Wild West Shootout

“I don’t believe what I just saw!” - Jack Buck

Long after I had given up hope, the LSU Tigers showed the resiliency that has made them successful under Nick Saban. As in so many games over the last five years, the Tigers refused to quit and ultimately triumphed in dramatic fashion. In a game for the ages, LSU scored with 73 seconds left to go ahead for good in a wild shootout in Tempe, Arizona.

For three quarters, my fears concerning LSU’s opening game became a reality. LSU looked sloppy and distracted, bumbling their way to only 7 points as the Sun Devils looked to score with only a few minutes left in the 3rd quarter. But then LSU found a reprieve when ASU fumbled inside LSU’s 10. The Tiger’s eventually punted, but instead of going down 24-7, the Tigers turned the tables on ASU, scoring four 4th quarter touchdowns.

The single most important thing that came out of that game was LSU got a much deserved WIN. Despite all the mistakes and poor play, LSU beat a Top 15 team on the road. While I am going to hammer the Tigers for the bevy of miscues this week, remember, WE PLAY TO WIN THE GAME.

On the plus side of the ledger was the play of JaMarcus Russell. Outside of the fumble I’d have to give him very high marks. He made good decisions all evening and he was on the money with almost every pass. If not for the numerous drops and penalties, he would have had over 300 yards passing. Joseph Addai was his usual dependable self. He had 16 carries for 106 yards and two TD’s and caught three passes. The uncharacteristic fumble was the only blemish on the evening.

Special teams was fantastic and ultimately propelled LSU to the victory. Two blocked kicks returned for touchdowns is astounding. I look for more great things from the kicking game, including making all our extra points. Colt David was 5 for 5 in that department. BRAVO!!

Before you think this is some love fest, let’s talk about the ugly side of Saturday night’s game.

* 11 penalties
* 2 fumbles
* Too many dropped passes to count
* 560 yards of total offense for the Sun Devils

The secondary needs a lot of work as the Tigers gave up 461 yards to Sam Keller. The pass rush was MIA and when the Tigers did blitz, it was with limited effectiveness. Lou Tepper….er…Bo Pelini has a LOT of work to do to get the Tiger defense into championship form. I think it is unfair to draw too many conclusions from one game, but I think we can all agree that there is plenty of room for improvement.

Chase Pittman played substantially at DE but had ZERO stats. Basically he was out there taking up space but wasn’t involved in a SINGLE play. I think this highlights some of the struggles we can expect on the defensive side of the ball. Over the past 2 years, LSU has lost three defensive linemen to the NFL, Chad Lavalais, Marquise Hill and Marcus Spears. While Kyle Williams is an excellent DT, Pittman, Wroten and Oliver are merely solid players. None of those guys can dominate like the three departed players.

The secondary lost both starting CB’s to the NFL and no one is going to confuse Ronnie Prude for Webster or Daniels. I think with time, players will develop and become more comfortable in Pelini’s system, but patience will be the key. By mid season we will know if the ASU game was an aberration or indicative of flaws in Pelini’s defensive philosophy. Saban built his defense on tight man coverage and as complicated a blitz package as there was in college football. It takes time to completely integrate a defensive scheme, so Pelini gets a pass…for now.

All the dropped passes made me nuts. The WR’s just weren’t there mentally and it showed for a big part of the game. However, as a group they collected themselves and ultimately made plays highlighted by Early Doucet’s game winning touchdown catch. Up to that point, most Tiger fans were ready to pull his scholarship and sending him packing. Fortunately he remained confident and made the type of play justifying all the praise heaped on him coming out of high school.

The Tigers are off this weekend. They have two weeks to work on the many deficiencies apparent Saturday night. Savor this one because even though the Tigers are 1-0, many struggles remain ahead.