The Magnolia Bowl

I love the smell of corn dogs on a Saturday Night.  Smells like...VICTORY!!

LSU won an old school slugfest Saturday night rushing for over 250 yards against the vaunted “Land Shark” defense of Ole Miss.  Leonard Fournette went off for 211 all-purpose yards while LSU’s defense held UM to 313 yards of offense and only 7 points.  Plus there were some awesome signs on campus for college game day. (CLICK HERE)

A few observations:

Offense

1. LSU’s running game was impressive.  Ole Miss has been very stout against the run but LSU ran 55 times for 4.8 yards a carry. Obviously the offensive line is gelling.
2. Jennings is still limited but he had some really nice throws.  The pass down the middle to Fournette was perfect and the play action TD pass to Stokes were huge plays which Jennings executed.  He is at his best rolling out; let’s see if that enters the game plan more.
3. I thought the play calling was great, especially in the first half.  The Tigers mixed it up a little and had a great deal of success.  If not for the turnovers, LSU would have been up by 10 early on the Rebels.

Defense

1. LSU’s front 7 is so much better than they were in week 1.  Over the last 3 weeks, LSU has given up only an average of 110 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry.
2. Too many dropped interceptions.  Opportunities like that must be pounced upon.
3. The Tigers were able to get pressure on Wallace and make him uncomfortable. His QB rating of 91 for the game is 60 points lower than his average for the season.

LSU made enough mistakes, four turnovers, 5 penalties and a few dropped INT’s to hand the game to Ole Miss.  But the defense kept repeatedly bailing out the Tigers, at one point forcing four consecutive 3 and outs in the second half.

It’s clear that after a shaky start, this team is improving every week.  That’s a sign of good coaching and the player’s buying into LSU’s system.

On November 8, Alabama rolls into town.  The Crimson Tide will be the favorites with a potential SEC West Title and College Playoff berth on the line.  LSU will still mathematically be in the mix for the West.  The season already has a new look with the victory over Ole Miss.  How much better would it be with a win over hated Alabama?

 

Final Four: Week 9

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) Oregon

National Championship

FSU v. Mississippi State

The first rankings come out today and like everyone else I am very curious to see what the selection committee has in store.  I’ve noticed a number of talking heads have predicted that Alabama will be in the top four.  I don’t see it.  They have a quality win against West Virginia, but not much else.  Texas A&M is train wreck and the Tide lost their toughest game all season, the visit to Oxford back on October 4.  At this point, how can you put Bama in over Ole Miss given the head to head results?  Auburn has done more as well, bombing LSU and winning at K-State.  Notre Dame is in the mix, but their best win was at home by 3 over 5-3 Stanford.  This first set of rankings will have everyone buzzing, but there is a TON of football left.  Let’s enjoy trip rather than obsess over the destination.