georgia keeps sliding and LSU cannot make it into the top half of the nation in offensive production. I suppose those last thoughts were out of character for me.
Sorry for being premature and mean spirited. It is not like me. Maybe it is because I was just interupted/annoyed by an anonymous "out-of-area" called that I suspect was about to try to sell me something. Hope that wasn't someone calling to offer me Cotton Bowl tickets or some other unnamed cool thing or opportunity. If you were the caller, I am about to leave. Call back and leave a message with your number and briefly tell me what you are offering. I will call back as soon as possible, if I am convinced that it is something cool.
Heads up - I am thinking about posting two articles today. Check back if you like.
January 4, 2011
The Cotton Bowl - LSU vs. Texas A&M (Part 4)
It's Tuesday. There are 2 minutes left in the first half of the Sugar Bowl and Ohio State is killing Arkansas. Come on Arkansas, represent the SEC West. Ohio State cannot be that much better than Wisconsin or Michigan State. Maybe the infamous five Ohio State players that will be playing their last college game until mid-season next year are playing inspired. Who knows? Who cares? This has nothing to do with the monumental battle coming up this Friday between the Fighting Texas Aggies and the Fighting Tigers. So, let's talk about the much more interesting game between my two college teams.
I have been digging through the statistics of the Aggies and the Bayou Bengals that might want to checkout on the College Football Statistics website. In my quest for better analysis of this years Cotton Bowl that you will not find anywhere else I will dive into some of the stats from these two teams and try to find some meaning that may impress your less well informed friends.
First, let's be clear that these statistics are like comparing apples and oranges because these two teams played very different schedules. Still, both teams played some pretty good teams. Both teams played Arkansas which, judging the first half of the Sugar Bowl, may or may not be a consistently stellar team. Texas A&M beat Texas Tech 45-27, Oklahoma 33-19, and Nebraska 9-6. LSU beat Mississippi State 29-7, Florida 33-29, Alabama 33-29. All six of these teams played in bowls and only Nebraska lost. Five other teams that LSU played in the regular season played or will play(Auburn) in a bowl game. Texas A&M played four other bowl participants during the regular season. While it is accurate to say that LSU had a tougher schedule, both teams played solid schedules. So the stats may provide some pretty good insight.
First let's look at the defenses. Both LSU and Texas A&M have very good defenses.
Forced Fumbles - LSU forced 17 fumbles this year. True freshman backup cornerback Tyrann Mathieu tied Senior defensive lineman Drake Nevis for the most forced fumbles by a Tiger this year. Both forced 3 fumbles which means that 11 fumbles were forced by other Tiger defenders. Eleven different Tigers force a fumble this year. Texas A&M forced 15 fumbles this year. Freshman defensive lineman Demotre Moore tied Senior Vonte Miller for most fumbles forced by and Aggie. Both forced 3 fumbles which means that 9 fumbles were forced by other Aggie defenders. Ten different Aggies forced at least one fumble this year. How much closer can you get? When you dig just a little deeper you discover that 14 of the fumbles force by the Tigers were against teams that played in a BCS automatic qualifying conference, while only 9 of the Aggies forced fumbles were against teams of that same caliber. The Aggies only forced 4 fumbles all year against teams ranked in the AP. The Tigers forced 7 fumbles by teams rank in the AP. The number of turnovers forced by a team is a really important statistic and it appears that LSU has been slightly more successful at forcing fumbles against quality teams.
Interceptions - The other major component in turnover margin is interceptions. LSU has racked up 16 interceptions and A&M has 15 interceptions this year. LSU has 12 ints and A&M has 11 ints against BCS automatic qualifiers. LSU has 9 ints and A&M has 6 ints against teams ranked in the AP poll. Dustin Harris and Coryell Judie lead the Aggies in interceptions with 4 and 3 interceptions respectively. Morris Claiborne and Patrick Peterson lead the Tigers in interceptions with 5 and 4 interceptions respectively. 9 different Tigers have at least 1 interception this year. 8 different Aggies have at least 1 interception this year.
In the category "turnovers" LSU has only a razor thin edge over the Aggies.
If you look at other major defensive statistics for these two teams you will find similar result. For example: 11 different LSU Tigers have contributed to 32 total sacks by the Tigers. 11 different Texas Aggies have contributed to 28 total sacks by the Aggies.
These two defenses should be competitive Friday night. Which defense steps up will definitely play a major role in which team wins this epic battle. On paper, these two defenses look very similar. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the Cotton Bowl.
The fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl is about to begin and it looks like the Hogs may be about to redeem themselves. Go Hogs!
I have been digging through the statistics of the Aggies and the Bayou Bengals that might want to checkout on the College Football Statistics website. In my quest for better analysis of this years Cotton Bowl that you will not find anywhere else I will dive into some of the stats from these two teams and try to find some meaning that may impress your less well informed friends.
First, let's be clear that these statistics are like comparing apples and oranges because these two teams played very different schedules. Still, both teams played some pretty good teams. Both teams played Arkansas which, judging the first half of the Sugar Bowl, may or may not be a consistently stellar team. Texas A&M beat Texas Tech 45-27, Oklahoma 33-19, and Nebraska 9-6. LSU beat Mississippi State 29-7, Florida 33-29, Alabama 33-29. All six of these teams played in bowls and only Nebraska lost. Five other teams that LSU played in the regular season played or will play(Auburn) in a bowl game. Texas A&M played four other bowl participants during the regular season. While it is accurate to say that LSU had a tougher schedule, both teams played solid schedules. So the stats may provide some pretty good insight.
First let's look at the defenses. Both LSU and Texas A&M have very good defenses.
Forced Fumbles - LSU forced 17 fumbles this year. True freshman backup cornerback Tyrann Mathieu tied Senior defensive lineman Drake Nevis for the most forced fumbles by a Tiger this year. Both forced 3 fumbles which means that 11 fumbles were forced by other Tiger defenders. Eleven different Tigers force a fumble this year. Texas A&M forced 15 fumbles this year. Freshman defensive lineman Demotre Moore tied Senior Vonte Miller for most fumbles forced by and Aggie. Both forced 3 fumbles which means that 9 fumbles were forced by other Aggie defenders. Ten different Aggies forced at least one fumble this year. How much closer can you get? When you dig just a little deeper you discover that 14 of the fumbles force by the Tigers were against teams that played in a BCS automatic qualifying conference, while only 9 of the Aggies forced fumbles were against teams of that same caliber. The Aggies only forced 4 fumbles all year against teams ranked in the AP. The Tigers forced 7 fumbles by teams rank in the AP. The number of turnovers forced by a team is a really important statistic and it appears that LSU has been slightly more successful at forcing fumbles against quality teams.
Interceptions - The other major component in turnover margin is interceptions. LSU has racked up 16 interceptions and A&M has 15 interceptions this year. LSU has 12 ints and A&M has 11 ints against BCS automatic qualifiers. LSU has 9 ints and A&M has 6 ints against teams ranked in the AP poll. Dustin Harris and Coryell Judie lead the Aggies in interceptions with 4 and 3 interceptions respectively. Morris Claiborne and Patrick Peterson lead the Tigers in interceptions with 5 and 4 interceptions respectively. 9 different Tigers have at least 1 interception this year. 8 different Aggies have at least 1 interception this year.
In the category "turnovers" LSU has only a razor thin edge over the Aggies.
If you look at other major defensive statistics for these two teams you will find similar result. For example: 11 different LSU Tigers have contributed to 32 total sacks by the Tigers. 11 different Texas Aggies have contributed to 28 total sacks by the Aggies.
These two defenses should be competitive Friday night. Which defense steps up will definitely play a major role in which team wins this epic battle. On paper, these two defenses look very similar. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the Cotton Bowl.
The fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl is about to begin and it looks like the Hogs may be about to redeem themselves. Go Hogs!
January 3, 2011
The Cotton Bowl - LSU vs. Texas A&M (Part 3)
Both the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate are reporting that Stevan Ridley has been declared eligible for the Cotton Bowl. Ridley not only leads an extremely talented group of LSU running backs but, is also the leading rusher among SEC running backs. While he rarely had a breakaway run this year, Ridley could almost always be counted on for 4-6 yards and proved nearly unstoppable on the goal line. Ridley is a real leader for the Tigers and he has become a fan favorite among Tiger fans. Ridley will probably get the most carries in the game for the Tigers but Mike Ford, Alfred Blue, Spencer Ware, and Russell Shepard could have highlight film runs. With the return of offensive linemen Alex Hurst and Will Blackwell to full form, I would not be at all surprised to see Russell Shepard repeat a long run like he opened with against North Carolina. Each LSU running back is talented and no two backs have the same running style.
By contrast Texas A&M has one running back - Cyrus Gray. Cyrus Gray took over as the sole rushing hope after Christine Michael broke his leg about midway in the season. When Gray was handed the job as a solo effort, he really took the ball and ran with it. Gray finished his last 6 games with 100 yard or more and 223 yards rushing against a talented Texas defense that was fighting to become bowl eligible. Gray also catches the ball well out of the backfield. A&M's late season success can be attributed to a young, inexperienced offensive line maturing under the able leadership of their one senior Aggie center and former LSU o-lineman Matt Allen.
Both LSU and A&M have a much improved offense due to solid offensive line play and spectacular running backs.
It is notable that in the three games that Texas A&M lost, Cyrus Gray was almost not present with a total of 11 touches combined in those three losses. Gray has shined against very talented defenses. Aside from the 223 yards against Texas, Gray gained 122 yards against Oklahoma and 137 yards against Nebraska. In both games Gray averaged more than 5 yards per carry.
As I am writing this I am watching the Orange Bowl between Stanford and Virginia Tech. I just watch Jeremy Stewart who played Catholic High in Baton Rouge score a long touchdown for Stanford and even though I was happy that a former Louisiana ball player scored on a long run, I would not trade a single LSU back for Stewart. I also wouldn't trade an LSU running back for a very talented Cyrus Gray. This Cotton Bowl is an opportunity for Stevan Ridley to show the pro scouts his talent. This is a game for Michael Ford to prove that his coaches made the right decision when they offered him a scholarship before Christine Michael. This is a game for Russell Shepard to show the nation and his fellow Texans that he is developing into the same talented player that dominated Texas 5A high school football. LSU WR Terrence Toliver may have a similar need.
For both teams it is largely up to the offensive line to provide the opportunity for all of this first rate running backs to realize their dreams. I can feel the temperature beginning to rise for this stellar Cotton Bowl match up. Friday cannot come soon enough.
When he fumbled twice in the opening game, I was certain that Stevan Ridley was not "the man" for the Tigers. At the end of the season, Mr. Ridley has convinced me that his is the man to lead the Tigers. I feel sure that Ridley realizes the opportunity that he and his Tiger family have with this opportunity to play one of the hottest rising teams in the country.
By contrast Texas A&M has one running back - Cyrus Gray. Cyrus Gray took over as the sole rushing hope after Christine Michael broke his leg about midway in the season. When Gray was handed the job as a solo effort, he really took the ball and ran with it. Gray finished his last 6 games with 100 yard or more and 223 yards rushing against a talented Texas defense that was fighting to become bowl eligible. Gray also catches the ball well out of the backfield. A&M's late season success can be attributed to a young, inexperienced offensive line maturing under the able leadership of their one senior Aggie center and former LSU o-lineman Matt Allen.
Both LSU and A&M have a much improved offense due to solid offensive line play and spectacular running backs.
It is notable that in the three games that Texas A&M lost, Cyrus Gray was almost not present with a total of 11 touches combined in those three losses. Gray has shined against very talented defenses. Aside from the 223 yards against Texas, Gray gained 122 yards against Oklahoma and 137 yards against Nebraska. In both games Gray averaged more than 5 yards per carry.
As I am writing this I am watching the Orange Bowl between Stanford and Virginia Tech. I just watch Jeremy Stewart who played Catholic High in Baton Rouge score a long touchdown for Stanford and even though I was happy that a former Louisiana ball player scored on a long run, I would not trade a single LSU back for Stewart. I also wouldn't trade an LSU running back for a very talented Cyrus Gray. This Cotton Bowl is an opportunity for Stevan Ridley to show the pro scouts his talent. This is a game for Michael Ford to prove that his coaches made the right decision when they offered him a scholarship before Christine Michael. This is a game for Russell Shepard to show the nation and his fellow Texans that he is developing into the same talented player that dominated Texas 5A high school football. LSU WR Terrence Toliver may have a similar need.
For both teams it is largely up to the offensive line to provide the opportunity for all of this first rate running backs to realize their dreams. I can feel the temperature beginning to rise for this stellar Cotton Bowl match up. Friday cannot come soon enough.
When he fumbled twice in the opening game, I was certain that Stevan Ridley was not "the man" for the Tigers. At the end of the season, Mr. Ridley has convinced me that his is the man to lead the Tigers. I feel sure that Ridley realizes the opportunity that he and his Tiger family have with this opportunity to play one of the hottest rising teams in the country.
January 2, 2011
The Cotton Bowl - LSU vs. Texas A&M (Part 2)
I received a number of emails and a couple of facebook comments/messages and twitter tweets/messages from both Tiger and Aggie fans. Many of you either know or will recall that after LSU, I went to graduate school at Texas A&M where I was a graduate assistant in the history department and a tutor for the football team. My house is also divide. My parents met while students at LSU and one of my brothers is a graduate of LSU. My wife of more than 20 years completed her undergraduate degree at Texas A&M. If these two teams were not meeting in the Cotton Bowl, I would be cheering for both teams to win.
Here are some of the things that my Aggie friends are saying:
Many of my Aggie friends simply wrote that I had better get ready to see LSU get whipped on national TV in front of the whole world. Those fans almost unanimously said that the Aggies were more talented and most importantly more fired up for this game. I do not believe either of those sentiments are accurate but, that kind of talk is getting me fired up for the game.
Here are some of the things that LSU fans are saying:
Here are some of the things that my Aggie friends are saying:
- Texas A&M's Defensive coordinator has made brilliant adjustments throughout the season. Don't forget that A&M held a very strong rushing team - Nebraska - to two field goals.
- From my facebook comment that "The LSU Tigers have landed in Dallas!" - Good to hear that the visiting team has arrived. You should mention that this will be a home game for the Aggies.
- Mike Sherman is clearly the better head coach. As evidence, when the Aggies most athletic QB, Jerrod Johnson, was struggling, Sherman found a solid QB (Ryan Tannehill) that allowed A&M's offense to finish will 6 wins once the move was made.
Many of my Aggie friends simply wrote that I had better get ready to see LSU get whipped on national TV in front of the whole world. Those fans almost unanimously said that the Aggies were more talented and most importantly more fired up for this game. I do not believe either of those sentiments are accurate but, that kind of talk is getting me fired up for the game.
Here are some of the things that LSU fans are saying:
- "Bob, you are right on with your analysis about LSU's defense. I believe that LSU's defense played a bit more flat at the end of the season because of a rough SEC schedule nicking them up. LSU should be rested and healthy for this game. Expect to see an aggressive and hard hitting Tiger defense in the Cotton Bowl!"
- Bob, I am surprised that you did not list LSU's outstanding special teams as a key factor in your "Why LSU will win the Cotton Bowl" discussion.
- The most talented Texans in the Cotton bowl will be in purple and gold. Terrence Toliver, Russell Shepard, Jarrett Lee, Chancey Aghayere, Mike Brockers, and Craig Loston are all talented products of Texas high schools that will be playing for the Tigers.
All of the Texas Tigers are extremely talented as are all of the Texas Aggies. Texas high schools produce some of the best talent in the country. LSU has successfully recruited some of the very best of Texas eager to play in the SEC West but LSU's advantage may be in not only their top Texas and Louisiana players but in great players from other states like Patrick Peterson from Florida or Kelvin Shepard from Georgia. LSU's talent net has spread wider than just Louisiana or Texas.
A few LSU friends are concerned that the Tigers will not be fired up for this game considering that many Tiger players realize how close they came to a spot in the BCS National Championship. I have got to believe that the Tigers are going to be fired up at playing a top Texas A&M team that should challenge for the Big 12 championship and possibly the national championship for the next few years. LSU still has yet to play to their potential this year. LSU quarterbacks will need a strong performance to keep that position next year with the arrival of Zach Mettenberger so this will be the time to pull out their "A" game.
All of the above is just talk. Some of it is toned down (or not so toned down) trash talk. The proof of these statements will all be provided this Friday. I can't wait until the game!
I noticed on the official Cotton Bowl website that the Aggies are winning a fan poll predicting who will win the Cotton Bowl. You may want to visit the site and vote. The poll is in the right-hand column under "Action Poll."
January 1, 2011
The Cotton Bowl - LSU vs Texas A&M (Part 1)
The Cotton Bowl has a better match up than almost any other bowl this year including the BCS games. After going 3-3, Texas A&M won their last 6 games to finish 9-3. Alabama and Texas A&M are probably the best two 9-3 teams in the country. LSU came within two or three plays of playing for the National Championship while going 10-2. To make this Cotton Bowl pairing even more interesting these teams not only share a border, they have a history and there is still a distinct possibility that Texas A&M may be added to the SEC West at sometime in the future. On paper, these two teams both look fairly evenly matched. Both teams ought to have something to say about the National Championship over the next few years. Any predictions involving what will happen when these two teams meet January 7 would be wild speculation. So, here is my first shot.
Both LSU and Texas A&M have lost to a common opponent this year - Arkansas. On a good day Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett could make any team look silly and he had a good day against both LSU and A&M. Texas A&M lost to Arkansas by 7 points early in the year and LSU lost to Arkansas by 8 points in the last game of the season. But none of that matters for either team. Texas A&M has since changed Quarterbacks and transformed into a totally different offense. A couple of years ago, when LSU won the BCS National Championship, LSU lost their last game to Arkansas. It didn't seem to negatively impact LSU's performance in the National Championship game.
Which regular season opponents are most like LSU and Texas A&M? Once again, this is wild speculation but here is what I think about this question. Texas A&M is probably most like Mississippi State. Texas A&M's QB is kind of like a cross between Miss. St. QBs Relf and Russell. A&M QB, Ryan Tannehill is not as big of a threat to run as Relf but he is a bit better of a pro style QB than Tyler Russell. Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray is a strong hard-nosed running back with descent speed much like Miss. State running back Vick Ballard. A&M's offensive line is about the same height and weight as Miss. State's line. If LSU's defense handles Texas A&M like they did Mississippi State, A&M will be in for a long night.
Texas A&M's defense is harder to compare to one of LSU's regular season opponents because of a couple of question marks. I suspect that Texas A&M linebacker and Butkus Award winner Von Miller will be very much like some of the quicker defensive ends that LSU has faced in the SEC this year. Miller does a very good job of dropping back in pass coverage but he is more like a quick defensive end. The question marks are cornerback Coryell Judie who is the closest thing that A&M has to Patrick Peterson and 6-5 300lbs defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie. Judie has a shoulder injury and will likely have corrective surgery following soon after the Cotton Bowl. Judie is a quick cornerback and also a very effective kickoff returner. I do not know the extent of his injury but he is likely to be taking some shots throughout the game from a very hard hitting LSU kickoff return team and LSU's main receivers are fairly big and athletic. Jerod-Eddie may be an even bigger factor. Jerod-Edie is tied for most tackles by an Aggie this year and following the Texas-Texas A&M game, November 25, he had foot surgery. Aggie head coach Mike Sherman expects both players to be ready for the Cotton Bowl so maybe they will be.
Like Texas A&M's defense LSU's offense is a big question mark. It has been all year. The biggest question mark all year for LSU has been how to get solid consistent play from the quarterback position and while that is still a question that the Tigers will need to answer, the question for the Cotton Bowl is who the Tigers will start at running back. Unlike players at Auburn and Ohio State, LSU's 1000-yard running back Stevan Ridley has committed some act so heinous as to disqualify him from participating in the Cotton Bowl. LSU should have a final answer from an appeal January 4th. If Ridley loses this appeal, LSU will certainly miss him. However, LSU has several excellent backup running backs eager for the chance. Two years ago LSU was looking at three running back recruits - Trent Richardson, Mike Ford, and Christine Michael. It is widely believed that when given the choice, LSU chose Ford over Michael. Unfortunately for the Aggies, co-starting A&M running back Christine Michael's was lost to injury and Ridely's redshirt freshman backup is Mike Ford. Ford became the backup after injury to true freshman backup Alfred Blue who may also see playing time if Ridley remains ineligible and true freshman running back Spencer Ware seems on the verge of his consensus five star recruiting ranking. To add to potential Aggie woes, LSU lost two starting offensive linemen that seem to now be at full strength and by all reports are eager to play in the Cotton bowl. The biggest question for LSU's offense is still Quarterback.
On defense, LSU most resembles Nebraska or maybe Oklahoma State. As well as LSU's defense has played this year, the comparison may actually be an insult to the Tigers. One of the most interesting match ups in the Cotton Bowl will be Texas A&M's receivers versus LSU's secondary. I think LSU's cornerbacks, Mo Claiborne and Patrick Peterson, have the edge versus some very talented Aggie receivers. Jeff Fuller is the top Aggie wide receiver. Fuller is 6-4 200lbs, runs solid routes and has great hands. Fuller will probably be a very good NFL receiver but he is no better that Alabama's Julio Jones or Georgia's A.J. Green. While LSU did not play Georgia this year, Patrick Peterson has played very well against Green in the past and Jones for the last two years. Fuller is one of those kind of receivers, so it should be a battle. Aggie wide receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu is also a very good "SEC type" receiver that warrants close coverage but LSU's defensive backs should be up to the task. Probably the most dangerous wide receiver that A&M has is Ryan Swope. With the other two athletic wide receivers Swope sometimes seems to come out of nowhere with a solid reception. Aggie running back, Cyrus Gray, has had 6 straight games with 100 yards or more. In his last game against Texas, Gray had 223 yards on 27 attempts for an 8.3 yards a touch average. LSU had better not underestimate this Texas A&M team.
Who do I think will win and why? I think LSU will win this game but if LSU plays like they have all year it will be close and come down to the last minute. This Texas A&M team is better than any of the Big Ten teams that LSU would likely have faced had they not been selected by the Cotton Bowl. Regardless of the outcome both of these teams real look set to dominate next year.
LSU will win because:
Texas A&M has beaten Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana Tech, Florida International, Kansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor, Nebraska, and Texas. A&M lost to Oklahoma State by 3 points, Arkansas by 7 points, and Missouri by 21 points. Texas A&M has not lost a game since October 16th. Texas A&M tied for the lead in the Big 12 South. The only reason that A&M did not play for the Big 12 Championship was because after a 3-3 start, A&M had a difficult time getting a ranking in the polls that reflected the team's 6-0 rest of the season success. Texas A&M is the Alabama of the Big 12. Despite the details of who and when surrounding the losses, three losses are too many to be considered highly in the polls in conferences like the SEC and the Big 12. Texas A&M is a young team eager to get noticed.
LSU had better not underestimate the Aggies. The Tigers should realize that this game is important and from all reports they are taking this game very seriously.
For those of you that are wondering - I plan on writing each day until the Cotton Bowl and plan on a post game analysis.
Both LSU and Texas A&M have lost to a common opponent this year - Arkansas. On a good day Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett could make any team look silly and he had a good day against both LSU and A&M. Texas A&M lost to Arkansas by 7 points early in the year and LSU lost to Arkansas by 8 points in the last game of the season. But none of that matters for either team. Texas A&M has since changed Quarterbacks and transformed into a totally different offense. A couple of years ago, when LSU won the BCS National Championship, LSU lost their last game to Arkansas. It didn't seem to negatively impact LSU's performance in the National Championship game.
Which regular season opponents are most like LSU and Texas A&M? Once again, this is wild speculation but here is what I think about this question. Texas A&M is probably most like Mississippi State. Texas A&M's QB is kind of like a cross between Miss. St. QBs Relf and Russell. A&M QB, Ryan Tannehill is not as big of a threat to run as Relf but he is a bit better of a pro style QB than Tyler Russell. Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray is a strong hard-nosed running back with descent speed much like Miss. State running back Vick Ballard. A&M's offensive line is about the same height and weight as Miss. State's line. If LSU's defense handles Texas A&M like they did Mississippi State, A&M will be in for a long night.
Texas A&M's defense is harder to compare to one of LSU's regular season opponents because of a couple of question marks. I suspect that Texas A&M linebacker and Butkus Award winner Von Miller will be very much like some of the quicker defensive ends that LSU has faced in the SEC this year. Miller does a very good job of dropping back in pass coverage but he is more like a quick defensive end. The question marks are cornerback Coryell Judie who is the closest thing that A&M has to Patrick Peterson and 6-5 300lbs defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie. Judie has a shoulder injury and will likely have corrective surgery following soon after the Cotton Bowl. Judie is a quick cornerback and also a very effective kickoff returner. I do not know the extent of his injury but he is likely to be taking some shots throughout the game from a very hard hitting LSU kickoff return team and LSU's main receivers are fairly big and athletic. Jerod-Eddie may be an even bigger factor. Jerod-Edie is tied for most tackles by an Aggie this year and following the Texas-Texas A&M game, November 25, he had foot surgery. Aggie head coach Mike Sherman expects both players to be ready for the Cotton Bowl so maybe they will be.
Like Texas A&M's defense LSU's offense is a big question mark. It has been all year. The biggest question mark all year for LSU has been how to get solid consistent play from the quarterback position and while that is still a question that the Tigers will need to answer, the question for the Cotton Bowl is who the Tigers will start at running back. Unlike players at Auburn and Ohio State, LSU's 1000-yard running back Stevan Ridley has committed some act so heinous as to disqualify him from participating in the Cotton Bowl. LSU should have a final answer from an appeal January 4th. If Ridley loses this appeal, LSU will certainly miss him. However, LSU has several excellent backup running backs eager for the chance. Two years ago LSU was looking at three running back recruits - Trent Richardson, Mike Ford, and Christine Michael. It is widely believed that when given the choice, LSU chose Ford over Michael. Unfortunately for the Aggies, co-starting A&M running back Christine Michael's was lost to injury and Ridely's redshirt freshman backup is Mike Ford. Ford became the backup after injury to true freshman backup Alfred Blue who may also see playing time if Ridley remains ineligible and true freshman running back Spencer Ware seems on the verge of his consensus five star recruiting ranking. To add to potential Aggie woes, LSU lost two starting offensive linemen that seem to now be at full strength and by all reports are eager to play in the Cotton bowl. The biggest question for LSU's offense is still Quarterback.
On defense, LSU most resembles Nebraska or maybe Oklahoma State. As well as LSU's defense has played this year, the comparison may actually be an insult to the Tigers. One of the most interesting match ups in the Cotton Bowl will be Texas A&M's receivers versus LSU's secondary. I think LSU's cornerbacks, Mo Claiborne and Patrick Peterson, have the edge versus some very talented Aggie receivers. Jeff Fuller is the top Aggie wide receiver. Fuller is 6-4 200lbs, runs solid routes and has great hands. Fuller will probably be a very good NFL receiver but he is no better that Alabama's Julio Jones or Georgia's A.J. Green. While LSU did not play Georgia this year, Patrick Peterson has played very well against Green in the past and Jones for the last two years. Fuller is one of those kind of receivers, so it should be a battle. Aggie wide receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu is also a very good "SEC type" receiver that warrants close coverage but LSU's defensive backs should be up to the task. Probably the most dangerous wide receiver that A&M has is Ryan Swope. With the other two athletic wide receivers Swope sometimes seems to come out of nowhere with a solid reception. Aggie running back, Cyrus Gray, has had 6 straight games with 100 yards or more. In his last game against Texas, Gray had 223 yards on 27 attempts for an 8.3 yards a touch average. LSU had better not underestimate this Texas A&M team.
Who do I think will win and why? I think LSU will win this game but if LSU plays like they have all year it will be close and come down to the last minute. This Texas A&M team is better than any of the Big Ten teams that LSU would likely have faced had they not been selected by the Cotton Bowl. Regardless of the outcome both of these teams real look set to dominate next year.
LSU will win because:
- LSU has had time to heal from less serious bumps and bruises that occurred during a really physical SEC West run. LSU will miss Sam Montgomery and Brandon Taylor but the rest of the team should be much more fresh than they were at the end of the season.
- Almost no one prepares a team for a bowl as well as Les Miles. A 2-point loss to Joe Paterno's Penn. State team last year is Miles' only bowl loss as an LSU head coach.
- Texas A&M has big, strong, fast, talented players but LSU has faced and defeated teams with even better athletes.
- The SEC West is the dominate group of teams in the country this year and LSU has only lost twice this year and only to teams in the SEC West.
Texas A&M has beaten Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana Tech, Florida International, Kansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor, Nebraska, and Texas. A&M lost to Oklahoma State by 3 points, Arkansas by 7 points, and Missouri by 21 points. Texas A&M has not lost a game since October 16th. Texas A&M tied for the lead in the Big 12 South. The only reason that A&M did not play for the Big 12 Championship was because after a 3-3 start, A&M had a difficult time getting a ranking in the polls that reflected the team's 6-0 rest of the season success. Texas A&M is the Alabama of the Big 12. Despite the details of who and when surrounding the losses, three losses are too many to be considered highly in the polls in conferences like the SEC and the Big 12. Texas A&M is a young team eager to get noticed.
LSU had better not underestimate the Aggies. The Tigers should realize that this game is important and from all reports they are taking this game very seriously.
For those of you that are wondering - I plan on writing each day until the Cotton Bowl and plan on a post game analysis.
November 30, 2010
LSU Football: This is what I am Thinking
Now that LSU has completed a successful 10-2, yet still disappointing season, I am thinking about LSU's prospects: bowl prospects, recruiting prospects, and possible coaching prospects. Here are my thoughts:
Bowl Prospects
LSU is most likely to compete in either the Capital One Bowl or the Cotton Bowl this year. Some would say that facing Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl would be LSU's best shot. That could be pretty cool. The possibility of beating an 11-1 Big Ten team could allow LSU to finish the year and start next year in the top 5. Frankly, if LSU finishes with a typically dominate bowl win (last year's 2 point loss was an exception), LSU ought to start next year with a high enough ranking to be in the National Championship picture.
Some have emailed me that they are glad LSU is not playing likely contender Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl and I have to admit that I will be glad to not have to hear an announcer go on about how LSU is virtually playing another home game in New Orleans. Whether it is Ohio State or Michigan State, I don't think playing an 11-1 Big Ten team is the most exciting match up. I would rather see LSU play in Cotton Bowl. Since the Tigers are not likely to play in New Orleans this year, Dallas is the next closest venue. It is actually closer than New Orleans for those of us in the Shreveport-Bossier area and there are a number of LSU alum and fans in Texas. I like the Big 12 potential match ups also.
The most likely match ups that LSU would face in the Cotton Bowl would be Oklahoma, Nebraska, Oklahoma State or Texas A&M. Oklahoma and Texas A&M were rumored to be considering moves to the SEC earlier this year and if the University of Texas has a few more sub par seasons, who knows, OU and Texas A&M may be in SEC eventually. Personally, my favorite match up of these Big 12 teams is Texas A&M . After LSU, I went to Texas A&M for grad school. LSU/OU would be a repeat match up of the 2003 BCS National Championship pairing. LSU/Nebraska would be an interesting Pelini - Miles match or Pelini facing the team he used to help coach as LSU's former Defensive Coordinator. LSU/OSU would be Les Miles facing the team that he left to coach at LSU.
Whether LSU faces an 11-1 Big Ten team or a 9-3 Texas A&M, LSU's challenge will be the same that it has been all year: to play up to their potential. LSU has not played a complete game all year. LSU has the talent to dominate any team on defense and offense when they play to their potential. Les Miles, LSU team what I want for Christmas is for LSU's football team to play a dominate game on both sides of the ball.
Recruiting Prospects
LSU has another great recruiting class already verbally committed but I have been thinking about the possible recruiting prospects at the Quarterback position. There are three really strong QBs coming out of Florida this year: Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, and Teddy Bridgewater. Jeff Driskel is a 6'4"-224lb consensus five star QB who is ranked #1 pro style QB by Rivals and #2 QB by Scout. Driskel verbally committed to Florida April 19th. That was when Florida seemed to be a fixture in the national title picture and well before a 7-5 season that nobody predicted. So there is some hope that Driskel will reconsider his decision. Auburn appeared to be Driskel's second choice and you have to think many Auburn recruits may want to see how the Cam Newton situation will be resolved. LSU seemed to be Driskel's third choice. Still it is unlikely that Driskel will reconsider. One report has Driskel enrolling and starting early at Florida in January. So Driskel coming to LSU is probably wishful thinking. Driskel does want to play on a good college baseball team also.
Jacoby Brissett is a 6'5" 225lb QB. He has not verbally committed and is rank as the 6th best dual threat quarterback by Rivals. My guess is that Brissett will probably go to Florida State but LSU is on his short list.
Teddy Bridgewater is a 6'3" 185lb QB who is ranked as the #2 dual threat QB by rivals, the #3 QB by Scout and is #8 in ESPN's top 150 players. Bridgewater by all accounts seriously considered LSU before verbally committing to Miami. That was before Miami fired Randy Shannon. With the departure of Shannon, Bridgewater probably realizes that chaos is likely to rule Miami football for at least the next few years. Even though Bridgewater plays his high school ball at Miami Northwestern, I think LSU may have a shot at this guy.
Two Quarterback prospects that are much more likely to help out LSU are Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger is a 4 star 6'5" 250lb quarterback who is ranked as the #15 QB prospect by Scout. Mettenberger was originally recruited in 2009 to play for Georgia and left when things did not work to play a year in Junior College. In Junior College, Mettenberger has proven to be a really good pro style quarterback.
Stephen Rivers may be the future star quarterback at LSU. Rivers is a 6'6" 200lb pro style quarterback who is only a consensus three star and only ranked as the #22 QB prospect by Rivals. But Rivers has the frame to put on some muscle weight and he often draws favorable comparisons with his older brother, NFL quarterback Philip Rivers.
LSU needs a solid and consistently good quarterback to be a contender.
Coaching Prospects
At times LSU's offensive woes have clearly been a lack of solid play calling and frankly it typically falls to the Offensive Coordinator to not only call the plays but also to develop the quarterback. I have generally avoided considering coaching changes during the season but after many emails throughout the season, I have certainly thought about which Offensive Coordinators might provide LSU with a stronger team. The first coach that comes to mind is former Auburn OC and current San Diego State OC, Al Borges. Borges is familiar with SEC play, has proven successful at San Diego State, and like Miles, believes in having a strong running game. Tulsa co-Offensive Coordinator, Chad Morris is another possibility. Morris is an up and comer and is also listed as Tulsa's Quarterback coach. LSU needs someone that knows how to develop quarterbacks. Former LSU OC/current FSU head coach, Jimbo Fisher sure proved the value of having a really good QB coach. According to ESPN, Morris' Tulsa team has the 9th rank overall offense and Tulsa averages over 284 yards passing and nearly 220 yards rushing a game. Another possibility is Justin Fuente, TCU's co-Offensive coordinator. While Fuente is also a running backs coach at TCU, prior to his stint at TCU he was Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach at Illinois State.
I do not know whether any of these three coaches have any interest in leaving their current positions or in coaching at LSU. I also have concerns about replacing any of the other coaches other than Gary Crowton (LSU's current OC) and you have to think a new OC might want to have a say in his offensive coaching staff. But for all of you that have emailed me and/or commented on my articles that you believe that LSU should consider replacing Crowton, above are three coaches that may provide some possible fixes to LSU's offensive problems.
November 28, 2010
Four LSU players that were missed
Will Blackwell - OG, Sam Montgomery - DE, Alex Hurst - OT, and Brandon Taylor - S were all starters that were certainly missed. The backups for each of these starters performed very well but these four guys were named starters for a reason.
When Alex Hurst went down late in the season, LSU lost an entire side of their offensive line. Hurst's and Blackwell's return will make LSU's offense better next year.
At defensive end Sam Montgomery was challenging Drake Nevis as LSU's most dominate defensive lineman and considering the depth LSU has on the defensive line, that is saying a lot. Montgomery was lost for the season early in the Tennessee game and with his loss, LSU lost a step and a really formidable pass rusher. When Montgomery returns LSU will have a rotation at d-line that is unparalleled in college football. Both Pep Levinston and Drake Nevis will be missed as the starting defensive tackles but there are several potentially great defensive tackles that will be eager to step in and uphold the strong play that is the mark of recent LSU DTs. LSU also has a couple of very good D-line recruits that have verbally committed.
One thing that surprised me throughout the LSU/Arkansas telecast on CBS is the lack of any mention that LSU was having to start a true freshman at safety due to an injury to junior starter Brandon Taylor. True freshman Eric Reid is going to be an outstanding safety for LSU for several more years. His interception and long return of a Ryan Mallett pass in the Arkansas game was a thing of beauty. However, you have to wonder if a more experienced Brandon Taylor over the top may have prevented at least one of the two 80 yard touchdown passes by Arkansas in the first half or even the second half 40 yard touchdown pass where true freshman cornerback Tyrann Mathieu got beat.
Here is hoping for a speedy and full recovery for these four LSU players and any others that I may have forgotten.
November 27, 2010
Just 4 Plays Away But 10-2 is Not Bad
In July I predicted that LSU would win at least 10 games and very well could go undefeated. I feel pretty good about that prediction. I feel pretty sure that LSU will drop out of the top ten despite the fact that they have played 6 ranked teams this year and managed to go 4-2 in those game. Two losses against ranked teams in away games when half of your regular season schedule has been against ranked teams is nothing to hang your head about. Arkansas had only previously lost to Auburn and Alabama. Those are two teams that can beat anybody in the country. But for the 12 games of this season LSU played well below their potential.
LSU lost to Arkansas because of 4 plays or missed plays: two by the defense and two by the offense. Jordan Jefferson's fumble in the last play of the game , while frustrating, was not one of those game changing plays.
The Defensive
In the first half on two third and long "certain stops" LSU gave up touchdowns of 80 and 84 yards. While Ryan Mallett deserves credit for the passes, neither pass was more than 20 yards through the air. Patrick Peterson missed an assignment on the first first half touchdown and Karnell Hatcher took a horrible angle in attempting the tackle. The second play was the last play of the second half where only CBS announcer, Steve Beurlein, had no clue that Arkansas would attempt a big play. Karnell Hatcher attempted to either intercept the ball or lay a huge hit on the receiver when he took out LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne in effect freeing up the Arkansas wide receiver for a big gain. Eric Reid and Patrick Peterson were both playing deep coverage and surely one of those two sure tackling outstanding defensive backs would prevent a score. It was a high probability, but neither defensive back could stop the receiver and Arkansas finished the last seconds of the first half with a touchdown and the score was 21-14 at the half. The defense and special teams came out in the third quarter to make amends and they delivered by not only holding Arkansas scoreless in the third quarter and only 10 second half points for the entire half but gave LSU's offense turnovers and great field position to potentially bring home an 11 win season.
The Offense
If LSU's defense had not give Arkansas the two huge pass play touchdowns, Jefferson would have really stood out as having a much better half than Ryan Mallett. Jefferson had something like 140 yards passing in the first half.
To start the second half Patrick Peterson nearly broke the opening kickoff for a touchdown but was pushed out of bounds by the Arkansas kicker at the Arkansas 46 yard line. LSU's offense only had to drive 46 yards and the game would be tied at 21 in the opening drive of the third quarter. LSU's offense could only manage to get the ball to the Arkansas 29 yard line: only a total of 17 yards. No problem, Josh Jasper made a field goal and the score was a very manageable 17-21. On Arkansas' first drive of the third quarter LSU's defense came up strong. LSU forced and recovered a fumble at the Arkansas 9 yard line. Even a struggling LSU offense could and would score from the 9 - right? Wrong, after four plays LSU's offense had managed 6 yards and so another Josh Jasper field goal made the score 20-21. It was at that point I realized that LSU was very unlikely to win this game and unfortunately I was right. Like all of the crazy way too close games that LSU has played this year, I had watch until the end just in case the Mad Hatter had something left in his hat.
LSU did have a chance after those very disappointing drives. In the fourth quarter LSU was running a hurry up - pass crazy offense that was driving the field with about 3 minutes to go when for some reason a decision was made to run the ball. Then on a first and goal from the Arkansas 8 yard line the LSU center managed to snap the ball completely over the 6'4" Jordan Jefferson causing a 19 yard loss. The next play Jordan Jefferson rushed for eight yards and after he was well into his slide an Arkansas defender launched himself in a clear helmet-to-helmet (personal foul) tackle that connected as Jefferson was seated on the ground. The helmet-to-helmet blow should have caused Jefferson a concussion but did cause him to loss his grip on the ball that was already touching the ground. The Arkansas crowd booed loudly wanting a replay official to rule the play a fumble but after the review, it was confirmed that Jefferson was down. I would not mention the helmet-to-helmet shot but CBS showed the play several times trying to double check whether Jefferson was down. LSU retained possession, called a timeout and kicked a field goal. The score after the field goal was 23-31 which was the final score. Arkansas wide receiver, Cobi Hamilton secured the on-sides kick that followed and the game was nearly over.
LSU's defense did manage to stop Arkansas' offense one last time and force a punt. That gave LSU a last chance to drive 94 yards, score a touchdown and convert a 2 point conversion for overtime. That was not going to happen. Not with this LSU offense this year. LSU has some of the best talent on both offense and defense but LSU's offense has to get better. To me, it seems like with a few tweaks LSU ought to have a great shot at an undefeated season and a BCS National Championship next year.
Congratulations to an outstanding game to Arkansas wide receiver, Cobi Hamilton. Hamilton caught only three receptions. Two of those are the receptions that went for 80 and 84 yard touchdowns in the first half. As noted previously, Hamilton also secured the last chance on-sides kick that allowed Arkansas to at least run the 2 minutes and 44 seconds down to less than a minute for LSU's wish of a come back.
Not many teams won 10 games this season and still fewer did so while playing against 6 ranked teams. Make no mistake, LSU is still one of the elite football programs in the nation.
LSU lost to Arkansas because of 4 plays or missed plays: two by the defense and two by the offense. Jordan Jefferson's fumble in the last play of the game , while frustrating, was not one of those game changing plays.
The Defensive
In the first half on two third and long "certain stops" LSU gave up touchdowns of 80 and 84 yards. While Ryan Mallett deserves credit for the passes, neither pass was more than 20 yards through the air. Patrick Peterson missed an assignment on the first first half touchdown and Karnell Hatcher took a horrible angle in attempting the tackle. The second play was the last play of the second half where only CBS announcer, Steve Beurlein, had no clue that Arkansas would attempt a big play. Karnell Hatcher attempted to either intercept the ball or lay a huge hit on the receiver when he took out LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne in effect freeing up the Arkansas wide receiver for a big gain. Eric Reid and Patrick Peterson were both playing deep coverage and surely one of those two sure tackling outstanding defensive backs would prevent a score. It was a high probability, but neither defensive back could stop the receiver and Arkansas finished the last seconds of the first half with a touchdown and the score was 21-14 at the half. The defense and special teams came out in the third quarter to make amends and they delivered by not only holding Arkansas scoreless in the third quarter and only 10 second half points for the entire half but gave LSU's offense turnovers and great field position to potentially bring home an 11 win season.
The Offense
If LSU's defense had not give Arkansas the two huge pass play touchdowns, Jefferson would have really stood out as having a much better half than Ryan Mallett. Jefferson had something like 140 yards passing in the first half.
To start the second half Patrick Peterson nearly broke the opening kickoff for a touchdown but was pushed out of bounds by the Arkansas kicker at the Arkansas 46 yard line. LSU's offense only had to drive 46 yards and the game would be tied at 21 in the opening drive of the third quarter. LSU's offense could only manage to get the ball to the Arkansas 29 yard line: only a total of 17 yards. No problem, Josh Jasper made a field goal and the score was a very manageable 17-21. On Arkansas' first drive of the third quarter LSU's defense came up strong. LSU forced and recovered a fumble at the Arkansas 9 yard line. Even a struggling LSU offense could and would score from the 9 - right? Wrong, after four plays LSU's offense had managed 6 yards and so another Josh Jasper field goal made the score 20-21. It was at that point I realized that LSU was very unlikely to win this game and unfortunately I was right. Like all of the crazy way too close games that LSU has played this year, I had watch until the end just in case the Mad Hatter had something left in his hat.
LSU did have a chance after those very disappointing drives. In the fourth quarter LSU was running a hurry up - pass crazy offense that was driving the field with about 3 minutes to go when for some reason a decision was made to run the ball. Then on a first and goal from the Arkansas 8 yard line the LSU center managed to snap the ball completely over the 6'4" Jordan Jefferson causing a 19 yard loss. The next play Jordan Jefferson rushed for eight yards and after he was well into his slide an Arkansas defender launched himself in a clear helmet-to-helmet (personal foul) tackle that connected as Jefferson was seated on the ground. The helmet-to-helmet blow should have caused Jefferson a concussion but did cause him to loss his grip on the ball that was already touching the ground. The Arkansas crowd booed loudly wanting a replay official to rule the play a fumble but after the review, it was confirmed that Jefferson was down. I would not mention the helmet-to-helmet shot but CBS showed the play several times trying to double check whether Jefferson was down. LSU retained possession, called a timeout and kicked a field goal. The score after the field goal was 23-31 which was the final score. Arkansas wide receiver, Cobi Hamilton secured the on-sides kick that followed and the game was nearly over.
LSU's defense did manage to stop Arkansas' offense one last time and force a punt. That gave LSU a last chance to drive 94 yards, score a touchdown and convert a 2 point conversion for overtime. That was not going to happen. Not with this LSU offense this year. LSU has some of the best talent on both offense and defense but LSU's offense has to get better. To me, it seems like with a few tweaks LSU ought to have a great shot at an undefeated season and a BCS National Championship next year.
Congratulations to an outstanding game to Arkansas wide receiver, Cobi Hamilton. Hamilton caught only three receptions. Two of those are the receptions that went for 80 and 84 yard touchdowns in the first half. As noted previously, Hamilton also secured the last chance on-sides kick that allowed Arkansas to at least run the 2 minutes and 44 seconds down to less than a minute for LSU's wish of a come back.
Not many teams won 10 games this season and still fewer did so while playing against 6 ranked teams. Make no mistake, LSU is still one of the elite football programs in the nation.
November 15, 2010
LSU is the Best Team in the Country
Even without a solid quarterback, LSU is the best team in the country this year and if they win out, deserve to play for the BCS National Championship.
Auburn beat LSU 24-17 October 23rd and that day LSU was never going to be allowed to play in the National Championship game. If Auburn had lost to Georgia and Alabama and LSU had played in and won the SEC Championship game, the argument against allowing LSU to play for the BCS National Championship game would have been that LSU had been beaten by a two loss team and had only defeated a three loss team to lay claim to a shot at the title and that was not good enough. In other words: "down year for the SEC." Auburn is undefeated and there is no doubt in my mind that, given the chance, Auburn will throttle BCS #1 Oregon, #3 TCU, or #4 Boise State. I also have no doubt that if the top five SEC West teams were to square off against the top five non-SEC teams in the country the SEC West teams would win at least 3 of those 5 games.
So why should LSU play for the BCS National Championship instead of Auburn? First, I believe LSU should play for the championship only if they beat Ole Miss and Arkansas that still remain on their schedule. Auburn should play only if Cameron Newton has been totally exonerated of all of this alleged "pay for play" scandal. The latest that I have heard in the national media is that Cameron Newton's father has admitted to asking for money for his son to play college football but that his son knew nothing of his inquiry. It has been widely reported that Newton's father made the final decision Cameron Newton to play at Auburn and that Cameron made a comment publicly about money being a factor in the decision. To me it sounds like Newton's father was his official representative. Auburn has been at least as aware of these developments as I have and so you have to question the decisions that have been made to continue to play Newton. The official bodies investigating this need to resolve this situation immediately and certainly no later than the end of the season. Cameron Newton has accounted for 38 touchdowns this year and a combined 3335 yards through the air and on the ground. It is safe to say that Auburn would not be the same team without Mr. Newton and that even if he were never allowed to play another down of college football, Newton has secured big money from some future NFL team. But how you win is just as important as winning. And past mistakes at Florida and volumes of statements on the record about recruiting bring into question Auburn's record this year. Without Newton running all over LSU, LSU would still be undefeated. By the end of the regular season LSU will have played 6 nationally ranked teams. SEC West teams have played 61 games so far this season and have lost only 1 game to a non-SEC opponent. You cannot argue that LSU has played a weak schedule this year.
However, it seems mighty odd that many in the media and voting in polls seem to be giving other teams a pass this year by overlooking really weak schedules. Ranked just ahead of LSU is BCS #4 Boise State. Boise State does have a perfect 9-0 record. Boise State beat a very good Virginia Tech team 33-30 but it is hard to understand how any of the rest of B.S.U. schedule warrants a #4 ranking. Boise St. has beaten a 2-9 Wyoming team, a then ranked but currently 4-5 Oregon State team, a 2-8 New Mexico State team, a 6-4 Toledo, a 1-9 San Jose State, a 4-6 Louisiana Tech, a 7-3 Hawaii, and a 4-6 Idaho. I ask you voters of the subjective polls: "How can you be certain that a team ranks in the top 10 if team has only played 3 teams with a winning record?". Even with Boise States' dominate record the BCS computers place Boise State no higher than 6th. After comparing LSU to Boise State the logic seems to be that losing to an 11-0 team on the road by a touchdown is not nearly as good as really beating up on six teams that have won an average of less than 3 games a piece. (Add Wyoming 2, Oregon St 4, N.M. State 2, San Jose St. 1, La Tech 4, and Idaho 4 and divide by 6. 17/6 = 2.83) How does Boise State's 48-0 pounding of a 1-9 San Jose State matchup against LSU's 51-0 pounding of a 4-6 ULM? How does LSU's 24-21 narrow victory over then #6 Alabama compare to Boise States' 33-30 narrow victory over then #10 Virginia Tech? Let's face it Virginia Tech and Alabama have only one other loss. Va Tech lost at home to James Madison and Alabama lost on the road to SEC East division leader South Carolina. So Boise State may not have played "SEC caliber" teams or many teams with a "winning record" but they sure have won and undoubtedly have remained healthy and given a number of players playing time.
What about TCU? Surely, a strong Texas school like TCU has played the kind of top caliber opponents that warrant its current #3 BCS ranking. Let's take a look. I watched the TCU vs. San Diego State game this last weekend and it looked like San Diego State might beat TCU. San Diego State was losing 34-14 at the half but lost by less than a touchdown 35-40. San Diego State outscored TCU 21 - 6 in the second half. Hey, LSU only beat West Virginia by 6 points earlier this year so I cannot really hold a 5 point victory over San Diego State against TCU. TCU still won. However, it does kind of stick out that TCU has only played 2 teams that were ranked in the top 25 when they played: a now 4-5 then #24 ranked Oregon State, and then #5 now #23 ranked Utah. TCU has played 4 teams that are bowl eligible. Utah has 8 wins despite managing only 3 points against a weak Notre Dame team and San Diego State, Air Force and Baylor each have 7 wins a piece. There is not a winning record among the other 7 teams that TCU has beaten this year but a couple of those teams are 5-5 and may make it into a minor bowl this year. TCU may be the best team in the country this year it is hard to tell. It would be easier to determine how good TCU is had they scheduled more than three weak top 25 opponents this year. Under Pete Carroll, USC knew that because they played in a sometimes weaker BCS conference that they had to schedule the best non-conference opponents available. Maybe Bosie State and TCU should consider this strategy but hey, why bother if this late in the season you are still ranked 3rd and 4th in the BCS. Maybe LSU should schedule 4 teams non-conference teams with the potential for less than 4 wins next year. Sorry ULM, that would leave out you stronger 4-6 teams.
Mentioning USC and Pete Carroll reminded me of this year's mighty PAC 10 contender the #1 BCS ranked Oregon Ducks. Oregon's victories over a 9-1 Stanford and 7-3 USC are certainly quality wins and a victory over a top 25 Arizona Nov. 26th points to a more quality schedule. Oregon has even destroyed an SEC team when they beat Tennessee 48-13. LSU only barely beat Tennessee in an un-timed last play of the game by 16-14. But, even though Tennessee recently embarrassed a Jerimiah Masoli lead Ole Miss team to the tune of a 52-14 score, Tennessee is only the 10th best team of the 12 SEC teams and has a 4-6 record this year. After see the Oregon Ducks scores, I was excited this last weekend to find that the Versus channel had the Ducks versus Cal. That game reminded me of a few of the LSU Tigers ugly wins this year. Oregon managed to barely beat a 5-5 Cal team by only 2 points and got the win on a very unusual call. I have seen countless kickers take a step forward before the snap on a field goal. During the Cal/Oregon game was the first time that I have ever seen a penalty called for an early step by the kicker. Was it a penalty for the kicker to take a single step forward before the snap? You bet it was. But I have never seen it called. That single step was the difference between an Oregon 16-15 loss and the eventual outcome: a 15-13 Oregon victory.
The Cal kicker had made the field goal prior to the flag being thrown and missed a easy chip shot of a second field goal that had only been moved back 5-yards. As an LSU Tiger fan, I understand. Sometime you win games that you should have lost. Oregon could be the best team in the country. The Ducks have a great high scoring offense. Still, Defense wins championships and I would bank on LSU's defense against any team in the country. I would love for LSU to get another shot against Auburn and would welcome a chance against Oregon. I doubt LSU will get to face a Cameron Newton lead Auburn again next year but LSU and Oregon are scheduled to meet September 3rd for the opening game of next season in the Dallas Cowboy's new stadium in Arlington, Texas. If LSU cannot be in the BCS National Championship this year, I hope Oregon wins so that LSU can open with a stronger schedule next year.
Auburn beat LSU 24-17 October 23rd and that day LSU was never going to be allowed to play in the National Championship game. If Auburn had lost to Georgia and Alabama and LSU had played in and won the SEC Championship game, the argument against allowing LSU to play for the BCS National Championship game would have been that LSU had been beaten by a two loss team and had only defeated a three loss team to lay claim to a shot at the title and that was not good enough. In other words: "down year for the SEC." Auburn is undefeated and there is no doubt in my mind that, given the chance, Auburn will throttle BCS #1 Oregon, #3 TCU, or #4 Boise State. I also have no doubt that if the top five SEC West teams were to square off against the top five non-SEC teams in the country the SEC West teams would win at least 3 of those 5 games.
So why should LSU play for the BCS National Championship instead of Auburn? First, I believe LSU should play for the championship only if they beat Ole Miss and Arkansas that still remain on their schedule. Auburn should play only if Cameron Newton has been totally exonerated of all of this alleged "pay for play" scandal. The latest that I have heard in the national media is that Cameron Newton's father has admitted to asking for money for his son to play college football but that his son knew nothing of his inquiry. It has been widely reported that Newton's father made the final decision Cameron Newton to play at Auburn and that Cameron made a comment publicly about money being a factor in the decision. To me it sounds like Newton's father was his official representative. Auburn has been at least as aware of these developments as I have and so you have to question the decisions that have been made to continue to play Newton. The official bodies investigating this need to resolve this situation immediately and certainly no later than the end of the season. Cameron Newton has accounted for 38 touchdowns this year and a combined 3335 yards through the air and on the ground. It is safe to say that Auburn would not be the same team without Mr. Newton and that even if he were never allowed to play another down of college football, Newton has secured big money from some future NFL team. But how you win is just as important as winning. And past mistakes at Florida and volumes of statements on the record about recruiting bring into question Auburn's record this year. Without Newton running all over LSU, LSU would still be undefeated. By the end of the regular season LSU will have played 6 nationally ranked teams. SEC West teams have played 61 games so far this season and have lost only 1 game to a non-SEC opponent. You cannot argue that LSU has played a weak schedule this year.
However, it seems mighty odd that many in the media and voting in polls seem to be giving other teams a pass this year by overlooking really weak schedules. Ranked just ahead of LSU is BCS #4 Boise State. Boise State does have a perfect 9-0 record. Boise State beat a very good Virginia Tech team 33-30 but it is hard to understand how any of the rest of B.S.U. schedule warrants a #4 ranking. Boise St. has beaten a 2-9 Wyoming team, a then ranked but currently 4-5 Oregon State team, a 2-8 New Mexico State team, a 6-4 Toledo, a 1-9 San Jose State, a 4-6 Louisiana Tech, a 7-3 Hawaii, and a 4-6 Idaho. I ask you voters of the subjective polls: "How can you be certain that a team ranks in the top 10 if team has only played 3 teams with a winning record?". Even with Boise States' dominate record the BCS computers place Boise State no higher than 6th. After comparing LSU to Boise State the logic seems to be that losing to an 11-0 team on the road by a touchdown is not nearly as good as really beating up on six teams that have won an average of less than 3 games a piece. (Add Wyoming 2, Oregon St 4, N.M. State 2, San Jose St. 1, La Tech 4, and Idaho 4 and divide by 6. 17/6 = 2.83) How does Boise State's 48-0 pounding of a 1-9 San Jose State matchup against LSU's 51-0 pounding of a 4-6 ULM? How does LSU's 24-21 narrow victory over then #6 Alabama compare to Boise States' 33-30 narrow victory over then #10 Virginia Tech? Let's face it Virginia Tech and Alabama have only one other loss. Va Tech lost at home to James Madison and Alabama lost on the road to SEC East division leader South Carolina. So Boise State may not have played "SEC caliber" teams or many teams with a "winning record" but they sure have won and undoubtedly have remained healthy and given a number of players playing time.
What about TCU? Surely, a strong Texas school like TCU has played the kind of top caliber opponents that warrant its current #3 BCS ranking. Let's take a look. I watched the TCU vs. San Diego State game this last weekend and it looked like San Diego State might beat TCU. San Diego State was losing 34-14 at the half but lost by less than a touchdown 35-40. San Diego State outscored TCU 21 - 6 in the second half. Hey, LSU only beat West Virginia by 6 points earlier this year so I cannot really hold a 5 point victory over San Diego State against TCU. TCU still won. However, it does kind of stick out that TCU has only played 2 teams that were ranked in the top 25 when they played: a now 4-5 then #24 ranked Oregon State, and then #5 now #23 ranked Utah. TCU has played 4 teams that are bowl eligible. Utah has 8 wins despite managing only 3 points against a weak Notre Dame team and San Diego State, Air Force and Baylor each have 7 wins a piece. There is not a winning record among the other 7 teams that TCU has beaten this year but a couple of those teams are 5-5 and may make it into a minor bowl this year. TCU may be the best team in the country this year it is hard to tell. It would be easier to determine how good TCU is had they scheduled more than three weak top 25 opponents this year. Under Pete Carroll, USC knew that because they played in a sometimes weaker BCS conference that they had to schedule the best non-conference opponents available. Maybe Bosie State and TCU should consider this strategy but hey, why bother if this late in the season you are still ranked 3rd and 4th in the BCS. Maybe LSU should schedule 4 teams non-conference teams with the potential for less than 4 wins next year. Sorry ULM, that would leave out you stronger 4-6 teams.
Mentioning USC and Pete Carroll reminded me of this year's mighty PAC 10 contender the #1 BCS ranked Oregon Ducks. Oregon's victories over a 9-1 Stanford and 7-3 USC are certainly quality wins and a victory over a top 25 Arizona Nov. 26th points to a more quality schedule. Oregon has even destroyed an SEC team when they beat Tennessee 48-13. LSU only barely beat Tennessee in an un-timed last play of the game by 16-14. But, even though Tennessee recently embarrassed a Jerimiah Masoli lead Ole Miss team to the tune of a 52-14 score, Tennessee is only the 10th best team of the 12 SEC teams and has a 4-6 record this year. After see the Oregon Ducks scores, I was excited this last weekend to find that the Versus channel had the Ducks versus Cal. That game reminded me of a few of the LSU Tigers ugly wins this year. Oregon managed to barely beat a 5-5 Cal team by only 2 points and got the win on a very unusual call. I have seen countless kickers take a step forward before the snap on a field goal. During the Cal/Oregon game was the first time that I have ever seen a penalty called for an early step by the kicker. Was it a penalty for the kicker to take a single step forward before the snap? You bet it was. But I have never seen it called. That single step was the difference between an Oregon 16-15 loss and the eventual outcome: a 15-13 Oregon victory.
The Cal kicker had made the field goal prior to the flag being thrown and missed a easy chip shot of a second field goal that had only been moved back 5-yards. As an LSU Tiger fan, I understand. Sometime you win games that you should have lost. Oregon could be the best team in the country. The Ducks have a great high scoring offense. Still, Defense wins championships and I would bank on LSU's defense against any team in the country. I would love for LSU to get another shot against Auburn and would welcome a chance against Oregon. I doubt LSU will get to face a Cameron Newton lead Auburn again next year but LSU and Oregon are scheduled to meet September 3rd for the opening game of next season in the Dallas Cowboy's new stadium in Arlington, Texas. If LSU cannot be in the BCS National Championship this year, I hope Oregon wins so that LSU can open with a stronger schedule next year.
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