Despite an offseason of distractions and suspensions the LSU Tigers were a team on the prowl with a 40-27 victory over the Oregon Ducks Saturday night.
The keys in the win over a team that had played for the BCS National Championship in January boiled down to LSU’s outstanding rushing attack and a swarming defense that created four turnovers.
Jarrett Lee, who was the starter at quarterback due to the suspension of Jordan Jefferson, had a solid night against the Ducks completing 10 of his 22 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.
But Lee didn’t have to be the star against the Ducks because the Tigers’ rushing attack totaled 175 yards on 48 attempts.
Spencer Ware rushed for 99 yards on 26 carries, Michael Ford rushed for 96 yards on 14 carries and former Hahnville High School running back Alfred Blue rushed for 2 yards on one attempt.
Head coach Les Miles was very pleased with the overall effort of his football team against the nationally-ranked Ducks.
“We have had some adversity, but these young men are tough minded and their sole purpose is to play their hardest when they are on the field,” Miles said. “We had some injuries to overcome along our offensive line, but we played hard and we had great leadership from guys like T-Bob Hebert, Alex Hurst, Will Blackwell and P.J. Lonergan, who all did a fine job. We got great work from Chris Faulk also in his first start at left tackle.
“Every one of our backs, Ware, Ford, Blue and Kenny Hilliard ran hard. The effort and determination was something special tonight.”
But it was the Tigers defense that set the tone against one of the most explosive teams in college football. The aggressive LSU defense limited the high-powered Duck attack to just 95 yards rushing on 28 attempts and while quarterback Darron Thomas threw for 240 yards, it took him 31 completions to get to that mark.
The star defensive player was former St. Augustine High School sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. The 5’8, 175-pound cornerback recorded 10 tackles, had two pass break-ups, 1/2 tackle for a loss and he returned three punts for 26 yards. The speedy defender also forced a fumble on a returned punt and then brought it back for a touchdown.
In many ways the undersized Mathieu reminds me a lot of former Texas A&M and NFL standout cornerback Aaron Glenn, who also was small in height, but he made up for it with great football instincts. Despite being 5’9 Glenn rarely lost battles against much taller ends due to his first-rate coverage techniques.
Two other standout defenders were defensive tackle Bennie Logan, who totaled four tackles and one pass break-up, and senior safety Brandon Taylor who recorded 9 tackles.
LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis had high praise for his young defenders against such a talented team in Oregon.
“We knew Oregon had great speed and that pace is not something you are accustomed to seeing, but we handled it well and what I was most proud of was our open field tackling,” he said. “It was a point of emphasis we had this summer and our guys played hard, played fast, but most importantly we tackled well and we were aggressive heading to the football.
“I also have to mention our special team units who were outstanding. They didn’t give Oregon much of anything in the return game and our punter Brad Wing was excellent tonight.”
If Saturday night is any indication how good the Tigers defense and special teams will be all season, all Lee or Jefferson, if he is given permission to return to the team, will have to do is keep the Ferrari between the white lines on offense.
Former parish players fail to make final NFL cut
In the final round of NFL cuts to make each team’s 53-man squad former Hahnville High School standout Darius Reynaud was released by the New York Giants and the New England Patriots released former Destrehan High School defensive tackle Darryl Richard. The Baltimore Ravens released former Destrehan High School cornerback Josh Victorian during the cut-down time also.
Former Hahnville High School defensive end Kentrell Lockett returned to the football field after battling injuries and health issues all of the 2010 season for Ole Miss. Lockett recorded 2 tackles in the Rebels heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Brigham Young.
Another former Tiger, quarterback Brian Young, started for Southeastern (LA.) and he completed 20 of his 35 passes for 249 yard and one pass interception in the Lions 47-33 loss to Tulane.
Young also had a one-yard touchdown run against the Green Wave.
Be the first to comment