The Day After: La Tech

Ehh. Some fans can't stand prosperity. We win 58-10, and some can do nothing but complain. Did we look like the New England Patriots? No. I was able to watch the game thanks to the wonders of modern technology, and we looked like a team playing a vastly overmatched opponent, but that had a hard time getting out of the gate and made a few mistakes along the way to a big victory. I'm not complaining.

On the way there, we clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game, by virtue of Bama's loss to MSU and Auburn's loss to Georgia. We now also know for sure that our opponent there will be either Georgia, Tennessee, or Florida, and with Georgia's and Tennessee's wins, Florida looks like a long shot. You never know, though. Florida has to hope that Georgia loses to Kentucky and that Tennessee loses to either Vandy or Kentucky.

With the win, it looks like we're going to be the #1 team again, and it also looks like there is no way we can miss out on the national championship game if we win out. We may get passed by one team, but we won't get passed by two. Thank you Ron Zook and the Fightin' Zooks. I always liked you, and I thought you got totally jobbed in Gainesville.

Who would have thought we'd see the Ryan Perrilloux to Mit Cole touchdown pass combination? I predicted it, but I can't find the link. Sorry.

We played the whole game without starters Marlon Favorite and Darry Beckwith, who should be back next week, and we'll need them. BenJarvis Green-Ellis is a fine running back for Ole Miss, and of course there's a certain former Heisman candidate waiting for us the day after Thanksgiving. We've been a little vulnerable to power running backs in the middle of the field this year, and we will have to be at our best in those games.

It appeared to me that about midway through the second quarter, the coaches realized that there was no way La Tech could match our athleticism, so they started using the speed guys a lot more and we started pulling away. Of course, speed-demon Jacob Hester got into the act with the longest touchdown run he ever imagined himself making (87 yards). I seem to recall Dalton Hilliard having a 90+ yard touchdown run at some point in his career, but other than that Hester's run is the longest in my memory.

Brandon Lafell and Terrance Toliver had big games as well. In particular, it's great to see Lafell be a solid contributor. With his good games in the last two weeks, maybe he's ready to be our #2 receiver again. The kid is a solid player, who just had a case of the drops. Richard Murphy had a great run that he almost stuck into the end zone. Trindon Holliday and Keiland Williams had more touches than usual. In all, it was a chance to showcase some future talent, even on the offensive line, where Joe Barksdale and others got into the action early. On defense, we saw an awful lot of Chad Jones, Drake Nevis, and Jacob Cutrera, all guys who figure to be major players next year and the year after.

I think that Murphy kid in particular looks like he's going to be an exciting player. It's very telling that he's gotten into some big games late in the action, such as against Auburn and Kentucky. For whatever reason, when the game is on the line and they need a speed back, they got to Murphy rather than to Keiland.

If you're wondering why I haven't focused much attention to arguing who should be #1 and who should be in the BCS, it's a simple matter of keeping in mind that there is still a lot more season to play. We have three more games to play, against Ole Miss on the road, against Arkansas at home, and against Georgia/Tennessee/Florida on a neutral site. All of these games are loseable, and I don't want to get caught up in arguing who's better between LSU and Oregon or between Oregon and Kansas when there's still plenty of football left to be played before people really have to make that decision. How many teams have vehemently defended their lofty rankings only to subsequently lose a game they probably should have won? Michigan. USC. Us! Ohio State. Cal. The other USC. Wisconsin. Oklahoma. It may be November, but there's still a lot of football left to go here.

In the coming days, we'll go around the SEC and discuss the fact that the conference now has 10 bowl eligible teams. And if you want to know who the GeauxTuscaloosa Offensive Skill Position Player of the Week is, check out the box score of the Florida-South Carolina game.

Halftime Blogging

If you're looking for a place to watch the game on the internet, here it is.

I kind of half expected at the beginning of the season that LSU would enter the Arkansas game already having clinched the SEC West. I could never have guessed we would enter the Louisiana Tech game, two whole weeks and one whole game before Arkansas, already knowing we're in the SEC Championship Game. And yet, here we are.

We've already accomplished goal #1 of this season, which was to get in a position to play for the conference title. That is done. Other goals are in reach as well. We can still, of course, reach other goals.

This game is 27-7, and while we aren't playing great, it's pretty clear who's winning this one.

Game Day: La Tech

I may regret saying this later, but right now I just don't care that much about the LSU game. I just don't expect it to be a competitive game, and it's not on television. As such, I just can't get hyped up for it. I'm more hyped up for the rest of the SEC slate.

What I look for with LSU is for us to build a lead early, and to get our best players out. We have two, and probably three, more SEC games left, and there's no such thing as an easy SEC game this year. Not even against Ole Miss. Just ask Florida and Bama. Ole Miss pushed those guys to the buzzer, and they in turn pushed us to the buzzer. If we can shorten this week and get our guys mentally and physically rested for the final stretch, I will be very happy about it.

If we have to take a competitive game into the 4th quarter of this one, I will not be happy about it.

Anyway, here's my schedule for the day:

Now to 11:30am: Errands, and work around the house. Possibly an excursion to the library as well.

11:30am - 2:30pm: Bama vs. Mississippi State, Lincoln-Financial. If Sly Croom can get his team to 7 wins, I say he is the SEC Coach of the Year. That won't be easy, but it's not impossible either. He has a decent team, and he isn't completely overmatched talent-wise in any remaining game. He'll even be favored against Ole Miss. The problem is that he's an underdog here, and will be again next week. What I said weeks ago remains true here. I expect MSU to be competitive in its games, but its lack of big play ability will make it very hard for MSU to actually win. It's hard to put together 10-12 play drives time after time, and MSU isn't a team that can go 80 yards in 4 plays. They just don't have the speed or the passing ability. Bama has that speed and that passing ability, and they have the firepower to get quick scores at times. Plus, they'll be highly motivated to avenge their loss last year.

2:30pm - 6:00pm: Auburn at Georgia, CBS. These teams are very evenly matched, and this is a 50-50 game. I'm really interested, as always, in seeing whether Matt Stafford can be productive against a good defense. Sometimes he's lousy, and sometimes he's awesome, and that usually makes the difference between a win and a loss for Georgia. Georgia does a lot of its passing on play action, which means that they need to establish the run to pass. So the matchup to watch here is the Georgia offense against the Auburn defense. Those are the two best units on the field, and that matchup should decide this game.

6:00pm - 7:00pm: Chill out for a while. Maybe grab a bite to eat.

7:00pm - 11:00pm: I'm going to try to find LSU on internet radio. If I can do that, I'll listen to that while watching Florida against South Carolina on ESPN. If not, I'll just watch ESPN. Florida and South Carolina is the less interesting of the 3 television games to me. It simply comes down to whether or not South Carolina can rebound. If not, forget it. If so, this will be a good game. Of course, this game could be a big game in the standings, and could be the deciding factor for whether or not Florida goes to the SEC Championship Game.

It will be a good day, and we'll know a lot more about the SEC East at the end of the day.

La Tech kills the buzz

I got nothing. This LaTech team just doesn't inspire me. At all. To write ANYTHING.

I just don't know anything about this team. I know that statistically, they're balanced. They're neither a heavy passing nor a heavy running team. Their QB has a fairly low yards/attempt number and has a 9/7 touchdown-interception ratio. That's not particularly good. They run two running backs, Patrick Jackson and Daniel Porter, and that's where they score most of their points. When their running backs get the ball, they're averaging about 5.5 yards per rush, which I suppose makes them more of a running team than a passing team.

There is the story of former Saban assistant coach Derek Dooley returning to LSU. He is, in case you did not know, the son of legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley, and is quickly moving up the coaching ranks. He's had a tough first year, sitting now at 4-5, with 2 losses to currently ranked teams, and another loss to Boise State. That's a tough schedule to take a struggling team into.

It is my hope that Dooley will be able to convince Louisiana kids that LSU does not want or have room for to stay in-state and give LaTech a go. He's already having some success doing this, as a very good recruit last year, Rolando Melancon, who played a position where LSU ended up stacked (DT) eschewed Tennessee to go to LaTech. He was a very solid, SEC-level recruit that would have gotten an LSU offer in most other years, but couldn't get one last year because it was a big year for defensive linemen in the state. He is now at LaTech, and he could be a rebuilding cog for this team.

I'm torn between my loyalty to SEC schools and my loyalty to Louisiana schools. I'd like to see the Louisiana schools do well, but I also do not want to see SEC talent diluted, and Louisiana puts a good number of players into SEC schools other than LSU. Ole Miss is particularly popular for these players. I have no particularly hate for Ole Miss, and don't want to see them fall into oblivion. I also don't want to see either Ole Miss or LaTech start really challenging LSU for the top Louisiana recruits.

So, I'm torn. All I know for sure, I guess, is that I really want LSU to win this week and win pretty big. It's not a meaningful game within the SEC, but if LSU is going to play for the national championship it will help to get the dreaded "style points", which I absolutely hate, by the way. I do believe that great teams blow people out, but I don't need to see razzle-dazzle, Heisman-pose plays in order to do it. I want all the things I usually want when we're playing a badly overmatched opponent:

• Quick separation on the scoreboard
• Get the key players out early to shorten the season and avoid injuries
  
• Get young players in the game to get them experience that will be valuable in teh coming seasons.