LSU remains undisputed No. 1 in rout of Arkansas

LSU TIGERS

Quarterbacks. Jordan Jefferson discovered Friday afternoon that the forward pass is a common tool within a quarterback’s repertoire. It’s amazing how the Tigers had their best offensive output of the season with this taking place. It’s pretty basic Football 101.

Grade: A-

Halfbacks. If this were a UFC fight, Arkansas’s defense would have tapped out in the third quarter amidst the onslaught of LSU halfbacks. Another dominant performance from the best stable in NCAA football history.

Grade: A+

Receivers. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So is Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino insane for continuously guarding Rueben Randle 1-on-1 Friday? Whatever the answer is, that decision was very beneficial to LSU.

Grade: B+

Offensive line. Two LSU halfbacks sniffed 100 yards rushing and the Tigers amassed 286 yards rushing and six yards per rush. It’s pretty easy to see who won the trenches in this one.

Grade: A

Defensive line. The Tigers sacked Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson five times and limited the Razorbacks to just 47 yards rushing on 28 carries. They don’t call this school D-Line U for nothing.

Grade: A+

Linebackers. The LSU linebackers could have done a little better of a job in pass coverage defending the Razorbacks crossing patterns. With a possible rematch with Alabama looming, that’s something that could be tweaked inside of this dominant unit.

Grade: B-

Defensive backs. The honey badger takes what he wants. Apparently on Friday, what Tyrann Mathieu wanted was a team-high eight tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Cornerback Morris Claiborne wasn’t too bad either, picking off a pass in this dominant shutdown of the powerful Arkansas passing attack.

Grade: A+

Special teams. Sticking with the theme, it appeared the honey badger also wanted another final gasp at the Heisman Trophy, juking and jiving 92 yards on a magician-style punt return to give LSU the momentum after a poor struggle. This guy’s only a sophomore, folks.

Grade: A+

Coaching staff. For the first time this season, LSU faced adversity on the field, falling behind 14-0 late in the first half. Like every good championship boxer would do, the Tigers remained in line for its title shot, answering the Razorbacks’ haymakers with an onslaught, scoring 41 of the final 44 points scored in the game. Off-field trouble, in-game adversity, two quarterbacks, all historical faux pas to a team’s title hopes. Don’t tell that to Les Miles who keeps his team slugging with the best of ‘em.

Grade: A

Overall LSU is now in a cozy position. Even with a loss Saturday against Georgia, the team would have the strongest case of any one-loss team to be in the BCS National Championship game. Should the Tigers go 14-0, they’d have beaten four teams in the Top 3 in the country and nine total ranked opponents. Best team ever? You can be the judge of that. But even having this discussion at all makes this one an easy grade.

Grade: A+

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Quarterbacks. Drew Brees must be really amazing at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Because he surely carved up the Giants like they were a bunch of turkeys Monday night, toasting them for 363 yards and four touchdowns. Another dominant performance.

Grade: A+

Halfbacks. You guys know my stance on this topic. The Saints ran the football efficiently against the Giants. They won big. Not a coincidence. Even the best offenses need balance. When the Saints have some, they are impossible to stop.

Grade: A

Receivers. Jimmy Graham is a nightmare to defend and Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore and the rest of the brigade aren’t much better. Give Brees credit, but he does have some capable bullets in his arsenal, as well.

Grade: A

Offensive line. Against a pass-rush defense, Drew Brees was sacked a grand total of zero times. Combine that with some stout rushing and this inconsistent group scores well.

Grade: A+

Defensive line. Eli Manning had far too long to throw the football, but Brandon Jacobs really did next to nothing on the ground. A good showing from these guys.

Grade: B

Linebackers. Be honest, did you even know Will Herring was on the Saints’ roster? Unless you’re a die-hard Black and Gold fan, you’re lying if you answer ‘yes’ to that question. He made a huge play that set the tone for the whole evening Monday.

Grade: B+

Defensive backs. The Saints gave up 400+ yards through the air. While it’s fair to say a lot of that was against soft coverage, 400 yards is still 400 yards. The Achilles heel of the team remains an Achilles heel.

Grade: C

Special teams. Everything mostly went according to plan for the Saints’ special teams on Monday. But why in tarnation did they try that fake field goal? It’s funny to me how the team lets Chase Daniel gunsling out of the fake field goal formation, but doesn’t give him an opportunity to play in blowouts. In the words of analyst Tom Jackson, “C’Mon Man!”

Grade: B-

Coaching staff. The repeated breaks in game coverage to show Drew Brees and Sean Payton’s quarterback meetings were a bit of an annoyance, but the point was made clearly n these guys know what they are doing. The Saints’ offense is a machine and with the stretch run of the season coming, they have as good a shot as any in the NFC.

Grade: A

Overall, let’s be real. The Giants probably aren’t all they are cracked out to be. They are just too injured depleted. But 49 points are still 49 points. The Saints shook, rattled and rolled all night Monday en route to a dominant win. That’s pretty much exactly the way to draw things up coming out of a bye week.

Grade: A+