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Wake-up call
By John Colby Roessler
One thing separates the good teams from the bad, the ordinary from the extraordinary. What is this one thing? It’s simple. The extraordinary, good, great teams win the games they are supposed to win.
They do not play down to their opponents. They play to their tempo, always, without fail. They do this whether they are in the friendly confines of their own stadium or if they are on the road in some frantic mad house. They find ways to win at all costs.
On Saturday night, the LSU Tigers had to scrap their way to a 34-24 victory against a now 1-4 Mississippi State Bulldog team that came into Tiger Stadium looking to play the role of spoiler. On a day where three teams in the top five were defeated, along with one other in the top 10, LSU was on high alert. After seeing teams like USC and Florida get defeated by non-ranked opponents, why not the Bulldogs against LSU in Death Valley?
This would not come to fruition as the Tigers defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the eighth straight time. It took every piece of 60 minutes to do so.
Statically speaking, the Tigers were solid, gaining 427 yards of total offense and only allowing 285 total yards on defense. Some of the playmakers made plays, such as redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee who in his first career start went 18-for-27 for 261 yards passing and a touchdown.
Junior Charles Scott became the first running back in LSU history since Charles Alexander, in the 1970s, to start off a season with four straight 100 yard plus rushing performances finish with 140 yards on 27 carries. Junior Brandon LaFell had seven catches for 100 yards.
But as good as Scott, Lee and LaFell played individually, the team still was not up to par. As a 24.5 point favorite, the Tigers looked nowhere near the team they were presumed to be headed into the contest.
What does this mean for the Tigers as they head into their bye week and then head to Gainesville to play Florida? Well, basically they have many house cleaning issues to address such as motivation.
One of the primary things in college football during the regular season is “staying power.” Parity in the game is as evident as ever. Any time, any place, a team has the ability to defeat another. In those games, coaches often want to just get the win and move on to fight another day. That is exactly what Les Miles wanted to do on Saturday night.
Next week, the Tigers get a chance to rest up before traveling to Florida and South Carolina in consecutive weeks. This is a much needed break for a Tiger squad that has a few key players banged up in linebacker Darry Beckwith, quarterback Andrew Hatch and receiver Demetrius Byrd. Byrd is the only player of the three cleared to play.
When the Tigers travel to Florida, South Carolina and then return home for Georgia and Alabama, they must not step on the field the same way they did against the Bulldogs of Mississippi State looking to just get by. Not to take anything away from the boys in Starkville, but Georgia, Florida and Alabama are all superior programs that LSU cannot take lightly. Their offenses can score quickly and often.
Mississippi State was a big win for the Tigers. A scrappy win. Now, it’s time to regroup, reload and get ready for the tough SEC schedule ahead.
Originally Published: October 1, 2008
