100 and Counting

Leonard Fournette spinning and winning for the Tigers.

 How fitting that Les Miles’ 100^th victory at LSU was…well…classic Les Miles.  The Tigers ran for 195 yards led by Leonard Fournette’s 140 yards and two TD’s.  LSU forced 3 Florida turnovers and didn’t turn it over themselves once.  The passing game was fairly anemic but Jennings made a few critical plays to keep drives going.  Finally, just when it looked like the Tigers had grabbed the game, they give up a 73 yard pass play to Demarcus Robinson.  But the defense stiffens, Florida drops a sure TD pass and the game is tied 27 all.  Then to compound matters, LSU goes three and out and punts to UF with a minute left.  The Gators seem on the verge of winning the game, but Magic Miles pulls a purple Leprechaun from his arse and LSU picks off Driskel leading to Colby Delahoussaye’s 50 yard game winning FG.

Yea, classic Miles.

I made the trip to Gainesville and it will not be a trip I soon forget.  The atmosphere was fantastic and the game was a thriller.  I’ve been reading write ups from the game and the general sentiment is that this was a weird/sloppy/frustrating contest.  Maybe being in the belly of the beast and coming out victorious is slanting my view, but I think this was a great win for THIS TEAM. 

Viewed through the prism of the 2014 Tigers, I saw improvement and execution.  I saw a young team that was destroyed last week execute in a VERY hostile environment this week.  I saw Leonard Fournette show why he was the #1 guy in the 2014 class.  I saw Anthony Jennings play within himself and give his team a chance to win.  I saw guys balling and leaving it out on the field when they could have folded a number of times.  I just don't think fan appreciate how tough it is for young players to go into a place like the Swamp and have success.

Yes, this team is flawed.  Sure, there is plenty of room for improvement.  Special teams punt coverage was a disaster.  8 penalties for 80 yards is unacceptable.  Jennings is still inaccurate.  Mistakes, both mental and physical were made.  But a win like this is great for this team and LSU’s program.  LSU is not winning the division, but there is plenty to play for.

A few other observations:

* Despite his struggles, Jennings QB rating is higher than Mettenberger’s 2012 season and Jefferson’s 2008 and 2010 seasons.

* It’s been a LONG time since I have watched an LSU game so close to the field (row 6).  The LSU players certainly look the part.  Beastly.

* I heard some horror stories about traveling to Gainesville, but we had a blast.  The fans were nice and nothing nasty was directed our way.  Great trip, great game.

Looking ahead:

Kentucky is 5-1 and an overtime loss away from 6-0.  All five of UK’s wins were at home, the loss was at Florida.  The Wildcats have only played one game against a team with a winning record (UF).   Things to watch for:

1. Red Zone Conversions: LSU is scoring TD’s on 77% of the trips into the red zone which places the Tigers 7^th in the nation.  UK is only converting at a 55% clip.
2. Can Fournette continue to improve?  The freshman is on pace to run for 930 yards and 11 TD’s.
3. UK runs a spread passing offense.  Will the front four be able to generate a pass rush to help LSU’s secondary?

LSU 30 - UK 20 

Final Four: Week 7

Each week I will be posting my Final Four based a combination of games played thus far and predictions about the eventual participants.  My four is a combination of what has actually happened on the field and my evaluations projecting out to the end of the season.

Semi-Finals

(1)   FSU v. (4) Michigan State
(2)   Mississippi State v. (3) Oklahoma

National Championship

FSU v. Mississippi State