Saints ready for Sunday battle with Atlanta
September 5, 2013
NSU working on offensive line improvements
September 5, 2013
LSU coach Les Miles thinks Cam Cameron passed his opening test as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.
The statistics show Cameron’s effort surpassed the grading curve with flying colors.
In his first game calling plays for the Tigers, Cameron’s wizardry consistently got the better of TCU’s prominent defensive unit that is annually among the top groups in the nation.
The Tigers ran it and passed it – both with marked success.
The final tally was 448 total yards, 26 first downs, 36 minutes of time of possession and a 37-27 LSU victory against the Horned Frogs in a game that most thought the Tigers could only win if the scores were kept low.
“I felt like Cam Cameron started his debut at LSU and did a very, very strong job,” Miles told reporters following the win. “We were much better in offense.”
The Tigers’ passing attack is what caught the eye of the LSU nation watching the game across the globe.
After several-straight seasons without prolific, consistent quarterback play, senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger had a solid day for the Tigers in the opener.
The 6-foot, 5-inch signal caller completed 16-of-32 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown.
Miles applauded Mettenberger’s progression throughout the duration of his postgame press conference. He said that his quarterback’s stats were even better than they look on paper because of how well Mettenberger performed when LSU needed him the most.
LSU was 13-of-19 in the game on third down conversions on the game – thanks to both the quarterback’s powerful arm and also a passing regimen that seemed much more comfortable under Cameron’s tutelage.
Receivers Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry shined in the new passing skeleton, each catching for more than 100 yards on the night.
“The receivers ran the routes and that’s what it’s supposed to look like,” Miles said. “Have a tall quarterback standing back there hitting his targets. I think that Zach will have nights like that pretty routinely from this point forward.”
He also quickly added that big nights from the receivers are likely going forward, as well.
“Let me let you know something – I think they’ll play really better than that (going forward). I really think that they will,” Miles said. “They’re just getting started.”
Because of the team’s success through the air, LSU was also able to gash TCU for a couple of solid runs on the ground.
The Tigers accumulated 197 rushing yards in the game on 48 carries. The Horned Frogs allowed just 105.4 yards per game on the ground in the 2012 season.
As they’ve done in years past, LSU got those yards with a double-barreled rotation at halfback. Sophomore halfback Jeremy Hill dressed out, but didn’t play because of an apparent suspension for his role in an offseason bar fight.
In his absence, junior halfback Terrence Magee shined and gained 95 yards with two touchdowns. Senior Alfred Blue also had a nice night in his first game back from a torn ACL. He rushed for 89 yards on 19 tries. Blue did have one bugaboo in the game, fumbling deep inside the Tigers’ territory in the second half on a botched handoff – LSU’s only turnover of the game.
“I think Alfred Blue played extremely hard,” Miles said. “It’s one thing to run practice snaps when you’re not getting tackled and you just came off a major knee injury. But it’s quite another to shoulder the load in the running game in a big-time game against a non-conference opponent that’s nationally ranked.”
The running and passing was nice for the Tigers in the win. But Miles didn’t want reporters to forget the contributions of LSU’s offensive line to the victory, either.
After being harassed often last season in the passing game, LSU’s front protected Mettenberger and provided him with clean throwing lanes throughout the entirety of the game.
In the running game, the LSU line opened holes and moved the Horned Frogs’ defense.
That improvement also can easily be linked to Cameron’s arrival. With the new coach on staff, LSU’s former offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa is now able to exclusively coach LSU’s linemen.
“I liked our offensive line,” Miles said. “They’re getting better. I think they protected extremely well and I think the backs did the same.”
But for all of the strengths, the performance wasn’t perfect for the Tigers.
LSU committed seven penalties – most were for pre-snap infractions. The Tigers also struggled to find pay dirt in the red-zone, settling for three field goals of 30 yards or fewer.
Miles said that’s OK by him. Having the imperfections will allow he and Cameron to keep the team’s attention as SEC play nears.
On the other side, TCU coach Gary Patterson was just relieved because his Horned Frogs won’t have to face another team as talented as the Tigers again this season.
It’s been a while since an opposing coach has said such things about an LSU lead that was lead to victory by its offense.
“We’ll learn from it and we’ll go forward and then we’ll become a better football team,” Patterson said. “I don’t think athletically we’ll play anybody that’s going to be any more athletic in any other positions than what we just played tonight.”
LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger hands off the ball during the Tigers’ spring scrimmage. In their first game under new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, LSU’s offense shined, gaining 448 total yards against TCU’s stout defense. The Tigers had success both rushing and passing in the game – a balance that the team hasn’t had in years past.
