Miscues cost New Orleans in twin v. twin matchup
November 6, 2013
Nicholls’ defense struggling to find answers
November 6, 2013
This past week was the proverbial calm before the storm.
But now it’s time for the Southeastern Conference’s Game of the Year.
After both schools rested through bye weeks, the stakes will be high on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa when No. 1 Alabama hosts LSU.
This time around, the game isn’t being billed as the Game of the Century – the Tigers’ two early-season losses have ruined that.
But it is an opportunity for LSU to try and ruin their hated rivals’ shot at a third-straight BCS National Championship.
Kickoff for the game will be at 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on CBS.
“It was good the past few days to sit back, relax and let our minds get well, as well as our bodies,” LSU senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger said. “But now it’s back to football mode. Now it’s back to X’s and O’s. … Now it’s time to focus our energies on Alabama. We know it’ll take one of our best efforts of the season to go up there and come back home with a victory.”
The LSU players and coaches all had a common theme this past week – the bye week came at a perfect time.
The Tigers played nine-straight weeks from the Aug. 31 season opener against TCU to the Oct. 26 game against Furman.
Prior to this week, LSU was the only college football team in the country to not have had at least one bye week on the season.
The grind, combined with a battering schedule that pitted LSU against conference foes like Florida, Georgia, Auburn and Ole Miss, had the Tigers licking wounds throughout the entirety of the past week – not preparing for Alabama.
“There’s a need to have some rest,” LSU coach Les Miles told TigerRag Magazine this week. “There’s not any team that will get ready too early for a game of the magnitude. (Our players) understand the timeframe.”
Having a bye week before the LSU/Alabama showdown has become commonplace for the Tigers.
The 2013 version of the annual rivalry will mark the fourth-straight year that LSU has an open date before meeting with the Tide. In two of the previous three years, the rest and relaxation has helped to push the Tigers to victory.
But this time around, LSU is a marked underdog against a vicious Alabama team that boasts both one of the top offenses and defenses in America.
The Crimson Tide have outscored opponents 330-78 this season en route to a perfect 8-0 start.
Since allowing 42 points to Texas A&M in the second game of the season, Alabama’s defense has been nothing short of stingy, allowing just 26 total points in the past six games.
But against the Tigers, the menacing defense will be pressured by LSU’s new-look offense under first-year coordinator Cam Cameron.
The Tigers average 480 yards of total offense per game – by-far the most LSU has averaged in recent years.
Mettenberger, halfback Jeremy Hill and receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham are all virtual shoe-ins for the NFL at some point in the future.
Miles said he plans to attack the Tide with balance.
“The ability to throw it deep, short and also run the football,” Miles said. “That’s the best way to work against a quality defense. You have to make them defend the pass in every down and distance.”
LSU better be able to move the football. Because the odds show that the Tide will probably be able to have some offensive success on the Tigers’ young defense.
Once among the top units in America, LSU has given up 20 or more points in five of their nine games and in four of five SEC games.
That formula doesn’t look good against an Alabama offense that features quarterback AJ McCarron, bruising halfback T.J. Yeldon and slashing receivers like Kevin Norwood and Amari Cooper.
Miles said that he understands the Tigers’ struggles in the past, but he also understands that none of those things matter in this game against the Tide.
The coach said that in the world of college football, anything can happen when the calendar strikes November and teams begin playing with championships on the table.
“It’s an exciting piece of time because it puts you where you’re going to finish,” Miles said. “If you run the table, you have a chance to be in the championship game. If you falter, it still affords you an opportunity in the next game. It’s always difficult in this conference.
“But this is the month where champions are decided.”
After playing LSU in Tuscaloosa, the Tigers will have another bye week before hosting Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium.
Like the Tide, the Aggies are also one of the top teams in America, boasting Heisman Trophy quarterback Johnny Manziel.
LSU junior halfback Jeremy Hill makes a push toward the end zone during the Tigers’ victory against Furman. After a bye week, the Tigers will look to make a stand and upset No. 1 Alabama. LSU’s hopes at the SEC title are slim. But the Tigers are still mathematically alive in the conference championship picture.
