I don't think I really have to recap what happened in this game. We all saw it, unless you were too drunk to get up. I was up at 2:30am because of the baby, so I didn't have that problem.
I would like to start by saying that the defense played very very well for the entire game. We gave up one long touchdown drive and that was about all. Tulane got one or two other nice drives that stalled with a turnover or a punt, but the defense was mostly dominant.
The offense? Well, the coaches need to figure out what's going wrong with the offense. Do you realize that Matt Flynn hasn't played well in a game since Virginia Tech?
After scoring an easy touchdown on our first possession, the offense went backwards for most of the first half. Part of the problem was the offensive line either getting penalties or giving up pressure on the quarterback. The right side, so good against South Carolina, seemed to struggle in particular. The left side and the middle didn't exactly shine, however.
The other part of the problem was Flynn holding the ball too long. I don't know if the receivers were not open or if he didn't see them, but we have a serious problem in our passing game. Flynn's numbers were deceptively good. He was 16 of 29 for 257 yards, with one interception. however, he lost over 40 yards and 6 downs on sacks. He was harassed all night, and often could not find a receiver. I don't know if the problem is that Early isn't there or what, but the coaches need to figure out very quickly if this team is better with Matt Flynn or with Ryan Perrilloux behind center.
The running game, when we finally decided to rely on it, did very well. Taking out Flynn's sacks, we averaged almost 6 yards per carry and scored 4 touchdowns on the ground.
I would like to point out, however, that there really was no chance that Tulane would beat us. We played a very very poor first, about as poor a first half as you could imagine us playing, and we still went into the locker room ahead. Tulane played with passion and energy to our unfocused lack of effort, but we lined up and beat them with talent in the second half after killing their momentum. Yes, we played a very poor game, but we still won by 25.
I saw Chad Jones, Kelvin Sheppard, Drake Nevis, and Ricky Dixon all get significant playing time. Nevis had never played before, and is playing because of the injury to Charles Alexander. Jones, Sheppard, and Dixon had all played before but got more playing time today than ever before.
I don't know if I'm going to watch a replay of that. It would be too painful.
Tomorrow: What happened to Florida and the rest of the top 10? It sure was an exciting day of football after our game.
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I've tried commenting on Bayoublog but Guilbeau is so lame he doesn't allow comments. So maybe it's OK if I vent here.
My daddy was a huge Tigers fan all his life, so I was pretty much forced to sit through every nationally televised LSU game ever and listen to him rant. So I'm continuing his tradition ;)
One thing he always told me about Tulane games in NO was that you could count on the local Mafia to fix them so the spread wasn't covered, and if you look carefully at the first half again, you'll see that's exactly what the officials were up to yesterday. Broadcast TV is now too cowardly to show replays of penalty calls (even for the NFL), but if you play the TIVO again you'll see that two calls were dead-ball 'procedurals' about getting players on and off the field. This means the line judge whistles it when players step off the sidelines before the guy they're replacing comes off--and which is NEVER called. Ditto for the holding in the end zone, another penalty which is never ever called. As for the two many men on the field, again no TV replay count, but I'd be willing to bet it was just another 'procedural'. Total: 11 penalties before halftime.
By contrast, the overmatched Tulane offensive line held on every play--but weren't called even once. Nor were their clips and other violations on special teams. Total: 3 penalties, one of which was a meaningless PAT replay. Usually refs who are fixing the spread call a flurry of penalties in the 4th quarter to make the stats look more even (especially in the NBA), but these bozos were too arrogant or stupid even to bother.
So all the 'we got our heads back in the game' in the second half talk was pish--I'd guess Bertmann made a call to the commissioner's office at half-time. But there was a second reason LSU played poorly that nobody has bothered to mention--they aren't used to the 'Half-Astroturf'. The offensive line is young and had lots of trouble getting any traction on it, so my guess (again) is that they changed shoes at half-time, maybe switched studs for cleats.
The biggest mystery about this game is why Miles continues to stick with Matt Flynn. The poor guy is never gonna be a pro, however hot he is. He has poor adjustment skills, sees the field badly, can't spot secondary receivers, and most importantly, has bad mechanics. Perilloux has the potential to erase all of Russells' records, plus he can run, however immature he may or may not be. Miles is likely only gonna get one crack at a national title, so he needs to get serious--starting Perilloux in the second half and getting him a few receptions before the Florida game sure would have been smart. At this rate poor Flynn will have to get booed off the field for Miles to do the smart thing.
What's frustrating is that everything else he's done, so far at least, has seemed pretty smart. I sure wouldn't trade him for Saban back.
OK, I'm done. Hope you allow comments.
I'm not sure about the penalty conspiracy. But it was odd that the o-line, which has played so well, was so out of synch and terrible yesterday. Then again, a lot of that is the 11 AM start.
The big concern is Flynn. I think he is clearly hurt and ankles are the sort of injury which dog a player all season. There was no reason to let him play against Tulane. Perriloux should have been in that game from the start when it was clear Flynn had no mobility and was making bad decisions based on his poor mobility.
Huh? Who said anything about a 'conspiracy"? I'm not saying that Vegas hates the Tigers, it's just about money. Some people made some money on the Tulane game yesterday. If you think big gambling doesn't affect the game in South Louisiana, just ask Perilloux where and why he got busted down to buck private...
Point-shaving is as old as pro sports. In some eras, like the '20's and '30's it totally ruled pro sports. Then things gradually got better. Lately things have been a little worse--the Gerachty scandal was just the teeniest tip of the iceberg. It's really easy to use stats--especially in B-ball--to chart how referees do it when they do it. There are several ppl who have published mathematical models for this online. You are free to believe them or not.
this is me not dignifying these completely delusional comments with a response.
I agree with Gerry. If there's no real evidence of this, it's irresponsible to go around saying it happened. You express shock at the term "conspiracy", but you apparently believe the refs, the television crew, and Les Miles all were in agreement to do things to affect the outcome of the game and/or do things to cover up the things others were doing. If that's not a conspiracy, the term has no meaning any longer.
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