Bayou Bengals Blog

A shocker? Not

2011-02-16T23:08:00.001-08:00

Well, well, well. It looks like the NCAA is going to do some snooping around Thiboduax.

Foxsports.com is reporting that NCAA investigators have interviewed "several people in Thibodaux about the recruitment of Trovon Reed last year and Greg Robinson this year.

In Auburn's defense, there is a chance that both players could have been signed on the up-and-up. That would require Reed having signed last year without any problems and Robinson could have followed his friend.

However, the cynics that are out there -- and there are many -- are wondering exactly how in the world you get from Thibodaux, Louisiana, to Auburn, Alabama?

It could get interesting for Aubie this offseason.

Help is on the way

2011-02-10T21:50:00.000-08:00

Here's some good news for LSU basketball fans (if such an animal still exists):

Signee Johnny O'Bryant was chosen Thursday to play in the McDonald's All-American game.

That's right, LSU has a McDonald's All-American on the way. And it's been a long time since the Tigers could say that.

O'Bryant is a 6-foot-10 power foward who is ranked as the No. 30 player in the nation by ESPNU.

There is little doubt that Trent Johnson expects to pencil O'Bryant into the staring lineup next season. You can check out O'Bryant for yourself in the McDonald's game from Chicago on March 30 on ESPN's family of networks.

Just good enough to lose

2011-02-09T21:30:00.001-08:00

On the bright side, LSU was in the game with Ole Miss with a chance to actually pull off a road win. That's major improvement over where the team was a couple of weeks ago.

That's one way of looking at LSU's 66-60 loss at Ole Miss on Wednesday. Another way of looking at it is the Tigers have Ralston Turner and Storm Warren back from injury and STILL CAN'T WIN.

Ole Miss made more free throws than LSU shot in the game. And, for LSU, the Tigers were a respectable 45 percent shooting from the field but only 6 of 12 at the line.

Looks like another losing season and an early exit from the SEC tourney for this bunch.

The gang that couldn't shoot straight

2011-02-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Just like football is mostly about blocking and tackling, basketball is mostly about shooting and defending.

So it's never a good sign when your team is last in the league in shooting.

Meet the LSU Tigers. Last in the SEC in scoring offense. Tied with Auburn for last in field goal percentage at .397.

"We're still struggling to shoot the ball,'' LSU coach Trent Johnson said. "That's been the problem for us...We just didn't knock down open shots.''

It's not a good problem to have going to Ole Miss on Wednesday.

A peek at 2011

2011-01-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

If LSU doesn't win the national football championship next year, then it probably won't be because the Tigers didn't start high enough in the polls.

I was listening to XM Radio on the way into work and caught Phil Steele on the Rivals Radio show. He was asked about what the AP preseason top would look like.

Steele predicts Oklahoma will be the AP preseason No. 1. And at No. 2, he said he thinks it will be either LSU or Alabama.

Not a bad place to start in 2011.

Recruiting update

2011-01-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

OK, here are few tidbits as we go down the stretch.

1) You can take Philadelphia, Miss., linebacker C.J. Johnson off your LSU target list. He committed to Ole Miss today per the Jackson Clarion Ledger.

2) Evangel defensive end Jermauria Rasco will visit Florida this weekend. The Gators didn't really get into the picture until Will Muschamp got there. LSU and Florida State are other bigger players there.

3) It's looking more and more like defensive lineman Tim Jernigan will stay in his home state of Florida with Florida State being his likely choices. LSU has been a player in the Jernigan recruiting process.

4) Georgia defensive lineman Ray Drew appears to be headed to Georgia with LSU something of a long shot on that one.

Miles staying put

2011-01-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

So looks like ESPN's wrong again -- you may remember yesterday's report that Les Miles would go to Michigan if offered the job. OK, I guess there is the chance in a five-hour meeting that he wasn't offered the job, but I'd put the odds against that.

Anyway, here is the story.

No matter what one thinks of Miles, the timing of this situation would have been brutal for LSU. There is no one out there that is available and better.

Cotton Bowl thoughts

2011-01-07T23:12:00.000-08:00

-- First thought was if LSU indeed was going to show up. The long kickoff return, an interception, a halfback pass for a touchdown, it wasn't looking good.

-- Second thought, LSU could run at will against those guys and was probably wishing for acceptance into the Big 12 Conference.

-- LSU's young secondary should be pretty salty for years to come.

-- Spencer Ware looks like he'll be quite all right if Stevan Ridley wants to try the NFL.

-- If Jordan Jefferson had played like that all season LSU wouldn't have been in the Cotton Bowl.

-- Don't automatically assume Jefferson won't be the starter next year. Consider that he has three years under his belt and Mettenberger will have one whole spring to try to unseat him.

-- While not a big Les Miles fan, I thought he was the best coach LSU could get at the time of Nick Saban's departure. Now if he were to leave for Michigan, I don't think LSU is going to find anybody better. It's just not a good time to be looking for a coach and you'll have to pay top $$$ to get anybody worthwhile.

-- So 11-2 it is. What say you Tigers fans? Was this season an A? B? C? Let us know.

Recruiting doomsday avoided

2011-01-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

Redemptorist running back Jeremy Hill recommits to LSU, per Rivals. So if Hill is back in the fold you can't imagine teammate La'El Collins going anywhere else and LSU has thus avoided a doomsday scenario where the Tigers would have lost both players.

That being said, this whole commit, decommit, recommit thing just speaks to the silliness that is college football recruiting these days.

You almost have to admire the guys who hold off on making a commitment until they're ready to sign with someone.

Will Cotton Bowl be Miles' last game at LSU?

2011-01-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

IRVING, Texas – Les Miles would be crazy to leave LSU for Michigan now.

But then, this is Les Miles we are talking about.

“Nobody knows what goes through Coach Miles’ mind,” LSU receiver Russell Shepard said this week.

“People have told me Les Miles has been acting weird the last few weeks,” a national sports reporter told me on Wednesday. “Do you think he wants the Michigan job?”

That reporter was quickly told that Miles has been acting weird for the last six seasons. Remember, this is the guy who called timeout when time was out after an interception in his Tiger Stadium debut against Tennessee in 2005. This is the guy who did not call timeout correctly when he desperately needed one against Ole Miss in 2009. This is the guy who nearly let the final 27 seconds or so tick away in field goal range while a point down against Auburn in 2007.

This is the guy who allowed mass substitutions with the final seconds ticking away a yard away from the winning touchdown against Tennessee and lived to laugh about it.

This is the guy who after that fortunate win called “BS” on his team when he should have been calling it on himself and his staff. This is the guy who went for it on fourth down five times against Florida in '07 and made it five times.

What will happen tonight when Must See Miles moves his act to FOX for the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M? He’ll probably win to go to 5-1 in bowls as LSU’s coach.

“One thing I know, he knows how to win football games,” Shepard said.

Miles is 61-17 in six seaons as LSU’s coach with a 33-15 record in the Southeastern Conference, a 22-13 mark against top 25 opponents, a national championship and consistent top 10 finishes in recruiting. Fired Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez was 15-22 in three seasons with a 6-18 mark in the Big 10 and 2-11 against the top 25. Michigan would be crazy not to talk to Miles.

And Miles would not be crazy to take the Michigan job if it offers him $4 to $5 million a year as it reportedly offered Stanford outgoing coach Jim Harbaugh, whose coast-to-coast job tour is making Pete Carroll and Nick Saban look like a couple of high school coaches Xeroxing their resumes at a coaches’ convention.

Miles would not be replacing near legend Lloyd Carr this time at Michigan. He’d be replacing the worst coach in Michigan history. He’d be seen as the Michigan man in shining armor, not the West Virginia hillbilly with enough baggage for his own reality show. Miles would be a breath of fresh air at Michigan, which really needs some ventilation.

Rodriguez never beat Ohio State. Miles beat the Buckeyes for the national championship. All he has to say is, “We have a want to beat Ohio State,” and Ann Arbor would start wearing hats high on their heads and eating grass.

Miles beat Bob Stoops and Oklahoma twice when he was at Oklahoma State once at home and once on the road and both times when he should not have. He beat Nick Saban and Alabama twice – once at home, once on the road – when he was at LSU and nearly beat him two other times. He beat Urban Meyer and Florida three times.

If Michigan pays Miles and his staff, this would be the perfect time to go to Michigan. The Wolverines are an awful team, so it would be a difficult job. But Miles would have the time because Michigan people finally realize how bad they are. He’d be home, where he played and coached for Bo Schembechler, whom he loved and talks like. He could be the next Bo.

He’s 57. He will not get this chance a third time. He has been at LSU for six seasons. That is a long time in football coaching. If he leaves, he will leave LSU with nearly as much talent as he inherited from Saban.

This is also the perfect time for Miles to stay at LSU. He will return his best team since the 2007 national champions, and it’s all his team now. The national championship game is in New Orleans next season. With a win tonight, LSU will enter the 2011 season in the top eight. With a win over Oregon in the opener in Cowboys Stadium, the Tigers could be in the top three.

His chances of winning a national championship are much greater at LSU than they will be at Michigan for years.

Miles will call a timeout and think about it after tonight’s game.

“We love him, but he’s crazy,” Shepard said. “He’ll tell you he’s crazy.”

But he’s not that crazy. He’ll stay at LSU.

Here are five things to look for in what will not be the last LSU game Miles coaches:
1.STEVAN RIDLEY – The just freed LSU tailback will play one of his best games after getting his eligibility restored by the NCAA on Monday. Yards will be tough to come by as A&M led the Big 12 in rush defense, but Ridley knows how to make something out of nothing better than any back LSU has had since Joseph Addai.

2.RYAN TANNEHILL – The Texas A&M receiver turned quarterback may wish he was back catching passes after facing more pressure tonight more than he has all season.

3.VON MILLER – The Joker’s wild. The Texas A&M linebacker plays a position called the Joker in A&M’s 3-4 defense. He is part lineman, part linebacker, but more importantly, he’s very good and won the Butkus Award. He led the Big 12 with 9.5 sacks after leading the league last season with 8.5.

4.JORDAN JEFFERSON – The LSU quarterback may be playing his last game as a starter with Zach Mettenberger about to take over. Jefferson needs a strong showing for momentum going into spring practice.

5.THE VIDEO BOARD – It stretches from the 20 to the 20 in Cowboys Stadium. So when Miles grabs a blade of grass on a fourth down play, it’s going to look like a Redwood.

PREDICTION: LSU 28, Texas A&M 23 – The Tigers’ speed and talent will eventually overcome the hungry Aggies.

Early Cotton Bowl views

2011-01-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

LSU has gone from a pick 'em to a 1-point favorite back to a pick 'em again in the Cotton Bowl.

I noticed The Sporting News has picked LSU to win the game. It will be interesting to see who the so-called experts like in this one.

Texas A&M's defense is certainly improved over last year. Ryan Tannehill has brought stability to the Aggies' offense.

A&M was hot at the end of the season. LSU was, well, LSU pretty much all year -- solid on defense, inconsistent on offense.

This one will probably be decided by how well LSU's defense plays. As inconsistent as the offense is, they'll somehow get to 21. The key will be if LSU can keep the Aggies under that number.

Worse than expected

2010-12-30T13:59:00.000-08:00

I realize most people aren't thinking baskeball these days but for the few that have bothered to notice, LSU basketball is way worse than I expected.

The home-court loss to Nicholls was alarming. The 20-point beatdown at home to North Texas was amazing. And now a loss on the road to Rice.

I think Trent Johnson is a good basketball coach when it comes to Xs and Os and such. He's not much of a promoter which, unfortunately, you need to be in that position. If the best promoting is winning,he might want to consider speeding up the timetable. Sure, Turner and Stringer are good pieces to build with as freshmen. But there may not be three more years at the rate these beatings keep happening.

Recruiting update

2010-12-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

Remember when LSU fans were all worried about Nick Saban coming into Louisiana and raiding the state of its best players?

Well, Saban has picked off a player or two here and there -- Luther Davis and Robbie Green being among the most prominent.

But it appears another school in Alabama may be an even bigger threat to LSU recruiting.

No one much cared when DeAngelo Benton made his signing day switch to Auburn. After all, Rueben Randle signed with LSU.

Last year, more than a few fans were annoyned with Thibodaux wide receiver Trovon Reed when he signed with Auburn. Reed was the top player in the state and he was leaving the state.

Well, it's still early and lots could happen, but if Les Miles isn't careful Auburn could do a serious number on his recruiting class.

Here's what has happened and could happen.

Thibodaux offensive lineman Greg Robinson has committed to Auburn. Robinson is considered among the state's and nation's best prospects. He could play all five positions on the offensive line and could even see playing time as a freshman.

Now here's where it could really get bad for Miles and LSU. Running back Jeremy Hill of Redemptorist has decommitted and has made visits to Alabama and Auburn already. He has plans to visit Florida State and Tennessee and he is keeping LSU in the mix.

His teammate, offensive lineman La'el Collins, is also still taking visits. Although Collins hasn't decommitted.

If Hill and Collins join Robinson at Auburn, what once was going to be one of the great recruiting classes in LSU history takes a major hit.

Anyone still worried about Alabama?

The Ridley predicament

2010-12-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

Glenn Guilbeau has a good piece on Stevan Ridley's "academic dishonesty issue.'' I'll post the link when I get it.

So here are some thoughts.

1) Cam Newton's dad wanted $180,000 but he plays onl; Ridley is out for academics. Makes sense.

2) If Ridley doesn't regain his eligibility, who gets the carries? Michael Ford got more action as the season went along. Spencer Ware and Alfred Blue figure in the mix. But it's hard replacing a 1,000-yard rusher. The good news is with extra time (Cotton Bowl is on Jan. 7) LSU should be able to figure this out.

A look to the future

2010-12-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

There is an early bird college football poll out right now. Here is the link.

Granted, these rankings don't take in to account juniors leaving early. Anybody really think Auburn is No. 6 without Cam Newton? And in LSU's case, Patrick Peterson is probably a goner.

Still, if you're an LSU fan you have to like your position. If you start at No. 3 then you usually have a shot at ending up in the top two.

The flip side is a couple of old enemies, Oklahoma and Alabama are ranked above.

So what do you think LSU fans? Would you take it? Or are you angry that Alabama is still ranked ahead of you?

Anything goes, I guess

2010-12-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

So the NCAA says, yes, Cecil Newton was shopping his son Cameron Newton. Yet Cam Newton is eligible to play (the NCAA says he didn't know of any price tag on his skills).

And the same NCAA that took years to get to the bottom of the Reggie Bush scandal at USC, took care of this one in months.

Sorry, at the least things look suspicious in this one. Maybe no one can prove money changed hands. But wouldn't a thorough investigation be better than this one done so hastily?

This has no effect on LSU. Even had Auburn forfeited every game in sight it would be Arkansas not LSU winning the West.

So my point is this: I think this was a ruling made with the information on hand at this point in time. And that is not all of the information that could be gathered. But so that this wouldn't hang over the SEC Championship Game, the Heisman Trophy and possibly the national championship game, a ruling came out today.

But somewhere there are some folks who will abuse this "the-Dad-knew-but-the-kid-didn't-loophole.'' You know they will.

So what to make of this season?

2010-11-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

So LSU ends up 10-2 in the regular season and, for all intents and purposes, in third place in the SEC West behind Auburn and tied with Arkansas but losing in the tiebreaker.

On one hand, a 10-2 record is nothing to sneeze at. (They'd gladly take on in Austin or Gainesville right now.)

But a third-place finish in the West isn't quite what many fans had in mind. Granted the West was exceedingly tough this year.

So LSU fans, what do you make of the season. Does the record make it a success? Do wins over Florida and Alabama make it a success? Or does that third-place finish take some shine off the season? What say you?

Arkansas' Petrino braces to face Wild Hog of a coach in Miracle Miles

2010-11-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – There is an often used baseball term that may best describe LSU football coach Les Miles. It is “effectively wild” with Miles being the pitcher and the opposing coach the hitter.

Imagine yourself coaching against the Mad Hatter. You have studied film. You have prepared your team in the conventional way with practice and repetition. You've gone against the best. You've been an NFL coach for crying out loud. But today you’re going against a coach who makes the unconventional conventional in more ways than head-hat placement. You're going against Les Miles - college football's Don Quixote with a flip card.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino steps into the box today at 2:30 p.m. in War Memorial Stadium for a CBS game with a BCS bowl on the line and possibly – if you believe in the Miracle Miles – a continuation of a windmill-like quest for an unlikely BCS title game by LSU. But then, these things have happened before.

Petrino has been the hot offensive coordinator at Auburn and the hot head coach at Louisville with NFL ties. He was a head coach briefly at Atlanta before escaping to Arkansas, leaving little but a note. He is considered an offensive genius. But none of that matters today. Because when he looks across the field, he will see Les Miles, who is not a genius and often out of control.

Miles eats grass before huge plays. That’s what Alabama’s Nick Saban – the defensive version of Petrino with more skins on the wall - saw if he glanced across the field before that fourth-and-one play in Tiger Stadium on Nov. 6. Then he saw a double-pitch reverse to the tight end probably for the first time in his life, and it beat him.

“Gotcha,” Miles may have said as he may have said after beating Steve Spurrier, another genius who revolutionized the SEC with passing in the 1990s before failing in the NFL, with a holder-to-kicker flip fake field goal in 2007. Three years later, Miles called the same play against spread mastermind Urban Meyer, in The Swamp. Only this time he mixed it up a bit with a confused timeout and a bounce pass, and Meyer is still shaking his brainiac head.

Miles also is known to take a big chug of water before big plays. If Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, a disciple of Saban and son of Vince, looked straight ahead before the last play of his game (or the first of two "last" plays) with LSU last month, this is what he saw - Miles kicking his head back and squirting a big swallow into his pie hole. It was only fourth-and-goal from the 1 with no time left after one of the worst conceived last-second plays in LSU history. And LSU scored for the win. Your dad told you there’d be days like that, Derek, but not coaches like that.

Needless to say, Petrino has been holding his own Miles Marathon this week. Call it the Field Whisperer Film Festival.

“Yeah, we always have to spend time with their trick plays and special teams, the fakes and everything they do,” Petrino said. “We keep a file on it, and we have to bring it out.”

The temptation is for opposing coaches to try this stuff at home. This is a dangerous game. That’s the thing about Miles. What fits the Mad Hatter does not necessarily fit anyone else. It’s an acquired taste – like grass. Brainiacs need not apply.

“We used one (the fake field goal), and it didn’t work at all against Texas A&M,” Petrino said. “Maybe we should have kept that file in the closet.”

Careful in that batter’s box today, Bobby. Miles outs himself just about every Saturday. You never know what’s coming.

Here are five things to look for in today’s LSU-Arkansas game.

1.BLITZING – LSU’s defense loves to play a pocket quarterback like Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett. LSU got three sacks against Alabama’s traditional Greg McElroy. Look for that many or more today.

2.SCORING – Arkansas is No. 2 in the SEC in points scored with 37.9 a game and No. 7 in points allowed with 22.7. LSU has scored 84 in its last two games. Sure, one of those opponents was Louisiana-Monroe, but still LSU has not put up that many in back-to-back games since 2007 with 89 in a 41-24 win at Ole Miss and a 50-48 loss in triple overtime to Arkansas.

3.FIRST DOWN PASSES – Since the second half against Alabama, LSU has thrown on first down more than at any point under quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Look for the aggression to continue today as the Tigers continue to climb the offensive charts - 11th in the SEC and 108th in the nation in passing.

4.RUNNING HOGS – Mallett is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, but tailback Knile Davis is third in the SEC with 1,031 yards on 148 carries.

5.JOSH JASPER – This one could come down to a field goal like it did last year with the LSU kicker making a 41-yarder with four seconds to play to send it to overtime and a 36-yarder to win it. No one in the country has more field goals than Jasper, who is 23 of 27 on the season. He is also one of the best pooch punters in the game and runs like a tailback. After a ridiculous snub by the Groza Award people, Jasper may be ready to kick some Hog.

PREDICTION: Jasper kicks LSU into the Sugar Bowl with a 50-yard field goal with :02 remaining for a 31-28 win. Miles goes Hog wild.

One more Nutt to crack

2010-11-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

BATON ROUGE - LSU coach Les Miles is already nearly finished his get-even shopping.

Florida coach Urban Meyer ... faked and beaten.

Alabama coach Nick Saban ... reversed and beaten.

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt ... clocked and beaten?

Miles can enjoy victories over those three coaches in the same season for the first time in his career if his No. 5 Tigers (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) can crack Nutt's cracking Rebels (4-6, 1-5 SEC) at 2:30 p.m. today in Tiger Stadium.

Miles was 0-4 against Meyer-Saban over the previous two seasons as Flora-Bama appeared to call closing time on the rest of the SEC for years to come. Didn't happen. Miles is ahead of both in the SEC and BCS standings at the moment, and he is dead even with both over his career - 3-3 versus Meyer and 2-2 versus Saban.

Miles has usually been ahead of Nutt in the standings, but he is just 2-3 against him straight up. And Nutt has beaten Miles with teams that had no business beating LSU.

In 2007, Nutt's last Arkansas team was 7-4 and unranked when it entered Tiger Stadium to play No. 1 and 10-1 LSU on Senior Day. The Hogs apparently busted LSU's BCS hopes with a 50-48 victory in triple overtime. Arkansas put up 513 yards against an LSU defense that has been incorrectly referred to over the years as great. Then-defensive coordinator and now-Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini must have successfully whited-out that game on his resume.

In 2008, Nutt's first Ole Miss team was 6-4 and unranked when it came to Baton Rouge to play No. 18 and 7-3 LSU on Senior Day. The Rebels were up 21-10 at the half, and it got ugly. Ole Miss outgained LSU 409 to 215 and won going away, 31-13, for one of its most dominating win over the Tigers in history.

In 2009, Nutt's 7-3 unranked Ole Miss team outgained No. 10 and 7-2 LSU 426 yards to 290 in a 25-23 win. People mainly remember Miles' malfunctions on the sideline, but Ole Miss dominated the game.

News flash: It's Senior Day again today, and Ole Miss is unranked while LSU is rolling.

"We can't let it happen again," LSU tailback and Natchez, Miss., native Stevan Ridley said. "We've got to make sure we get this one."

A loss today to the worst team Nutt has had anywhere in years would largely erase what Miles did against Meyer and Saban. But it won't happen.

Here are five things to look for:
1. ZACH METTENBERGER - The Butler Community College quarterback star will be on the sidelines on his official visit to LSU. The former Georgia quarterback kicked off after a "Boys Gone Wild" arrest last spring break will be LSU's starter at some point next season.

2. BETTER PASSING GAME - Ole Miss is ninth in the SEC against the pass with 241 yards allowed a game. Look for LSU quarterbacks Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee to return to their form shown in the Alabama and Florida games.

3. RUN RIDLEY RUN - LSU tailback Stevan Ridley is from Natchez, Miss., and has had to live with two straight losses to Ole Miss. He will go over 100 yards on the day.

4. INTERCEPTIONS - Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has thrown for 1,601 yards this season, but lately he has been interception prone. He tossed two pick sixes in a 52-14 loss at Tennessee last week. Look for junior cornerback Patrick Peterson to get one in his last LSU home game.

5. KILLING THE CLOCK - Miles struggled to get a timeout called at crunch time in LSU's loss at Ole Miss last season. He'll be running out the clock this time with a comfortable lead.

PREDICTION: LSU 34, Ole Miss 10

On Les and the BCS

2010-11-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

I know what Les Miles was trying to do by planting the seed for a one-loss (read LSU) SEC team in the national championship game -- provided the Tigers win their last two games.

But there is a risk involved. It's called backlash and if you don't believe me, check out the L.A. Times where college football writer Chris Dufresne has his national rankings.

Dufresne ranks LSU sixth and says: "Only Nebraska (2001) gets a title-game shot without winning its division.''

And then he ranks Arkansas No. 12 with this comment: "Please beat Louisiana State so it quits yapping about deserving a BCS title bid.''

The point is there is backlash out there. What may seem like a good idea -- lobbying for his team -- may not be the best path for Miles to take right now.

Hard times in Hoopsville

2010-11-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

OK, it ain't exactly like we're talking Chapel Hill and Lexington when it comes to basketball. But losing to Nicholls State? At home?

That's not a good sign.

I think most LSU fans expected this men's basketball season to: a)be better than last season and b) include some transitional moments with so many new faces being worked into the rotation.

I don't think LSU fans were counting on a home-court loss to a Southland team.

If this team has any postseason aspirations -- and who among the 300-plus Division I teams don't -- then this is a bad loss. LSU will need to win a game it's not supposed to win to just offset the loss of a game wasn't supposed to lose.

There is no reason for LSU's basketball program to be as down as it has been for much of the last 15 years. You can live off that one Final Four trip only so long.

Apparently, it's going to take longer to get to the point where the program is strong on a yearly basis.

It's all about the green

2010-11-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

You had to know this was coming. LSU staring at a double-digit win season in football. A national top-five ranking -- and budget cuts.

So along comes Scrooge -- this time it's parking.

You'll have to pay to park for football games on campus starting in 2011?

Here's the link.

As an LSU fan, do you mind paying the parking or does this hack you off the way it did when they raised ticket prices after the 2007 national championship?

Down the stretch

2010-11-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

So the SEC Championship Game is out.

The national championship game is a looooooooooooonggggg shot for LSU.

What to make of the rest of the season?

Well, there is some serious motivation against Ole Miss after having lost two in a row to the Rebels.

And Arkansas the following week would carry the motivation of possibly earning a spot in a BCS bowl.

So there is plenty to play for in the final two weeks. Besides, it's hard to complain about a double-digit win season (although this year may have been the exception).

Consider Miles off the Coker trail

2010-11-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

BATON ROUGE – I came up with it first. I will abort it first.

LSU coach Les Miles is no longer taking the road traveled by former Miami coach Larry Coker. After the landmark victory over Alabama and Coach Nick Saban last week, he is back on the Saban-Meyer Super Highway for now.

After five seasons at LSU, Miles and Coker’s career path was hauntingly similar.
Coker in 2001 inherited an elite, national championship-type program loaded with talent from NFL-bound Butch Davis and went 35-3 in his first three seasons with a 20-1 Big East record, a national championship and a national championship runner-up finish. Then he slipped to 18-6 overall and 11-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004 and 2005 despite continuing to recruit nearly as well as his predecessor. He fell to 6-6 in 2006 and was fired. He’s now coaching at Texas-San Antonio.

Miles in 2005 inherited an elite, national championship program loaded with talent from NFL-bound Nick Saban and went 34-6 in his first three seasons with a 19-5 Southeastern Conference record, a national championship and a SEC championship runner-up finish. Then he slipped to 17-9 overall and 8-8 in the SEC in 2008 and 2009 despite continuing to recruit nearly as well as his predecessor.

Miles has not fallen to 6-6 in 2010 and will not be fired – maybe ever from LSU.

Reset your clocks. Miles will not coach at Texas El Paso. He could have been 4-4 with some very scary wins over North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida, but that is moot now, unless you work for ESPN.

Miles is 9-1 and 5-1 in the SEC going into tonight’s six o’clock homecoming game against Louisiana-Monroe (4-5, 3-3 Sun Belt). Tonight’s game matches two of the four teams that have regular season victories over Saban and Alabama since Nov. 17, 2007, when Saban did something Miles will never do – lose to ULM. Auburn and South Carolina are the other two.

Miles is 2-2 against Saban. He is also 3-3 against Florida coach Urban Meyer. Saban and Meyer are the best two college football coaches in the country, and they are better than quite a few of those in the NFL as well. They’ve both slipped a bit this year, but they’ll come back. Just like Miles came back.

Now do not get all carried away as many of you did in 2007. Miles is neither a genius nor a moron. His failure to put one hand on top of the other and call a timeout at Ole Miss in 2009 did not erase his brilliant 5-for-5 fourth down run against Florida in 2007, just as his brilliant tight end reverse call against Alabama Saturday did not erase what he let happen at the end of the Tennessee game this season. Miles quite simply is up and down. He’s inconsistent. He’s still just 13-9 in the SEC since 2008. Saban is 20-2 over that span. Meyer is 19-4. And all three have equal talent. Don’t get carried away. I would not roll over that contract either. No one should have a buyout of double-figure millions. His should be no more than $4 or $5 million like so many others, period.

But do enjoy the ride. After all the negativity from media and fans as well as LSU athletic department and Board of Supervisors personnel - most of it very deserved - we have all almost missed a great season. We all realize now that this is a great team, and only three regular season games remain.

Miles is 60-16 overall at LSU and 32-14 in the SEC, and it looks like he has turned the corner well off the Coker path. And do not yet count him out of the BCS national championship race. He is one of the only coaches to win a national championship with two losses. Could he be one of the only coaches to get to a national championship game because a player was ruled ineligible?

The way this season is going, my money, my clock and my laptop are all on Miles – not Cam Newton.

After all the emotion and drama from last week, I am actually looking forward to tonight’s LSU-ULM game that will be refreshingly uneventful. Here are five things to look for:

1. A REPLAY OF THE LSU-BAMA GAME ON THE BIG SCREEN – That will keep everyone interested, including LSU’s players and coaches.

2. A REPLAY OF GEORGIA’S UPSET OF AUBURN ON THE OTHER BIG SCREEN – That will keep everyone interested, too, including LSU’s players and coaches.

3. A REPLAY OF ULM’S UPSET OF ALABAMA IN 2007 ON A SPLIT SCREEN – That will keep everyone from ULM interested.

4. MORE PASS PLAYS – The last thing LSU needs to do is to put its pass game away for a week so as to hide things from future opponents. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson played his best game of the season last week. He needs to stay hot. Come out firing. Run the ball in the second half.

5.LIVE COVERAGE OF MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ALABAMA ON THE OTHER SPLIT SCREEN – Kickoff is at 6:15 p.m. Saban has been so down since the LSU loss, he may lose again. But more importantly, LSU owes both schools. They turned in Newton.

LSU has the exact record that Alabama has, so why doesn’t it feel like it?

2010-11-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE – It’s right there in black and white, but most see only crimson and white. LSU is 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in the SEC. Alabama is 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in the SEC.

Yet few, including those most rabid and self-absorbed LSU fans, are talking about the Tigers running the table and getting into the BCS national championship game, while many are saying that the Crimson Tide can do that as if it is a foregone conclusion.

“Of course, that sounds about right,” Georgia-born LSU middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said with the sarcasm of a veteran LSU fan who saw the Tigers go 8-27-1 against Bama from 1964-99 while the Tide won half a dozen national championships over that span.

“That’s how it always is,” Sheppard said. “We’re used to that by now. I enjoy it. I just laugh at it, because we’re in the same position as Alabama as I see it. We’re both equal going into this game.”

On paper, LSU is equal to Alabama. In the human polls, though, Alabama is No. 5 to LSU’s No. 11 or 12. Even in BCS standings, which use cold hard computer facts, Alabama is No. 6 to LSU’s No. 10. Yet, LSU’s lone loss this season – to an undefeated, now-No. 2-ranked Auburn and the best player in the country by a touchdown on the road – is better than Alabama’s loss, which was to a now-No. 19 ranked, 6-2 South Carolina team by two touchdowns. South Carolina also lost to 1-5 Kentucky.

Alabama has so much more reputation and credibility than LSU at the moment, it’s not even funny. LSU, which in the past tended to be the highest ranked one- or two-loss team in the nation and often overrated, is No. 6 in the nation among 7-1 teams at the moment in both the Associated Press and Harris polls. This is a program that somehow got into the BCS national title game just three seasons ago with two losses.

It has one loss this season and can’t even get in the conversation.

This is because many across the nation realize that LSU could easily be 5-3 or even 4-4 right now, and its best win is over a Florida team now just holding on at 5-3 and 3-3.

But what if LSU wins today? Has anyone considered that? LSU would still need Georgia and Alabama to beat Auburn to get to the SEC title game, but it would be within range of a BCS bowl without a trip to Atlanta.

Yet many LSU fans do not seem to really believe a win over Bama today may actually happen. Many LSU fans do not even seem to hate Alabama coach Nick Saban as much anymore either. This has been the deadest Bama week since Dubose was its coach. Has LSU fans’ hatred of their former coach been trumped by their aggravation, apathy and lack of confidence in their present coach? It seems like it.

The fantasy is gone. Surely even the most delusional LSU fan does not still believe that Les Miles is as good or better than Saban as so many so fervently did back in 2007, or convinced themselves to feel that way out of revenge.

The funny thing is LSU has a better chance of beating Alabama today than it did in either 2008 or 2009 when more of its fan base believed it had a real chance, and it nearly did each time. Ah, ’08 and ’09 -the hallucinatory drugs of ’07’s national title that cast Miles as a genius had not yet worn off. Everyone is seeing clearly now, and Miles has transformed from daring gambler to degenerate clocker.

But he could win today. LSU is better this season than it was in either 2008 or 2009 and nearly beat Alabama in those seasons. And Alabama is not as good on defense now as it was a season ago.

Yes, LSU has a terrible pass offense, but at least it knows it. Miles and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton refused to see it in ’08. The ’07 drugs were still working, and quarterback Jarrett Lee was allowed to throw 34 times (with only 13 completions) even though he entered the game with nine interceptions and five pick sixes. He threw four interceptions and one pick six in a 27-21 overtime loss that LSU could have won with its defense and its running game. LSU can beat Alabama today with its defense and its running game and just 15 or so passes. But I do not have the confidence to make that pick either.

PREDICTION: Alabama 23, LSU 10.

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
1.A START FOR JARRETT LEE – If I keep saying it, maybe it will happen. If Miles and Crowton did decide to start Lee, they would not announce it publicly anyway. So, today is as good as any, considering the extra week to prepare Lee. He deserves it, and everyone deserves to see if Lee can improve and gain rhythm by staying in possession after possession. No one will know until they try it.

2.NEW PASS PLAYS – Crowton said he used the extra week to put in some new things.

3.CRAMPS – A heat cramp suffered by LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson basically cost the Tigers the game last season as Bama wide receiver Julio Jones beat Peterson’s last second replacement – Brandon Taylor – for a 73-yard touchdown on a short pass. It’s supposed to be in the 60s and 50s today. Forget the Wheaties, Patrick, drink your water. There’s an Evian endorsement deal just waiting.

4.D.J. FLUKER – The 6-foot-6, 303-pound Alabama right tackle can dominate a game. LSU has to get some Marcus Spears-like defensive end play from Lavar Edwards or Kendrick Adams or Barkevious Mingo to take some of the pressure off defensive tackle Drake Nevis.

5.NICK SABAN – He is 2-1 against LSU as Bama’s coach, but the Tide has yet to play a complete game against LSU, which has handed him the last two. Alabama may need a complete game today to win. Or has it already won?

On to Alabama

2010-11-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

This should be an interesting week for LSU.

If you judge off of the past -- and really that's all we can do -- then Alabama has looked vulnerable on the road in the SEC this year at times. The Crimson Tide trailed Arkansas in the fourth quarter before eventually winning. And the Tide lost by two touchdowns at South Carolina. (I don't really count Tennessee because the Vols' M.O. at home is to play tough then fold.)

So for argument's sake, let's say Alabama is vulnerable.

Then this becomes the question: Does LSU have enough offense to win the game?

Once again, judging by the past the answer is No. This is a team that struggles to get to 28 points. They won't have to get to 28 to win on Saturday, but they'll certainly need to get to 21 and I just don't see that happening without a defensive or special teams score.

What say you?

Off week thoughts

2010-10-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

LSU hit the off week at 7-1.

So here are some bye week thoughts:

1) LSU has the worst quarterback situation in the conference. Arkansas has two SEC-level quarterbacks and LSU has none. This is a product of both evaluation and development. The microcosm of this is Russell Shepard. LSU still has no idea what to do with Russell Shepard. Worse yet, there is no immediate hope in sight.

2) The LSU defense looked really good all season until getting gashed by Auburn. Granted, Cam Newton may be the best player in college football. And Auburn does have some skill people to go along with Guz Malzahn's offensive wizardry. But the scary thing for LSU fans is the ineptness of the Tigers' offense is putting so much pressure on the defense that it will eventually break.

3) That Patrick Peterson for Heisman campaign was short-lived.

4) This team could still end up 10-2. And then what LSU fans? Happy at 10-2? Or sad that Les Miles buys himself some more time?

Lucky Les just keeps laughing like the devil all the way to the bank of W's

2010-10-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

AUBURN, Ala. - He followed Satan as LSU's coach and will never really beat him. So why not join him?

According to ESPN's Pat Forde, Miles must have made a deal with the devil. A few days after LSU's devilish, 16-14 win over Tennessee three weeks ago, Forde wrote under the headline, "Got a devil's haircut under The Hat," that Lucifer is why Miles wins so much and makes so much money despite his "unique flair for coaching lunacy in pressure situations." It's all because he tunes "his headset frequency to 666."

Forde ended up being prophetic as two weeks after he wrote that, LSU landed at No. 6 in the USA Today and Harris polls that are part of the formula for the Bowl Championship Series standings, where LSU ended up - you guessed it - No. 6. That's 6-6-6.

Miles continues to rise from the flames of that "win" over Tennessee. After a week as a national coaching embarrassment, his bold fake field goal call beat and embarrassed Florida genius/coach Urban Meyer, who should have seen it coming. Miles tipped his hand so much by calling a timeout before the fake that he may as well have tipped his cap to Meyer and yelled across The Swamp, "URBAN, Watch the fake!" That win made him 6-0.

Now he's a Lucky 7-0 and playing in the nation's premier game at 2:30 p.m. today on CBS here against 7-0 and nearly as lucky Auburn, which is No. 4 in the BCS. ESPN's College GameDay is at Mizzou for the first time in history for No. 4 Oklahoma (6-0) and No. 16 Missouri (6-0) only because that network has to make sure it's not at an SEC stop every week.

Few give Miles a chance. Auburn, which has not played as difficult a schedule as LSU, is a touchdown favorite. But if Miles visited Victoryland dog track near Auburn this morning, would you bet against him?

Yes, Auburn has Cam Newton at quarterback, but all he's got is skill, size, savvy and a Heisman waiting for him. LSU has Lucky Les. Even student journalists are hot on the trail. Miles had to deal with a question from the Auburn Plainsman student paper on the SEC teleconference week that labeled him lucky. Miles shrugged it off as usual.

"Yeah, I prefer to be lucky," he said. "I think that's met with some earnest preparation and some hard work. I kind of enjoy that. I hope that that continues."

Later that night on his own radio show, the least respected national championship coach in college football history dealt with the following exchange:

RADIO SHOW HOST JIM HAWTHORNE: From the Baton Rouge area, a call from Gary. Gary, thanks for calling, you're on the air live with coach Les Miles.
GARY: Hey, Les, how you doing?
MILES: Doing well Gary.
GARY: Well, just wanted to let you know that I took the naked pictures Jordan Jefferson has of you and you're free to ... (Phone was cut off before the caller said "play Jarrett Lee all the time at quarterback," or something like that.)
MILES: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
HAWTHORNE (not amused): And that's really funny.
MILES (still very much amused): Ahh, that was kind of humorous.
HAWTHORNE (aggravated): That's really funny. All right uh, we'll take a break right now. And come back with more.

You really have to admire Les Miles. Virtually nothing gets to him, certainly not a radio caller who - like many of us - cannot think of another reason why Miles continues to play Jefferson instead of Lee, who has been much better lately, all the time.

His players love him, and he loves his players. They are very talented. They usually play hard for him. And when the plays and players get in on time, they usually play smart for him. And sometimes even when the plays and players don't get in on time, they still play smart for him. Check the Tennessee game. It's all added up to a 58-15 record and a $3.8 million salary with a buyout in double-figure millions next year and the year after if he gets fired.

Miles may not know how to keep time on a football field, but the economics graduate from Michigan can obviously count. No wonder he's laughing.

Here are five things to look for in today's LSU-Auburn game other than Jefferson's picture collection:

1.Jarrett Lee will start at quarterback for LSU. Auburn's secondary is so weak and Lee has been so hot, that this is the perfect Saturday for it. And Miles admitted that if he did decide to start Lee, he would not say so publicly.

2.Auburn quarterback Cam Newton will read and react while running in a basketball-style motion offense. Then he will pass, pitch or keep. It's amazing. "You can read the defensive end while going at a downhill motion or a lateral motion," he said. "If he shoots upfield, then that's a simple keep. If he doesn't and you feel like he can't grab or tackle the running back, you hand it off. If you see someone open, you throw it."

3.Lead changes. There were six in LSU's win over Florida. There were five in Auburn's win over Arkansas.

4.Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley, one of the best in the SEC, versus LSU right guard T-Bob Hebert.

5.LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis, the best in the SEC, versus Auburn right guard Byron Isom.

CBS' Gary Danielson weighs in on LSU-Auburn

2010-10-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

CBS' Gary Danielson has an interesting take on LSU. Here is what he said earlier this week on SEC Tonight on CBS College Sports.

"If you look at a picture where they put together many pictures of different people's faces, when you look real close it's like a mash of nothing. And when you back away it's a beautiful picture. That is how it is when you look at LSU.

"It seems like they are making all these mistakes. They are playing two quarterbacks. They are a bad passing team. They are lining up wrong and clock management is bad. But when you back away, they are perfect. It's a wonder if he (Les Miles) can do it again. All these things seem to be working against them, yet they keep on doing great things. Can Les keep this thing rolling along again?

How big is LSU-Auburn?

2010-10-21T08:42:00.001-07:00

Consider what BCS guru Jerry Palm has to say about Saturday's LSU-Auburn game when you want to talk about the significance of this one:

"If the winner of the Auburn-LSU game is able to get to 13-0, I believe that that team will end up at No. 1 at the end of the season. It may take awhile for that progression to happen, but I believe the voters and I know the computers will take a team that is undefeated in the best conference in the country and put them at the top. Now that makes Oregon No. 2 and means Oklahoma does not control their own destiny.''

Couple of thoughts

2010-10-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

After Mississippi State went into Florida and won does that:

1) Devalue LSU's win at the Swamp a week earlier?

or does tha

2) Increase the value of the Mississippi State win?

Just a thought.

This one will not come down to a fake field goal

2010-10-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE – The amazing thing about LSU’s wondrous win at Florida last week was that Coach Les Miles’ muddled clock management may have actually helped his cause.

As it happened, kicker Josh Jasper did not find out that the fake was on until only about 15 seconds left on the play clock after Miles huddled the team together during a timeout and called the fake. Punter/holder Derek Helton and Jasper were busy practicing what they thought they were about to do – hold and kick. Special teams coach Joe Robinson fortunately got word to Jasper after the timeout. Jasper then told Helton.

Wonder how many fakes Les has called over the years that the kicker never heard about? Who knows? Or maybe the kicker got it, but not the holder? We’ll never know.
The good thing was neither Helton nor Jasper had time to think about what they were about to do, much less panic. They also inadvertently sold the fake by practicing holding and kicking if the Florida coaches were watching for clues. Robinson’s last-second instructions? Could have been something about the wind. That’s happened before.

Miles, who has not called an early timeout in his life, also may have inadvertently sold the fake by calling his timeout so tardy in the play clock with his team lined up for a 53-yard field goal. If Miles called a timeout immediately after both teams were lined up for the kick, the Florida coaches may have thought, “Oh, he called timeout because he’s thinking about a fake.”

But he called the timeout the way he often does – amid mass hysteria. “Oh no, we’re about to get another delay of game penalty. Timeout! Timeout!” So Florida’s coaches may have surmised: “Oh, that’s just typical LSU screwing up the clock again. Surely, they’re not thinking about a fake.”

Some clock-weary LSU fans thought Miles had his ticker-kicker etiquette reversed when he called a timeout with Jasper about to kick. Usually, the coach on DEFENSE calls a timeout just before a kick to freeze the kicker.

When asked after the game when he first started thinking about a fake, Miles said, “Decided to do it during the timeout.” Then he winked at the questioner. Miles actually thought about faking before the timeout. He wanted to see what kind of defense Florida would show.

“As soon as we saw what they were going to do, I decided,” he said, but he realized it was getting late in the clock. He didn’t want to hurry such a huge play and called his final timeout. “Then I’m thinking, ‘Well, I hope he doesn’t change it.’ And certainly he would know that I would never do this NOW. Certainly, he’d just stay with the call. His call was a max block. I felt like my call was the right call.”

Amid all the national lampooning of Miles leading up to the game, it was “genius” Florida coach Urban Meyer who goofed at game’s end. Forget about the clues or would-be clues Miles was leaving all over The Swamp. If an opponent is trying to kick a 53-yard field goal, you put on a safe block and keep some guys still for containment purposes. Yes, Jasper was in his range, but his last attempt from that far against Tennessee was horrible. Also, Meyer had viewed film of LSU’s famous fake in 2007 the week of the game. Mr. Meyer, you just clocked by Les Miles. You may need to see a doctor again.

Which brings us to tonight’s LSU game against McNeese. Here are five things to look for:

1.ANOTHER FAKE - As soon as the Tigers face a fourth down in field goal range, Miles should call the same fake field goal and see if Helton can flip it without a bounce this time. It’s not about results. It’s about process, and that was the worst toss by a kicker since Garo Yepremian in Super Bowl VII.

2.MICHAEL FORD – Rejoice. The hero of spring – if there is such a thing – will get to carry the ball more than just a few times tonight. Seriously, he has looked good on nearly all of his seven carries.

3.A RELAXING BLOWOUT – If this game comes down to a fake, someone’s on the take. McNeese is without its starting quarterback and best two running backs because of injuries.

4. VICTORY NO. 131 – LSU is 130-25-8 against in-state colleges going into this first meeting with McNeese. The only Louisiana schools to beat LSU other than Tulane were Louisiana Tech in Ruston in 1904, Loyola of New Orleans in 1922 in Baton Rouge and Centenary in 1932 in Shreveport. Centenary’s 1-3-1 record against LSU was mistakenly omitted from Friday’s papers.

5.MORE JARRETT LEE – Look for the rejuvenated quarterback to play more than Jordan Jefferson and throw for 250 yards.

Safe for now

2010-10-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

When the season started, I thought there was only one way Les Miles could get the fan base firmly in his corner.

Of course, that way would also take him off the hot seat -- and no matter what he says, he began the season on it.

Anyway, that way was pretty simple -- win either at Florida or home against Alabama. He wouldn't have to win both, but at least win one.

Well, he's won at Florida. I think he is safe as far as his job. As far as the fan base, I wasn't planning on the Tennessee debacle, so that might be a little harder winning back the hearts.

But you figure a win over McNeese and then a huge game at Auburn and then comes Alabama.

Of course, it would be just like Les to win those and stub his toe against Arkansas.

How about a refreshingly routine ending to today’s game?

2010-10-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There was perhaps a forgotten hero in LSU’s 16-14 win over Tennessee last week.

His name is Ted Stickles, who is LSU’s game management guru emeritus. Game management as in game administration from a security and crowd control standpoint … not from the game and play clock standpoint that the LSU football team so desperately needs.

Stickles, a former LSU swim coach who set world records in the individual medley at Indiana in the early 1960s, has been overseeing LSU games since the 1970s. He retired several years ago, but he can’t stay away from LSU stadia. He’s a quiet LSU fixture with a badge. He was there at Alex Box when storms tore up the outfield fence. He was there at Tiger Stadium when they ran out of water.

And on Saturday, he was right there on the LSU side of the north end zone in Tiger Stadium at the end of perhaps the strangest alternate ending to a game in LSU history. He was there when game officials threw a flag just before what looked like the last play because Tennessee had two too many players on the field. Unbeknownst to a crowd of 92,932, LSU’s last disastrous snap on third and goal from the 1 would not be the last play of the game. The hurried snap with just a few seconds to go that eluded LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and apparently ended the game with Tennessee going wild and LSU inexplicably not getting a chance to score, would instead be wiped clean by that little yellow flag.

“I went from misery to, ‘There’s a handkerchief in the end zone,” LSU coach Les Miles said. (Many say he’s still miserable, though.) LSU got another play from inside the 1 with no time remaining, and tailback Stevan Ridley scored for the 16-14 win. Without Stickles, though, it might not have happened.

“I was standing at the fence near Gate 5 at about the 10-yard line (near the north end zone),” Stickles said Thursday. “I didn’t see the flag at first. I was watching Tennessee celebrate. Then I saw the flag.”

It was midway between the goal line and the end zone about five yards from the LSU sideline.

“I started to walk up to it, and I saw somebody went to pick it up,” Stickles said. “It was somebody with a media credential. I didn’t recognize him, but that doesn’t mean anything. There are always a lot of people down there. It was a younger guy, but I had no idea who it was. If I saw him again I probably wouldn’t recognize him. But before he picked it up, I said, ‘Hey, let’s leave it there for a minute until we see what’s going on.’ Then I just stood by it.”

Tennessee rocked on at midfield with Vols’ coach Derek Dooley jumping on assistant coaches and anyone he could find. But then he noticed something.

“I just saw this mingling,” Dooley said a few days later. “And something was going on. I knew it.”

The mingling was a huddle of officials.

“No more than about two minutes later, an official came over to pick up the flag, and they made the call at midfield.”

Even if our suspect had lifted it, officials would have still known a flag was thrown. But how would they explain that to Dooley? “Uh, we threw a flag. Just don’t know where it is,” they could have said.

“Thanks Ted,” is what Miles and his team should say.

Hopefully, tonight there will be a more routine ending when No. 9 and No. 12 Florida meet at 6:30 p.m. Here are five things to look for other than a flag for an overpopulated substitution.

1.LSU’S BEST EFFORT – The last time LSU coach Les Miles was a national clock embarrassment just eight games ago at Ole Miss, the Tigers responded with a 33-30 win in overtime over Arkansas with sensible clock management for a game-tying field goal with :04 left. The players have circled the wagons, and Miles may have put a six shooter to offensive coordinator Gary Crowton’s head.

2. JARRETT LEE – He looked like a new quarterback on LSU’s final drive last week. Of course, he looked like the old Lee just a possession before, too, so don’t get your hopes too high. If Crowton is careful with him, though, he could get by with only a couple of interceptions and a lot of completions.

3. STEVAN RIDLEY – If Crowton just calls a running play to the SEC’s leading rusher last week on third-and-goal at the 1, there is no cluster clock controversy of simultaneous substitution stupidity. Aren’t you glad LSU didn’t have to kick the extra point at the end because Tennessee didn’t want to come back out? Surely Crowton would have sent in some extra point pistol formation with seven subs and a reverse just before the snap. Keep it simple, stupid. RUN RIDLEY. PLAY DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS!

4. PATRICK PETERSON – LSU will need a long punt return to set up or get a score. Florida allowed a 41-yard punt return to Alabama’s Julio Jones last week that helped set up a touchdown for a 17-0 lead in the second quarter of the Tide’s 31-6 win. “He is absolutely the No. 1 concern on our football team right now,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said.

5. GRIT – Florida will just have just a bit more than LSU. The Gators have never lost two straight games under Urban Meyer with the second one at home.

PREDICTION: LSU plays very well, but its defense can’t stop Florida at the end. Gators win 17-13.

He's nationwide

2010-10-07T11:54:00.001-07:00

Give Les Miles credit. He has LSU on the national stage -- although maybe not the way LSU folks want.

Here are some links to get a national perspective:

From the Wall Street Journal, yes, the Wall Street Journal:

From Sports Illustrated.com

From CBS Sports Line.com

How about regionally? How is Les holding up there.

Here is one from the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

Yep, it hasn't been a very fun week for Miles.

LSU-Tennessee thoughts

2010-10-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

What can be said that hasn't been said? But here goes:

1) One clock management foul-up is a mistake. Three is a trend that makes it understandable when the "hot seat'' and "Les Miles'' are used in the same sentence.

2) It's OK for LSU's players to run up to the line of scrimmage in the last two minutes of the game when the team is behind.

3) If you have two quarterbacks that really means you have none. The biggest mistake may have been not developing Russell Shepard last year.

4) LSU will win against ULM and McNeese. But is there another game -- maybe Ole Miss -- on the schedule where you can confidently say LSU is going to win?

5) If LSU goes 8-4 after a 5-0 start are you upset?

6) If you haven't already resigned yourself to the fact that LSU is a sloppy, underachieving football team, now would be a good time.

Dooley’s Tech teams better than his first Tennessee outfit

2010-10-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE – The last time Derek Dooley directed a strong football team in Tiger Stadium it was LSU back in 2004.

Former LSU head coach Nick Saban used to appoint two of his assistants as head coaches of the two LSU teams for the annual spring game. Dooley, a running backs coach, had added assistant head coach to his title after the 2003 national championship and got one of the teams. Jimbo Fisher, LSU’s offensive coordinator, had the other one. Saban stood at midfield during the game.

Bent on establishing toughness on the offensive line, which lost starters Stephen Peterman and Rodney Reed from the ’03 team, the rising young son of Georgia legendary coach Vince Dooley kept calling runs up the middle after a first-and-goal situation inside the 3-yard line. Run after run failed. Finally on fourth down, Dooley yelled for his squad to, “Go for it.” Then Saban yelled louder from midfield, “Hey Vince, you don’t have Herschel Walker in the backfield.”

Dooley laughed hysterically. It was a rare glimpse of Nick Saban - stand-up comedian. Dooley will likely find no reason to laugh today when he coaches a Tennessee team that may not be better than the Louisiana Tech teams he brought to Tiger Stadium in 2007 and 2009. No. 10 LSU (4-0, 2-0 SEC) hosts Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC) at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

Dooley became a head coach like his father before him less than three years after that scrimmage when Tech hired him, largely because of his connection with Saban's name. In ’07, his Tech team lost 58-10 at LSU, which went on to win the national title while the Bulldogs finished 5-7. Dooley had a breakthrough season in '08 in Ruston, going 8-5 with an Independence Bowl, but he didn’t get the chance to play LSU, which went 8-5 in a breakdown season.

Dooley’s '09 Tech team finished just 4-8 but it played LSU well, losing 24-16. Tech led 13-10 at the half and was within 17-13 midway in the fourth quarter. Tech outgained LSU 322-246 as LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee completed 7 of 22 for 105 yards in place of the injured Jordan Jefferson. Had Dooley's defensive backs knew how to catch, he may have won. He won't have a chance today.

Poor recruiting by Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer in his final seasons – 35th nationally in 2008 and 23rd in 2006 – has taken its toll. Coach Lane Kiffin leaving after one season in 2009 did not help either. Dooley had to kick off several players for disciplinary reasons. At the moment, Rocky Top has its worst football team since Johnny Majors went 5-6 in 1988. LSU will have no trouble winning tonight whether it passes well or not.

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR:

1.PATRICK PETERSON ON OFFENSE – This is going to be fun. LSU coach Les Miles revealed Wednesday that Peterson has been practicing on offense since early this season. This is the perfect game to let the Heisman hopeful play tailback, receiver and Wild Tiger quarterback. It’s on CBS and LSU should win easily enough to let Peterson do just about anything in addition to playing cornerback and returning kicks. Maybe he can throw a pass to himself.

2.MORE THAN 100 YARDS PASSING - LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson will surpass the century mark for the first time since the opener. Alleluia! Tennessee is among the worst in the SEC in pass defense.

3.MORE OR LESS BOOING OF LES – LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has asked Tiger fans not to boo today in light of the scene late in last week’s game as Jefferson and the offense stumbled around.

“Tiger Stadium is at its best when it roars as one voice in support of the Tigers,” Alleva wrote in a letter to fans on LSU’s website Friday. “But when some are vocally disapproving of our own players or coaches, it is detrimental on many levels. It impacts the morale of the players. It reflects poorly on our reputation. It sends a poor message of sportsmanship to the young people in the crowd , and it delivers a negative message to recruits in attendance.”

Can it also lower ticket prices?

4.MORE THAN 200 YARDS RUSHING – Tennessee is also one of the SEC’s worst at defending the run.

5.TRAFFIC – Don’t get caught in it and miss kickoff of No. 1 Alabama and No. 7 Florida at 7 on CBS.

PREDICTION: LSU 31, Tennessee 6.

Gary Danielson on LSU

2010-09-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

If you thought LSU's defense has been great and the offense -- particuarly at quarterback -- was not so great, then you are not alone.

CBS' Gary Danielson was talking LSU football today. His network carries the LSU-Tennessee game on Saturday.

Here is what Danielson had to say about the Tigers.

"I see the best defense I've seen there in three or four years. They've really got it going. They have athletes all over the field. They run extremely. They will match up with anybody defensively in the country. They will give Florida all they can handle. They will match up against Alabama. They are a dominating defense, as good as their national championship teams. If they get any kind of quarterback play, and I've been saying this for two years ...they need just a little bit. If they had a manager of their offense similar to (Alabama's) Greg McElroy, he doesn't have to be that good, just similar, this would be a national championship-contending team.''

West Virginia thoughts

2010-09-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Some observations on Saturday's game.

1) I've never been a huge Jordan Jefferson fan -- he wasn't highly recruited for a reason. But his play the last three weeks is even worse than I imagined. And no, I don't think Jarrett Lee is the answer.

2) How bad must Russell Shepard be at quarterback not to be able to beat these two jokers out?

3) It's hard for me to get on wide receivers too bad for drops when you never know where the ball is going to be?

4) Why does anyone ever kick a football to Patrick Peterson?

5) Barkevious Mingo is a talented player, but he had a couple of really dumb penalties.

6) LSU is undefeated right now and I'm sure the folks at Texas would like to say the same thing.

7) A run the ball, play defense and excel in special teams recipe could get the Tigers to 10 wins this season. Yes, LSU has to play at Auburn but Auburn has been shaky at times this season.

West Virginia should remember Va. Tech

2010-09-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE – Tiger Stadium is not a great place for a young quarterback just starting his career.

Such is the situation for West Virginia sophomore quarterback Geno Smith, who will start the second road game of his career tonight against No. 12 LSU in front of 92,400 fans. His previous start was at Marshall, which plays in a 38,016-capacity stadium named for a woman – Joan C. Edwards. If Tiger Stadium was named for a woman it would be Ma Barker. Just ask Tommy Tuberville.

“Marshall was pretty loud,” Smith said. “We played at Auburn last season, and it was pretty loud there. But I’ve heard that LSU can be really loud, too, and LSU has one of the better defenses in the country.”

The defense that Smith will scan shortly after 8 o’clock tonight on ESPN2 is sixth in the nation in quarterback sacks with 11 for 99 yards. Among the LSU players with sacks are guys like defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who has two, and end Barkevious Mingo, who has one, who are as fast are faster than Smith and some of his receivers and tailbacks.

Smith, a Miami native, is off to a good start. He is No. 21 in the nation in passing efficiency with a 157.72 rating on 71 completions in 101 attempts for 800 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception.

But the last time a first-year starter who played for a school from the state of Virginia came to Tiger Stadium, it was not pretty. Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod “T-Mobile” Taylor played his first college game at LSU on the night of Sept. 8, 2007, on ESPN, and it was nothing to text home about. He completed 7 of 18 for 62 yards and was sacked twice as the No. 9 Hokies lost 48-7 to the No. 2 Tigers.
Veteran Sean Glennon also played quarterback for Tech that night, and he managed 2-of-10 passing for 16 yards with an interception. If someone did not believe LSU was a national power before that game, they believed it basically from then on as the Tigers went on to win the national championship.

The Tigers have the makings of a defense as good or nearly as good as the 2007 unit now.

“Our guys understand our blitz and pressure packages a lot better right now,” LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis said. “Yeah, we like to blitz. We take a lot of pride in being a pressure defense. We can play zone when we need to and when we want to. We’re bringing people."

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
1.Track meet pressure from the LSU defense. West Virginia has likely not seen the kind of defensive speed it will see tonight in years.

2.West Virginia plays a version of the old Oklahoma defense, often using a three-man front, three linebackers and five defensive backs. It has worked very well for the Mountaineers over the years. LSU’s running game will have to do the job tonight for the Tigers to win, and West Virginia is No. 8 in the nation in rush defense with just 62 yards allowed a game.

3.West Virginia tailback Noel Devine is only 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, but he is as explosive as any runner in the SEC. Throughout his four-year career, Devine has broken 12 runs of 50 yards or more, including two over 87 yards and five of 70 yards or more. LSU will have to tackle well.

4.The Mountaineers have two receivers – Tavon Austin and Jock Sanders – with more than 200 yards receiving already. The 6-3 Smith has already thrown for 800 yards.
“They’ve got really good speed at the skill positions, and they’re big and physical up front,” Chavis said. “They’ve got a young quarterback who is unbelievable to watch. He’s very poised.”

5.LSU tight end DeAngelo Peterson will play for the first time this season tonight after suffering a foot injury in August. The junior from New Orleans is a good receiver and could help Jordan Jefferson complete some short passes to go with the running game.

FINAL SCORE: LSU 17, West Virginia 13. Not much LSU offense but a lot of defense. Get used to it.

Upset brewing

2010-09-23T21:38:00.001-07:00

Just saw where some national media types (read AP) are picking West Virginia to win at LSU on Saturday night.

It certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. But somehow you have to think LSU's defense will turn this into a lower scoring game and that the Tigers have just enough offense.

Of course,you never know.

What say you?

Upon further review

2010-09-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

Thoughts from Saturday's Mississippi State game.

1) I can't imagine many teams will continue to throw to Patrick Peterson's side. Heck, what was Dan Mullen thinking?

2) Morris Claiborne makes throwing to his side a little riskier. A couple of interceptions against State and knowing what to do with the football after catching it should catch some eyes in the film room.

3) Anytime the LSU offense wants to show up the Tigers might be able to blow someone out.

4) The offensive line is much improved to this point of the season. Of course, that may be relative to last season (Nick Saban would be proud of the use of the word relative).

5) Still waiting to see if LSU ever figures out how to use Russell Shepard, Rueben Randle and Terrence Toliver.

6) For the recruits at the game Saturday, at least the fans didn't turn on the team. That would have been unseemly.

5 things to watch for against Miss. State

2010-09-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE - For those demanding that Jarrett Lee play quarterback for LSU tonight against Mississippi State in the Tigers' home opener, the following questions:

1.Have your brain signals been intercepted? 2.Have you lost your mind? 3.Or have you just lost your memory?

There is no question No. 1 LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson played poorly last week in the win at Vanderbilt, completing 8 of 20 passes with an interception in the end zone when an open receiver stood waiting. Even some of his completions were poorly thrown - in the shoe area. He also ran badly as he often picked the wrong hole and just seemed out of it. And Jefferson was not under the constant pressure he was last season. He was sacked just once.

But Jefferson at his worst still does not produce interceptions and put his defense in awful situations the way Lee has in remarkable quantities even, at times, when he is at his best.

Jefferson has played in 21 games for LSU with 16 starts. In eight of those games, including seven starts, he has not thrown an interception.

Lee has played in 19 games for LSU with nine starts. In only one start did he not throw an interception. That was against Louisiana Tech last season when he had worse numbers than Jefferson had last week. Lee was 7 of 22 for 105 yards in that game with at least two dropped interceptions. In only six games of his career has Lee not thrown an interception, and in all but one of those he was on mop-up duty. In two of the five, he threw three passes. In the other three, he threw once in each game.

Through 310 passes in his career, Lee has thrown 17 interceptons. That's one every 18 throws. Lee also threw eight interceptions in a three-game span in the 2008 season after starting three games prior to that. Through 410 passes in his career, Jefferson has thrown 10 interceptions. That's one every 41 throws. He has never thrown more than one interception in a game.

Lee's record as a starter is 5-4. Jefferson's record as a starter is 11-5, and Jefferson began starting as a true freshman in 2008. Lee spent an entire season and spring "learning the system" before he became the starter early in the 2008 season as a redshirt freshman.

Jefferson's passing efficiency rating - a statistic that encompasses just about everything that a quarterback does - is 130.44. Lee's passing efficiency rating is 114.20. In his first season as a starter last year, Jefferson finished 36th nationally with a 137.18 rating. In his first season as a starter in 2008, Lee finished 81st nationally with a 116.9 rating. He also had the highest interception percentage at 5.95 with 16 in 269 attempts, or one every 16 passes.

Yet, many of you fans and some in the media want Lee. He does have a better arm than Jefferson. It's an arm that still tends to seduce LSU's coaches, but they now know how dangerous it also can be. Lee has thrown for more yards per start than Jefferson - 230 to 177. But yards in Lee's case have not meant wins.

An Associated Press story said that Jefferson has never thrown for more than 250 yards. Lee once threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns in a game. That was against Georgia in 2008. He also threw three interceptions in that game, and two were returned for touchdowns. LSU lost 52-38. Of Lee's two 250-plus-yard games, LSU was 1-1. Of his four 200-yard-plus games, LSU was 2-2. Of Jefferson's five games between 200-250 yards, LSU won three.

Jefferson also has never had two bad games in a row. Lee, meanwhile, has strung together bad games even when bad opponents are involved. In four of his last five starts, Lee went 8 of 20 with an interception against Tulane, 13 of 34 with four interceptions against Alabama, 4 of 12 with an interception against Ole Miss and 7 of 22 against Louisiana Tech. That's a .363 completion percentage and an interception every 14 passes.

Is that what you want?

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
1. All that said, if Jefferson does have another bad quarter or half, look for Lee to enter in the second quarter or start the second half and finish the game. Lee deserves another chance, even if it is about his fourth or fifth. Maybe he will be better this time. Regardless of what happens, look for Lee to play at some point in the first half.

2. Look for Mississippi State to have a lot of trouble scoring. LSU will sack each Bulldog quarterback twice and thoroughly dominate the game. We are about to see LSU's best defense since 2004.

3. Look for true freshman tailback Alfred Blue to get 10 carries and gain 79 yards with Richard Murphy out with a hamstring. Stevan Ridley will add 56 yards on 12 carries.

4. Look for a newly motivated Jefferson to respond with one of his better games, completing 12 of 17 for 186 yards.

5. Look for LSU to continue to run out of options with the option.
FINAL SCORE: LSU 17, Mississippi State 9.

Sorry to mention this, but....

2010-09-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

While people are gnashing their teeth over the quarterback play, has anyone besides me noticed that this LSU defense has given up plays of 50 yards or more in both games.

There was the 97-yard touchdown pass allowed against North Carolina. Last week,the run defense allowed a 51-yard run.

I realize the defense has played, for the most part, well this season. But a propensity to give up big plays in the first two games may be a bad omen for SEC play.

On LSU-Oregon

2010-09-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

LSU's recent dominance of the Pac-10 might get a bit of a challenge in the season opener next year.

Oregon has been a strong program in recent years and it will be interesting to see how LSU matches up with the Ducks.

Playing at Cowboys Stadium can't hurt recruiting in the Metroplex, although I don't know how much it will actually help.

Still, you have to figure this will be a competitive game.

Game day at last

2010-09-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

North Carolina's suspensions make this a no-win situation for LSU coach Les Miles.

If his Tigers win tonight, then they were supposed to win since the Tar Heels have been depleted by suspensions.

If the Tigers lose, then Miles might reconsider boarding the flight back to Baton Rouge. Because if he thought he was on the hot seat before, it will be a smoking hot seat.

So what does it all mean?

It means we won't get a good gauge of this team tonight. Maybe after Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and West Virginia we'll know more. But tonight you have to throw out.

Game week at last

2010-08-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe, but the regular season is here for LSU football.

And when you think about it, the season opener between LSU and North Carolina is like a mystery date.

On one side, you have LSU with all of its well-documented questions -- quarterback play, play-calling, a new passing game coordinator. On the other side, North Carolina has a team with a potential five first-round draft picks. Of course, the mystery is how a pair of investigations into the UNC program will affect the Tar Heels.

I guess it's because of these uncertainities that the line on the game has looked like a tennis match.

It started out as a pick 'em. Then LSU went up to a 4-point favorite. Now the Tigers are down to a two-point favorite.

While there may not have been quite the same anticipation for this season, there is certainly more mystery.

Would you be happy with 9-3?

2010-08-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Sporting News' College Football preview issue has LSU pegged at 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC. They have the Tigers third in the SEC West behind Alabama and Auburn.

They also project LSU to face Nebraska and former LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini in the Cotton Bowl?

Here's the question: Would that be good enough for you as an LSU fan? Think about it. A nine-win season. A Cotton Bowl trip. But also a third-place finish.

What do you think?

A healthy dose of skepticism

2010-08-18T09:51:00.001-07:00

So now Les Miles says Zach Lee would have played in a mop-up role had he stayed on the team.

That may be the most honest thing Miles said during Lee's whole time at LSU. He raved about him the whole time he was in Baton Rouge. It almost got to the point where you thought MIles was trying to convince Lee to stay through the media.

The big tip off, though, was this: There were no Zach Lee stats to be found from Saturday's scrimmage. Jordan Jefferson stats, yes. Jarrett Lee stats, yes. Zach Lee stats, no so much.

What's the point? Everything a football coach says should be taken with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism.

So long, Zach

2010-08-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

Zach Lee will go down in LSU history as the best quarterback who never played. At least that's the feeling you would get fro the LSU football practice reports each day.

Anyway, no one should be surprised that Lee signed. First of all, first-round picks are usually pretty much locks to sign with major league teams. Throw in the fact that he was drafted by a big-market team (the Los Angeles Dodgers) and LSU's best hope was a messy divorced between the Dodgers owners.

The problem here isn't with Lee. After all, who would tell their child to turn down $5.25 million over five years?

The bigger problem is with Les Miles who ran off one quarterback (Chris Garrett) and lost another one (Lee) to baseball leaving him with Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.

This will need to be a great offensive line or Miles will have some explaining to do about being so thing at the quarterback position.

On Les Miles and oversigning

2010-08-09T11:46:00.001-07:00

Les Miles finds himself the target of a national rip job after oversigning and then asking Elliot Porter to take a grayshirt.

Gregg Doyel takes apart Miles in this CBSSports story .

While Doyel has some points, a bigger issue is the fact that scholarships are just for a year and are renewable when parents and student-athletes are led to believe they are four four years.

Anyway, Doyel's commentary makes Miles' job with high school coaches a little bit harder.

For what it's worth

2010-08-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

So I'm looking at The Sporting News' position rankings in college football and I notice something missing.

LSU.

Yep, the Tigers are nowhere to be found among the top five units at each position.

What's really bad is you'll find Arkansas (quarterbacks), Alabama (running backs), Georgia (wide receivers/tight ends and Georgia), Florida (offensive line and defensive backs), and Ole Miss (defensive line).

Which brings us back to the chicken and egg question. Is LSU's talent overrated locally? Or is LSU's talent underdeveloped by Les Miles and his staff?

Enough to make an LSU fan gag

2010-08-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

So I get this release from ESPN today and I can only imagine the reaction of LSU fans across the state and country.

Here is an excerpt:

"ESPNU and ESPN will showcase the defending national champions, the Universityof Alabama football program, the hour-long College Football Special: Alabama All-Access Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU (re-air, midnight) and Thursday, Aug. 19, at 8 pm. on ESPN.''

Chad Jones update

2010-07-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Chad Jones was waived by the Giants in a procedural move to pave the way to put him on the non-football injury list.

But a New York Daily news blog carries a most sobering quote from Giants general manager Jerry Reese.

"I'm just hopeful that Chad can have a normal life and walk without a limp at this point,'' Reese told the New York Daily News. "Anything after that is a plus for me. If he makes it back to the football field,that's fantastic. But really, my hopes and prayers are that he can have a normal life and walk without a limp and be a normal person. Right now, that's really what I'm wishing for him.''

That doesn't sound like he's coming back to football -- and certainly not anytime soon.

Recruting update

2010-07-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

LSU has added a couple of recruits in the last two days -- junior college kicker Dalton Botts of Moorepark, Calif., and cornerback Jalen Collins of Olive Branch, Miss.

Those commitments give LSU 14 for the year.

The assumption is that since this is one of the best recruiting classes in Louisiana history, LSU could have the nation's top class.

Right now, LSU ought to just hope to finish No. 1 in the SEC.

The early rankings for Scout.com have LSU seventh in the nation, third in the SEC and second in the SEC West.

Clearly, there is some work ahead for LSU even with a loaded state.

Good news for Chad Jones

2010-07-27T09:23:00.001-07:00

Former LSU two-sport star Chad Jones is leaving the hospital today after a monthlong stay. He will head back to New Orleans from New York to begin the rehab process.

That's good news for Jones.

Here's hoping he's able to make full recovery and play professional sports -- either football or baseball -- one day.

Les' new friends

2010-07-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the national media types think we in Louisiana who dare question Les Miles don't know what we're talking about these days.

Matt Hayes of the Sporting News writes that Miles is enduring unecessary and unfair criticism. You can read it here at this link.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.com thinks LSU would be crazy to fire Crazy Les. Here is the link for that one.

So I guess being up close we don't realize how good we have it here in Louisiana -- what with a Super Bowl champion team in the Saints and the next Knute Rockne in Baton Rouge.

How dumb can we be?

Thoughts from Day 3 of SEC Media Days

2010-07-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

I realize it's just a preseason prediction from the media. I realize the prediction is based mostly on last season.

But LSU fourth in the SEC West? Has it come to that? Has LSU's program dropped that far? Apparently so.

Now, in defense of the poll, Alabama is first because that's where the Tide ended the year. LSU does have to play Arkansas and Auburn both on the road this year. So maybe that's the explanation, but really, this is not a good sign for LSU fans. Not since Gerry DiNardo has LSU been picked this low.

Anyway, some more observations.

A year ago at this time, Les Miles was saying his offensive line was the best he had had at the school.Turns out, it was the worst. Apparently, Miles was trying to pump up his line.

I bring that up because at SEC Media Days, Miles said this:"I can tell you this.It will only be a championship season and that's the only point and direction of this program. That's where we're headed.''

Sorry, if I don't buy it. Especially after last year's "great'' offensive line.

Miles on Zach Lee: "There still is a chance certainly that the Dodger organization could pursue him financially. But I think the odds are with us. I think he wants to be a college student and wants the opportunity to chase a championship in both baseball and football.''

LSU's best bet may be a messy divorce between the Dodgers' owners that keeps the team from spending megabucks.

SEC Media Day 2 thoughts

2010-07-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Vanderbilt interim head coach Robbie Caldwell stole the show with his humor.

So what LSU-related did we learn from Day 2 at Media Days?

Steve Spurrier doesn't forget a disappointment.

Spurrier was talking about the difficulty of changing the culture at South Carolina. He then went on to talk about how the best team doesn't always win the conference with his Florida team in 2001 being his example.

"We had the best team in the conference and didn't win it. We had the best team in 2001. We beat LSU during the season, 47-15, and they won the conference that year because Tennessee beat us the last game .... we lost to Tennessee, 34-32. That was maybe as good a team as the '96 team, but we didn't win anything that year. It can happen that the best team doesn't always win.''

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is 1-1 against LSU but he said he enjoyed both games.

"We've had two really good games agains them the last two years,'' Petrino said. "They've come down right to the last play of the game, which is a lot of fun. You like games like that.''

LSU coach Les Miles, quarterback Jordan Jefferson, cornerback Patrick Peterson and defensive tackle Drake Nevis will take part in Friday's activities.

SEC Media Days, Day 1

2010-07-21T21:24:00.001-07:00

Does anybody want to talk football?

Apparently not. The big story of the day was those nasty agents. So far Florida, Alabama and South Carolina have their agent investigations going. LSU has its own investigation from the Akieem Hicks days. The NCAA wants to talk to Georgia. That's nearly half of the SEC.

On to LSU-related items.

This exchange makes me think Billy Gonzales leaving Florida for LSU wasn't all that smooth.

Question to Urban Meyer: You already touched on some of the (staff) turnover. You lose Billy Gonzales. Can you touch on some of the things he brought to the table when he was on your staff.
Answer: "I made a comment earlier. I thought he was a great coach. He'll do a great job at LSU.''

Ouch.

For what it's worth, Nick Saban handed out some compliments to his former employer.

"I think LSU has a lot of good players, quarterback back, good skill players.They've always had pretty good players and done a good job coaching them.''

Sounds to me like Nick wants Les Miles to stick around.

Gannett Papers Dominate Both Classes in Contest

2010-06-28T12:23:00.001-07:00

HEAD – Gannett papers dominate both classes of LSWA contest

Staff Report

NATCHITOCHES – The Lafayette Daily Advertiser and Shreveport Times newspapers led a strong showing by Gannett in both circulation classifications of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association annual writing contest, the results of which were announced Sunday afternoon at The Landing restaurant here.

The Advertiser sports department, directed by former sports editor Bob Heist, took home Best Section in Class II for lower circulation papers as well as best Special Section for its 2009 high school preview magazine. And long time Advertiser writer Kevin Foote won Prep Writer of the Year and three other first place writing awards in Class II.

Judges were writers and/or editors from the New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, Charlotte (N.C.) Observer and the Kansas City Star.

Of the Advertiser in the Best Section category, judges wrote, “Strong sections, jam-packed with coverage without feeling too overwhelming. Well-edited with good pacing and plenty of breakout information, though visually, the volume could be turned down a few notches. Staff-written copy is impressive as is the judicious use of regional and national wires. Comprehensive coverage of the events that clearly matter most to local readers. Priorities are clear.”

Heist recently left the Advertiser to become sports editor of Gannett’s Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal. Judges said his high school section was "head and shoulders above the others."

The Lake Charles American Press finished second in Best Section with Gannett’s Alexandria Daily Town Talk taking third. The New Orleans Times Picayune won the Class I Best Section as it was "far and away the best section in every way," judges said.

Judges said Foote’s prep coverage was “not fancy, dazzling writing, but the multitude of sources in each story showed the writer put in a lot of legwork.” Judges called Foote’s story on home-schooled students getting to participate in athletics, “wonderfully balanced.”

Foote’s first place individual stories were in the Prep Features, Amateur Sports Spot News and Amateur Sports Features categories. His prep feature was on a wrestler from St. Thomas More battling leukemia. His two amateur stories were on a Delhomme baseball player getting ruled ineligible and on an American Legion team. Foote also had a third place in prep columns for a column on redistricting and a third place in spot news for the story on home-schooled athletes.

Gannett Louisiana’s Glenn Guilbeau competed in Class I because his stories appear in the upper circulation Shreveport Times as well as the other statewide Gannett papers in Lafayette, Monroe, Alexandria and Opelousas. Guilbeau won the Individual Sweepstakes award in Class I by accumulating 11 total points with two first place writing awards, two second places and a third. One first place was in College Columns for a piece that compared Florida quarterback Tim Tebow to the “most interesting man in the world” in the Dos Equis beer commercials.

Another first place for Guilbeau was in Spot News for a story written on signing day in 2009 about LSU coach Les Miles removing a scholarship offer to former Bastrop receiver DeAngelo Benton so he could make sure he signed Rueben Randle – the No. 1 receiver in the nation also out of Bastrop. Randle’s father had said he didn’t want his son going to LSU if Benton also did. Benton ended up at Auburn. Guilbeau also had a second place in Prep Features on Randle’s positive impact on his town that was economically depressed from a paper mill closure in Bastrop. And he had a third place in pro columns for a piece on the new version of the Saints' financial deal with the state still being unfair to the state.

Shreveport Times sports editor Scott Ferrell won Class I Columnist of the Year, beating columnists from the larger Baton Rouge Advocate and Times Picayune.

“Writing was fresh and breezy,” judges said of Ferrell’s work. “Fun to read and informative with a subtle edge.”

Ferrell also won a third place for College Features on NCAA football spending and a third in amateur sports spot news for coverage of the Shreveport city golf tournament.

Roy Lang III of the Shreveport Times placed first in Series in Class I for his work on Mixed Martial Arts and had a third in Spot News for a story on minor league hockey and another third in outdoors writing.

“I learned something I didn’t know,” the judge wrote of Lang's mixed martial arts series. Guilbeau placed second in this category for a series on the national economic disaster of 2008-09 impacting LSU athletics.

Bob Tompkins of the Town Talk placed third in Class II Columnist of the Year category. Tompkins also placed first in Headlines, had a second in Prep Features and a third in Amateur Spot News and in Amateur Features. Advertiser writer Brady Aymond took second place in Pro Columns for a piece on Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Advertiser writer Josh Parrott placed second in College Features for a story on UL-Lafayette's academic issues with athletes and had another second in Spot News for a story on ULL keeping its basketball coaches despite another poor season. Parrott also had a third in the Series category for stories on the hiring by Florida International of Isiah Thomas and its impact on the rest of the Sun Belt Conference.

Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times placed second in Prep Columns and in Amateur Sports Spot News. Krysten Oliphant of the Monroe News-Star placed second in Amateur Features for a piece on a local bodybuilder. Raymond Partsch of the Town Talk placed second in Page Makeup, while Aymond of the Advertiser was third. Jason Pugh of the Shreveport Times was third in the Prep Writer of the Year category in Class I.

Former Advertiser writer Dan McDonald of McD Media won the overall Sportswriter of the Year for the most total points as well as the Class II sweepstakes as he won four first place awards, two second and a third and totaled 17 points.

Mike Triplett of the Times Picayune won the Story of the Year for a comprehensive feature on NFL officiating. Billy Turner of the Picayune won Prep Writer of the Year in Class I. Scooter Hobbs, sports editor of the Lake Charles American Press, won Class II Columnist of the Year.

-end-

Summertime blues

2010-06-23T22:26:00.001-07:00

A year ago, LSU was making a run to its sixth national championship in baseball. This year, the Tigers may have lost in the NCAA tournament to the eventual national champion as UCLA looks pretty good.

Anyway, it's kind of a dead time of the year.

But the recent edition of The Sporting News had an interesting discussion with a panel of SEC coaches.

Here is one snippet that LSU fans should find interesting.

Q: Two coaches in particular -- Mark Richt and Les Miles -- are feeling the pressure to win now. Fair or unfair?

(We won't go into Richt's answer here)

Miles' answer: "I've always thought it was my responsibility to allow an assistant coach to make a living, so the pressure to win is always mine. No one can have greater pressure than what is self-imposed. You know, historically, we've been pretty good. Without tooting your own horn, when you're the winningest coach in your first five years at the school you're currently coaching, you enjoy that. You get a certain understanding of the accomplishments that have been made. The whole (hot seat) notion is crazy. But that's today. That's America. We want it now.''

So Miles wants to take credit for the best record in the first five years at LSU when he was left a loaded team? Please. Larry Coker did the man no favors and neither did the fiasco at Ole Miss. Nor the .500 SEC record over the last two years.

Miles would be wise to crank out a 10-win season and get back to Atlanta. Do that and everybody will get off your case. As it is, he has much to prove -- and with good reason.

And so it ends

2010-06-07T14:16:00.001-07:00

Well, as it turned out, LSU's NCAA tournament experience was pretty much a microcosm of the last half of the season.

The Tigers had a thrilling win on Friday and couldn't carry it over into the weekend losing on Saturday and Sunday. Sounds like the Vanderbilt series to me.

If you judge LSU baseball seasons by trips to Omaha and national championships, then this season goes down as a disappointment.

If you take into consideration injuries -- Anthony Ranaudo, Trey Watkins and the like -- then it makes a little more sense.

You can't win national championships every year. And the late swoon seriously dented LSU's chances of getting to Omaha by making the Tigers go on the road.

And while this season won't go down as one of the more memorable ones, the SEC tournament run kept it from being even more disappointing than it was.

Tournament time

2010-05-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

If I'm a betting man -- I'd say LSU is in the NCAA baseball tournament regardles of the outcome this week in the SEC tournament.

But I also say LSU has played its last game at Alex Box Stadium this season. I think the Tigers are headed on the road for a regional.

A lot of people point to Arkansas getting hot at the right time last year and getting to Omaha. But unless LSU gets its pitching straightened out that will mean nothing.

A spectacular meltdown

2010-05-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

It is becoming painfully apparent that not only will LSU not repeat as national champions, not only will LSU not be in Omaha to close out Rosenblatt Stadium, but LSU may not even make postseason baseball play.

It has been that spectacular of a meltdown.

It's funny to hear LSU players talk about how they can't be this bad because they were 32-6 at one time. Uh, yes, you can be this bad.

In fact,you don't have to look far to find a team in a similar situation.

Back in the winter, the Texas basketball team was roling along and reached No. 1 for the first time in school history. And, in much the same way as LSU baseball, the wheels came off for the Longhorns.

Yes, Texas made the NCAA basketball tournament. The Longhorns never returned to their earlier form. They were one and done in the tournament.

And that Tiger fans is about the best you can hope for from this team right now -- just get into the tournament.

Now it's getting serious

2010-05-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

Baseball is not the kind of sport where you want to make too big of a deal out of one game.

And while LSU's loss at Kentucky on Friday was the kind that can rip your heart out -- blowing a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth -- it's still just one game.

But there should be some serious concern around the LSU baseball program. Because unless the Tigers can get Anthony Ranaudo straightened out and even Matty Ott straightened out, there will be more problems ahead. Right now, both aren't pitching to the levels they showed last season and the team is hurting as a result.

Even without Colvin and Von Rosenberg, LSU had -- at least on paper -- enough pitching to make another CWS run. But with Ranaudo and Ott struggling, it appears Omaha will close out Rosenblatt without the Tigers.

Get your finger off the panic button

2010-04-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

LSU has lost four straight baseball games -- three at Ole Miss and one at home to a struggling UNO team.

If you want to push the panic button go ahead, but keep in mind it's still April. There's still time to turn things around.

However, there are some causes for concern. Because of injuries Anthony Ranaudo hasn't been Anthony Ranaudo -- at least to this point.

And good luck on figuring out what is wrong with Austin Ross. His struggles are starting to have some impact on the team.

Yes, the UNO loss is embarrassing. But LSU always has some embarrasing losses -- that's the way baseball is, remember Nicholls State from last year.

Still, if the Tigers are struggling on May 28 and not April 28, then there is real cause for concern.

End of an era?

2010-04-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Unless something crazy happens on Thursday, LSU's run of six consecutive years with first-round NFL Draft choices will come to an end.

That mark is currently the longest in the nation -- and one more reason why you could argue LSU as college football's team of the '90s without embarrassment.

While Les Miles may promote the draft on his Twitter account, the reality is the streak shouldn't have ended here. Both Brandon LaFell and Ciron Black were once thought to be first-round talents. Not anymore.

Sure, LSU is hoping for a school-record 10 draft picks this year. But the fact that there could be no first-rounders speaks to where this program is right now.

Baseball thoughts

2010-04-20T11:46:00.001-07:00

LSU's baseball team makes a rare north Louisiana appearance tonight when the Tigers play Northwestern State at Shreveport's Fair Grounds Field.

Why Shreveport? Simply put this was NSU's home game. The school is receiving roughly $50,000 from the Shreveport-Bossier Captains baseball team to play the game here and LSU didn't balk at the extra hour drive time.

The game was originally scheduled for early March but was rained out. The contract had an April 20 makeup date and so here we are.

But as LSU coach Paul Mianieri pointed out, the Tigers would have been better served playing this game with NSU at home and Wednesday's game up north instead of vice versa.

We're just about to reach the point in the season where it will be time to start paying closer attention to LSU baseball, but here are some quick thoughts.

1) LSU is kind of deep in pitching. By that I mean there are quite a few possibilities. But the kind of part is that you'd like to have seen some pitchers emerge into set roles by now. Outside of Anthony Ranaudo, the weekend rotation can be either good or not so much.
2) Leon Landry has put together a nice season. For a guy who once was better with the glove than the bat, he is becoming an all-around player.
3) Micah Gibbs has been consistent and is the rare offensive weapon behnd the plate.

There's still a lot of season left. But at least the games should become more meaningful as the weeks progress.

NFL draft thoughts

2010-04-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here's about all you need to know about the state of the LSU football program at the moment.

If The Sporting News' draft projection is anywhere near right, the first player taken in the upcoming NFL draft from a Louisiana school will not be from LSU.

Yes, you read that right.

Remember when offensive tackle Ciron Black was a sure-fire first-round pick. The Sporting News doesn't have Black going in the first three rounds of the NFL draft.

Remember when wide receiver Brandon LaFell was a lock to go in the first round after coming back to school for his senior season. Now, LaFell is considered to be a second-round pick at best.

No, the top-ranked player from the state, at least accordingto The Sporting News, is Louisiana Tech defensive tackle D'Anthony Smith.

Now this isn't because there is a lack of talent at LSU. The recruiting classes have consistently ranked in the top 20. But what we're seeing is that players are LSU at about the same place in their development as when they got there. And that's not a good sign for the LSU program.

"C" is for condescension, "K" is for lucky with Coach K

2010-04-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE – Had Gordon Hayward’s Hail Mary heave from half court at the buzzer hit home – and it almost did - Monday night, Butler would be seen by most as a very lucky national champion today, and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski would know a little bit about what it's like to be Guy Lewis.

Instead Duke and Coach K won the national championship 61-59, but they are clearly no less lucky than Butler would have been as a 62-61 winner thanks to a Coach K miscalculation.

Hayward’s shot would have been the greatest in NCAA Tournament history – clearing Duke’s Christian Laettner’s foul-line jumper to beat Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional final, Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew’s 3-pointer to beat Ole Miss in the first round in 1998 and North Carolina State’s Lorenzo Charles’ rebound and dunk to shock Houston and Lewis in the 1983 national championship game.

It would have even beaten the movies. It would have been life not only imitating art, but slam dunking it to shreds. Jimmy Chitwood hit a top of the key jumper for Hickory High to beat South Bend Central 42-40 in the “Hoosiers” film, which was loosely based on Milan beating Muncie Central 32-30 in the 1954 all-classes Indiana state title game on a jumper by Bobby Plump from the top of the key. Hayward’s shot would have outdistanced Chitwood’s and Plump’s put together. All three shots took place at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler campus in Indianapolis, which was the site of the 2010 Final Four but at Lucas Oil Stadium. How wild is that?

Sadly, it was all just too good to be true, particularly the part about the could-have-been colossal goof by Coach K, the condescension national champion for all seasons. During the portion of the press conference Monday night reserved for players, Duke's Brian Zoubek was asked about his up-and-down career. Krzyzewski rudely interrupted to say Zoubek did not have an up-and-down career, rather an injury-plagued career. Uh, actually he did have an up-and-down career because of injury.

Finally, Coach K let Zoubek talk, and Zoubek couldn't resist.

"I can say something," he said.

Yes, the almighty one granted Zoubek the power of speech.

Krzyzewski, who never comes out and says it but subtly lets you know he knows all at every opportunity, ordered Brian Zoubek to miss the second of two free throws with 3.6 seconds to play. Zoubek made the first one for the 61-59 lead and missed the second one on purpose as he was told. Coach K’s strategy was that the bouncing missed free throw would kill valuable seconds and force Butler – if it got the rebound which it did - to scramble to get in position for a shot as it was out of timeouts. Had Zoubek made the second free throw for a 62-59 lead, Butler would have had the opportunity to take a breath and inbound with 3.6 seconds to play.

That’s plenty of time for a length-of-the-court pass. There was just 2.1 seconds to go in that Duke-Kentucky game when Grant Hill inbounded to Laettner. Or Butler could have rolled the ball up the court if uncontested to save time. Coach K's strategy made some sense because Butler did only have enough time for Hayward’s desperation shot, but the problem is Duke led only by two. A desperation shot gone good would have won it for Butler. A less desperate but still unlikely shot from 3-point range after a made free throw would have just tied it.

What Coach K should have done was let Zoubek make the free throw for a 62-59 lead, then foul Butler immediately upon the inbounds pass. This would have resulted in just two free throws for Butler. Butler can’t win. Duke gets the ball back after the free throws and runs out the clock or is fouled. This is precisely how Butler edged Michigan State 52-50 on Saturday.

After the game, even Zoubek said he should have made the second free throw.

“They got off a bad shot, not a good one,” Zoubek said. “It almost went in, should have gone in, though.”

Krzyzewski did not give a very good explanation of his strategy. In fact he sounded a bit like LSU football coach Les Miles trying to explain his inner clock malfunction in the Ole Miss game last season.

“If he (Zoubek) missed (the second free throw), I thought it would take a miracle shot, you know,” he said. “Well it almost did, but we were set up to guard it.”

But Duke did not guard Hayward well. He dribbled freely and took an open, though very long, shot.

If Zoubek makes the free throw, it would have taken a “miracle” matriculation down the court and shot as well just to tie – not win. And Duke would have also been “set up to guard it” after getting set for the inbounds pass.

At this point, Krzyzewski seemed to realize his explanation was not really working and changed the subject to a screen by Butler’s Matt Howard that knocked Duke’s Kyle Singler violently to the floor and allowed Hayward to get open on that last play. Singler went flying, but it was a legal screen. Replays show Howard upright like a statue as Hayward dribbles around him. If the screener is stationary, it doesn’t matter how hard the player screened falls. Coach K knows this, but he cried foul.

“They’re not going to call it at that time, but Kyle got killed at half court,” Krzyzewski whined. “So they wouldn’t have got it without that.”

Whatever. Keep reaching, Coach K. You know you were almost 3-5 in national title games.

Then he goes out of his way to praise a sportswriter for noticing Howard’s expert screen. “Pretty good for a press guy to see that stuff,” he said.

Uh, Coach K, I saw the screen on TV. I wasn't there. Surely many writers actually there saw it, too. How stupid do you think those who aren’t you are?

Then he started repeating himself.

“But they would have had to take a half court shot,” Coach K said. “And we were set up to guard that.”

Finally, he gave up.

“And, you know, what the hell? It worked,” he said.

Wow! Coach K does not usually place results over process. When the process is poor yet the result is good, you just got lucky.

Since when does almighty, cerebral Coach K say, “What the hell?”

What’s he doing? Just rolling out the basketballs like Lewis now and letting it ride?

“I mean, you know, we called timeouts at different times that, you know, you wouldn’t normally call timeouts because of being tired,” he said. “We left guys in. I mean, this was a game where things were not, like, by the book necessarily. You know, you had to do things instinctive because guys were fighting so hard, so …”

And, you know, he changed the subject again.

"I'm just glad we're not sitting here talking about how I lost the game," Zoubek said.

The talk would not have been about you losing the game, Zoubek. Please insert a "K" where the "I" is above, and you'll know what I mean.

If Duke would have lost, it would have been on a lucky shot heard 'round the world. But Coach K got just as lucky, and He knows it.

Miles to open "Great Day" restaurant

2010-04-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

BATON ROUGE - In the tradition of former LSU football coach Gerry DiNardo, LSU coach Les Miles has decided to open a restaurant here called "Les Miles' Have A Great Day" restaurant.

"We will serve capable and quality food," Miles said Thursday. "It's going to be a damn strong restaurant."

The restaurant's name comes from one of Miles' signature moments as LSU's coach. Amid mistaken reporting by ESPN that he was going to Michigan in 2007, Miles held a hastily called briefing with reporters shortly before the SEC Championship Game in which he said he was staying at LSU and closed with, "Have a great day." A month later, Miles won the national championship.

"Great Day" will be open for lunch and dinner.

"Customers can have a great day and a great night," Miles said.

Great games of the Miles era will be played on video screens throughout the restaurant, but nothing after 2007.
At the moment, Miles was unsure what type of food would be served at the restaurant, which will open next fall at the sight of the old Alex Box Stadium at the corner of Nicholson Drive and Skip Bertman Drive.

"After I decide what I'm going to do with Russell Shepard and how I'm going to divide up the duties of offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, who likes to pass, and passing game coordinator Billy Gonzales, who also likes to pass, I'll figure out what type of food we will serve," Miles said. "But it will be winning food in three areas - offense, defense and special orders."

After turning around the LSU program from 1995-97 after six consecutive losing seasons from 1989-94, DiNardo - a New York City native - opened an Italian restaurant under his name before the 1998 season and promptly had two straight losing seasons and was fired.

"I don't see that happening," Miles said. "I'm way too popular."

Miles, who hails from Elyria, Ohio, said he is experimenting with Midwestern food for the restaurant.

"So there will definitely be meat and potatoes and very little flavor," he said. "We are currently studying several of the Applebees and Red Lobsters throughout Ohio. I can't say anymore because of the HIPAA laws."

In order to boost business, current LSU football players will work in the restaurant but may not be able to get paid, according to NCAA rules.

"We're still looking into that," Miles said. "We are already about to be under investigation anyway, so what's the difference?"

Former LSU assistant coach D.J. McCarthy has been named restaurant manager and is looking into getting signees who are not yet eligible and have no place to stay to also work and live in the restaurant.

Waiter tryouts have already started, and Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee are neck and neck for the No. 1 server job. Jefferson has had trouble hitting the table with the food, while Lee keeps bringing his dishes to the wrong tables.

"Some of the dishes that we haven't had them serve are dishes that they would've been really good at," Miles said. "We don't want to show the other restaurants what they're doing."

Should "Good Day" get bad reviews, Miles said he would continue to blame Ryan Perrilloux, Crowton and whoever is playing quarterback.

Miles has hired several cooks and other restaurant personnel from the very successful C'est Bon (pronounced Saban) restaurant in Ponchatoula.

"Anybody who has C'est Bon's talent is going to win," said restaurant expert Tom Fitzmorris of New Orleans. "Now the question is will it still be a good restaurant after C'est Bon's players are gone."

April Fool!

Spring football thoughts

2010-03-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of thoughts from spring football:

1) It's really not a good sign when Les Miles says Jarrett Lee is pushing Jordan Jefferson for playing time. Jarrett Lee could have the greatest spring in the history but there is no way Miles can run him out to play quarterback in a meaningful situation. Just too much bad history with an intense fan base.

2) That being said, I never was convinced that Jordan Jefferson was the next big thing. He wasn't an elite recruit coming out of high school and it's apparent why. He is not an elite quarterback.You won't find his name among The Sporting News' top 25 college quarterbacks.

3) Unless something dramatic happens, LSU's problems at quarterback mean the Tigers are looking at another seven/eight win season.

4) It's amazing how fast this program has been sliding in recent years.

Last bit of hoops talk

2010-03-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Just talked to CBS' Tim Brando today for a Sunday column.

Anyway here is a snippet on LSU basketball from Brando:

"Trent (Johnson) is going to be fine. With his recruits coming in, the cavalry is coming, so to speak. I think they're going to be back in the (NCAA Tournament) equation, conversation within the next two years, very easily.''

This could get tricky

2010-03-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Apparently Anthony Ranaudo's recovery is a little slower than originally thought. You can read here how he will miss his start for the Arkansas series.

Look, there's plenty of time left in the season. But if this is a serious injury, then LSU's pitching plans get altered significantly and what looked like the makings of a run at a repeat national championship could be hindered.

Obviously, LSU needs Ranaudo back healthy --- sooner rather than later.

No time to panic -- yet

2010-03-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

LSU baseball fans shouldn't be too upset over a series loss at home to Kansas over the weekend.

This is baseball, things happen. Heck, LSU lost a series at home to Illinois last year. Don't recall seeing Illinois in Omaha -- or LSU hurting because of that setback.

No, the bigger concern is the health of pitcher Anthony Ranaudo. If he's not healthy, then things get a lot trickier as SEC play begins this weekend.

A healthy Ranaudo and LSU is OK. Austin Ross went deeper into the game on Saturday than he's been going so there is hope for a 1-2 punch.

That is the bigger issue for LSU right now -- Ranaudo not Kansas.

Tournament time

2010-03-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

Mercifully, the LSU basketball season is coming to a close.

LSU coach Trent Johnson knew it was going to be a struggle. I just don't believe he figured it would be this hard.

But with Malcolm White eligible next season and a recruiting class ranked in the top 10 by ESPNU on signing day, there is a hope for LSU fans that a real foundation can be built.

It is important for the foundation to be build so that LSU can sustain some success and fan interest.

Another year like this year, though, and you'll have to wonder if anyone other than Dale Brown can keep LSU winning for an extended period of time.

Good start for baseball

2010-02-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

Just about any baseball season, professional or college, is a marathon.

So it isn't too wise to get excited or disappointed in February. And it certainly isn't time to make rash judgments on a three-game weekend series against Centenary.

But that being said, here are a few thoughts:

1) Anthony Ranaudo means never having to say you're sorry. LSU has a legitimate Friday night ace and that's not exactly news after last season. But Ranaudo has more to pitch for (see the MLB draft) this year.

2) LSU desperately needs a smooth transition from No. 3 starter to No. 2 starter by Austin Ross. So far so good on that one.

3) Hard to believe an LSU-Eunice guy could figure into a weekend rotation but Joey Bourgeois looked the part Sunday. Of course, it is Centenary. It's not like he's pitching the rubber game of the series against Ole Miss or someone in the SEC.

4) Except for Saturday's explosion, the offense had the look of a February offense. Still, it's way to early to even make an evaluation there.

Boy, was I wrong

2010-02-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Before the SEC basketball season began, I thought LSU could finish as high as third in the West. They had taken Washington State -- the best team in the Pac-10 at the time -- to overtime basically on the road. They had played well in a couple of other gmes.

But boy was I wrong.

This team will be lucky to win two or three conference games. I say that because they still haven't won the first one.

How much worse could they have been without Tasmin Mitchell coming back?

The good thing is LSU's recruiting class for next season is rated No. 10 nationally by ESPN.com. But even then they'll have to make an immediate impact.

I think LSU fans will be patient because Trent Johnson has already shown -- last year -- that he can coach. Now he has to get the plaeyrs.

Good Morning, World Champion Who Dats

2010-02-08T07:19:00.001-08:00

By Glenn Guilbeau
Gannett Louisiana

MIAMI - Good morning, world champion Who Dats!
This is a day like no other. No one is better than the New Orleans Saints.
Unless you count the Triple-A minor league baseball championship the New Orleans Zephyrs won in 1998, this is it. Newly elected New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu will take over the happiest town in the whole USA.
"Oh When the Saints Go Marching In," is no longer a song about what may happen one day. They've marched. They're there. They're in. That's actually a funeral song, and that fits. The Saints have made it back to heaven, and they went through about 40 years and nights of hell to get there.
My older brother Joe, an attorney in New Orleans who was at that Saints first game in 1967 when John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to begin the ultimate tease, said it best.
"Next year is finally here," he wrote in an email. "For me, I still do not quite believe it. The best I can do to describe it is that it was like entering a great dream instead of waking up from one."
Enjoy the day. Mardi Gras is upon us, and Jazz Fest is not far behind.
And how fun is next season going to be? The Saints should be very good again.
Let the good team roll - in New Orleans for a change.
And this is truly a universal championship for anyone associated with New Orleans, and with Louisiana.
"Not just in New Orleans," team owner Tom Benson said. "But the whole state."
The Gulf Coast region and the Who Dat worldwide network as well.
This is much better than any LSU national championship as well because NFL teams like the Saints have far fewer team haters than do college teams. LSU is hated by many Louisianians, particularly in Lafayette and Ruston. Alabama won the last collegiate national championship, but a large portion of that state made up of Auburn fans could not be any unhappier.
Not so in Louisiana. There's not as much regional hate in the NFL. No one hates the Saints - other than some Colts fans this morning and people who are probably growing tired of how much attention the city and team is getting. And even those probably do not really hate the Saints.
The Saints are attracting new fans every day. Some may not like them. Few hate them.
But today, because of what the world saw Katrina do to the city in addition to the club's sad sack history, the Saints may be the most loved team in the history of sports.
Who Dat Saying No One Can Beat Dem Saints? Everybody is.
The Saints are world champions. Amen to Dat.

-end-

If Landrieu wins, surely the Saints can

2010-02-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

By Glenn Guilbeau
Gannett Louisiana

MIAMI - The third time was the charm for Mitch Landrieu Saturday in the New Orleans mayoral election. Landrieu, the son of former mayor Moon Landrieu, dominated with 65 percent of the vote and won in regulation. There will be no need for a runoff - or overtime in football terms.
Landrieu is a great guy and deserves this opportunity, but he has been about as electable as some former Saints coaches. He previously lost two elections for mayor. He even lost to bumbling incumbent Ray Nagin in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which was sort of like losing to the 3-13 New Orleans Saints in 2005.
So if Landrieu can win an election, surely the Saints can win a Super Bowl. Could it be a sign?
We are less than three hours from kickoff at this writing. Team Gannett - Brady Aymond and Brad Kemp of the Daily Advertiser, Roy Lang of the Shreveport Times and myself - have been in the pressbox here at Sun Life Stadium since 2:15 p.m. central time. Finally, kickoff is approaching. The number of pages of transcribed quotes piled on tables in the Media Center reached 286 on Saturday. It's time for a game.
Conditions are perfect for football - not a cloud in the sky, a decent wind and no chance of rain. It would be perfect for an election.
If this were an election, the Saints would win hands down. There are Who Dats all over South Florida, and with just a few thousand in the stadium as of now there is more black and gold than blue and white.
A news crew in London Saturday was asking people on the street who they liked in the Super Bowl. Some didn't know what teams were playing. American football is not much on that side of the pond. But one Londoner had two words - "Who Dat."
I picked Indianapolis in the paper today, but that was more like the flip of a coin then a strong belief. It will be a very close game. What Peyton Manning did to the New York Jets' defense, which was No. 1 in the NFL during the regular season, made me think he could have a day at the beach against a Saints defense that never really stopped Minnesota in the NFL title game. The Vikings kept coughing it up.
I'm sticking with the Colts pick, but hoping that the Saints win.
If the Saints do pull it out, Landrieu will have an advantage that no previous mayor of America's most unique city has ever had. He will be the mayor of the happiest town in the whole USA.

-end-

Nice recovery

2010-02-04T21:00:00.001-08:00

Give LSU coach Les Miles -- well, really assistant coaches Billy Gonzales and Frank Wilson -- credit for a nice recovery on signing day.

The Tigers signed previoulsy committed players in Jarrett Fobbs (Texas A&M), J.C. Copeland (Tennessee) and Kadron Boone (Texas Tech). LSU also signed defensive lineman J.R. Ferguson from Hargrave Military Academy.

In past years, LSU seemed to sputter at the end. It was looking that way again this year until the Tigers ended with a flourish.

I realize it's only signing day and you won't know for two or three years how good the class is. But Miles desperately needed to capture some moments after fading in each of the last two seasons.

Saints are Super Loose

2010-02-03T11:46:00.001-08:00

By Glenn Guilbeau
Gannett Louisiana

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Perhaps no other NFL team had more pressure on it entering the playoffs than did the New Orleans Saints after they lost their last three games of the regular season. But you would not have known it being around the team.
One day in the locker rooom before the 45-14 victory over Arizona, which many in the media picked to beat the Saints, several players wrapped a young manager type in tape and threw him in a tub of water. On another day, players were dashing around the locker room because one player decided to start spraying everyone with some type of aerosol can. Last week, tight end Jeremy Shockey joked that he accidentally cut his little toe off while clipping his toenails.
On Tuesday at Super Bowl Media Day, several players gathered around a TV reporter and danced for the cameras. The players have been enjoying themself in South Beach, where their team hotel is located.
The Saints are in the Super Bowl for the first time and playing an Indianapolis team that just won the Super Bowl in this same city just three seasons ago. But the Saints are loose. They seem very happy to be here, and they are. But that does not mean they will not win the game Sunday night. The Colts have more Super Bowl experience obviously. Some two dozen players remain from their previous Super Bowl champion team. The Saints are also lucky to be here. They could have easily lost to Minnesota. Of course, had Minnesota won, it would also be labeled lucky considering how much it turned the ball over.
But none of this means the Saints will not play their best game on Sunday. Neither team should be tight, which should produce a great team. The Colts, having just won a Super Bowl, are not dealing with the Buffalo/Minnesota factor. They've won one already. They don't have to worry about going 0-for-Super Bowls. The Saints are 0-for-0 and there is no reason they will not be right back in the Super Bowl next year. It will not be a crime for the Saints to lose this game. So they should be as loose on the field as off.
There is no pressure on the Saints. Most of the pressure left when they destroyed Arizona. More pressure exited when they beat Minnesota and reached the Super Bowl, which is where the Saints should have ended up considering their 13-0 start.
Now, they're playing a recent Super Bowl champion with probably the best quarterback to ever play the game. The Saints are not expected to win, and that is a great situation to be in.
Not making my Super Bowl pick yet, however. You'll have to wait a few days. It's too early.
-end-

Somber signing day?

2010-02-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

OK, is it because of the Saints in the Super Bowl or is there something else going on here. National signing day is tomorrow and there seems to be little buzz about it.

You could argue that this class was wrapped up early and that's why there is no buzz.

I'd argue a different point. When you lose recruits to Texas, Tennessee and UCLA, the class loses some buzz. When the top player in the state goes to Auburn , the class loses some buzz.

Going into the year, I thought this would be a tough year to have a great recruiting class because of the down year in the state.. That's proving to be true.

This will be a nationally ranked class, but not what LSU fans have come to know.

A Saintly diversion

2010-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

The New Orleans Saints' run to the Super Bowl comes at a good time for a couple of folks on LSU's campus.

Trent Johnson is probably glad that people aren't following his basketball team so closely. To Johnson's credit, at least he knew this was a rebuilding year.

Les Miles, on the other hand, is probably glad for the diversion. His recruiting class has taken some hits -- not to mention a New Year's Day bowl loss when time management was an issue.

But hey, the Saints are going to the Super Bowl. Miles won't get back into the crosshairs until SEC Media Days in July when his team is a second or third pick in the West again.

Les' horseshoe

2010-01-13T08:28:00.001-08:00

A year ago at this time, Tennessee was recruiting Louisiana as if it was part of the Volunteer state. Ed Orgeron and Frank Wilson were covering the state and after signing day, the Vols signed one of the state's top players in Janzen Jackson.

Now, look a year later.

Les Miles hires Wilson and Orgeron leaves for USC with Lane Kiffen.

And just like that a school that might have been able to pluck off a player or two in the state is no longer a factor.

Practically no one saw the Kiffen move coming. But it certainly helps Les Miles. Sometimes it pays to be lucky.

On Chad Jones' decision

2010-01-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

On the surface, you might think Chad Jones is a bit foolish for leaving school as a junior and projected as a third-round pick when he could come back for his senior and leave as a first-round pick.

Again, that's on the surface.

Jones, though, is like a lot of juniors out there. He is studying more than just his own personal draft stock.

Agent Leigh Steinberg predicted a lot of juniors would leave school early. Here's what he told The Sporting News.

"It's likely that as a new CBA is negotiated, some restructure of rookie compensation will be in place for 2011 ... The new system might mean no guaranteed money and less overall compensation for younger players. That could cause the 2010 draft to become an Oklahoma Land Rush-type superdraft filled with fearful juniors.''

Jones' decision makes perfect sense after all.

Basketball anyone?

2010-01-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

OK, I know it's hard to get fired up for basketball season -- especially when the coach all but wrote the season off last spring.

But SEC play begins on Saturday.

And really, you've got to watch something between now and signining day and baseball, right?

Here's my thought, LSU will be a well-coached team that might - -emphasis on might -- find a way to finish as high as third in the West. I think Mississippi State and Ole Miss are probably the two best teams in the West. Poor ol' Arkansas is down there with LSU and who knows what Alabama and Auburn will run out there.

If Trent Johnson is able to get a third-place finish out of this squad, then no one should question his ability to get the most out of this players.

LSU Suddenly a Steppingstone?

2010-01-07T08:56:00.001-08:00

BATON ROUGE - Is LSU just a steppingstone to greatness now?

All over tonight's BCS national championship game between Alabama and Texas, that will be evident.

Alabama coach Nick Saban's unparalleled success at LSU from 2000-04 got him the best NFL offer in history.

Texas defensive coordinator and head coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp was LSU's defensive coordinator from 2002-04.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, a hot head coaching prospect at the moment, was LSU's defensive backs coach in 2004.

Alabama linebacker coach/assistant head coach Sal Sunseri, special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Bobby Williams and defensive line coach Bo Davis, who is a former LSU defensive lineman, were all on Saban's staff at LSU.

Texas coach Mack Brown was a very successful quarterbacks coach at LSU in 1982 and long desired to be LSU's head coach. In fact, when Bill Arnsparger became LSU's coach in 1984, Brown, who had moved on to the head coaching job at Appalachian State in 1983, could have joined him as offensive coordinator with a promise of becoming head coach after Arnsparger left after a few years, which he did.

Yes, Brown could have been one of the first head coaches in waiting. Of course the money and contract were not put in front of him as they were put in front of Muschamp and Jimbo Fisher at Florida State.

Oop, there's another one. Fisher was LSU's vastly successful offensive coordinator from 2000-06 as he mastered both the running game and passing game, made winners out of quarterbacks with less talent than at LSU now and never had his offense anywhere near 112 in the nation, which is LSU's current rank with lots of skill talent.

The BCS national championship game could continue to be filled with head coaches who did their time at LSU - Muschamp at Texas, Fisher at Florida State and Bo Pelini, LSU's defensive coordinator from 2005-07, at Nebraska.

And don't forget Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, an LSU assistant coach from 2000-2004 who will move on to a high profile coaching job somewhere before too long. Smart could, too.

Meanwhile, LSU appears to be going the other way under head coach Les Miles, who is 17-9 in his last two seasons with a 7-9 SEC record after going 34-6 and 19-5 in the SEC in his first three seasons after inheriting Saban's Fortune 500 company. His two latest coordinators - Gary Crowton and John Chavis - may be on the less progressive end of their careers.

LSU in its present state looks very far from another BCS title game.

Which reminds me of something two high rankiing LSU athletic department officials said back in December of 2004 when I asked why wasn't Fisher even interviewed for the LSU head coaching job.

"He's too rough," they both said. And Miles has never been exactly smooth, even when he was winning big.

We shall see.

How do you view this season?

2010-01-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

OK, LSU fans, how do you view this football season?

You can say a nine-win season is an accomplishment. But then none of the nine wins came against teams that will be ranked at the end of the season.

You could say the season was a disappointment. But then remember the Gerry DiNardo days? The Curley Hallman days? Nine wins looked pretty good back then.

So what say you Tiger fans? Success or disappointment in 2009?

Chavis Has Not Ruled Out Georgia

2009-12-29T21:54:00.000-08:00

BATON ROUGE - As of late Tuesday night, LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis had not completely ruled out a lucrative offer to be Georgia's defensive coordinator after just one season with the Tigers.

Chavis is scheduled to be a part of the Capital One Bowl coordinator's press conferences on Wednesday afternoon in Orlando, Fla. LSU plays Penn State in the Capital One Bowl at noon Friday on ABC.

Chavis' decision could be made public shortly after the game if not sooner. He has not told anyone definitively what he is going to do.

A oomment by LSU linebacker Kelvin Sheppard Monday seemed to say that Chavis was staying at LSU.

Sheppard reportedly told WBRZ TV (Baton Rouge) reporter Michael Cauble, who is in Orlando, that Chavis came up to Sheppard during practice Monday and said, "You knew if I was going anywhere, you'd be the first person I'd tell. I'm here with you all. I love it here. I'm not going anywhere."

This is a quote from a coach to a player to the media. Chavis likely did tell Sheppard that and Sheppard likely relayed it correctly, but since Chavis said that things could have changed. Georgia coach Mark Richt may have thrown more money toward Chavis, who makes in the neighborhood of $500,000 a year. And when Chavis does decide to leave, Sheppard could still "be the first person" he tells.

There have been many coaches who have loved their present job only to take a new one that they feel could be even better. Plus, Sheppard may not be at LSU next season anyway. He is considering consulting with the NFL advisory board to see where he might go in the next NFL Draft.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt, meanwhile, could be desperate. He is coming off a 7-5 regular season, which is his worst in nine years at the school. His defense was bad, and he fired both co-coordinators and a third defensive coach.

Chavis is from nearby South Carolina, and he witnessed a very shaky sideline this season at LSU and some questionable offensive game plans and game day management while his defense played well enough to win virtually every game.

Chavis did enjoy being at LSU this season and likes how LSU head coach Les Miles leaves him alone. An opportunity to be one of the highest paid coordinators in all of college football, though, may be too good to pass up. And Georgia has a very similar recruiting base to LSU.

Chavis has a tough decision to make.

Looking ahead to 2010

2009-12-16T08:24:00.001-08:00

Apparently, those on the national scene aren't overly impressed with the direction of the LSU football program.

NationalChamps.net has its Early Bird 2010 College Football Preview out.

And LSU fans probably won't like it.

The early poll has LSU ranked No. 21. It's the lowest I can recall seeing LSU in one of NationalChamps.net's preseason polls in years.

And making matters worse, Alabama is the preseason No. 1. Florida is preseason No. 4.

Tolbert out, Gonzales in?

2009-12-10T19:49:00.001-08:00

BATON ROUGE - Just a day ago, it looked like former LSU wide receiver Leon "Tyke" Tolbert, presently the receivers coach for the Buffalog Bills, was going to be LSU's new wide receiver coach.

Then suddenly, talks between Tolbert and LSU coach Les Miles hit a snag perhaps over money. Now, the talk in Florida is that Gators recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales may be joining LSU's staff as receivers coach.

Tolbert would be, or would have been, a very good fit at LSU. The Tigers have rarely had assistant coaches with Louisiana roots, which can never hurt. Plus, he has already been an assistant and recruited the state at Louisiana-Lafayette and at Louisiana-Monroe. Tolbert signed at LSU in 1986 with coach Bill Arnsparger out of Conroe, Texas, and played as a backup from 1988-90. He and new recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson would have made a nice pair.
Gonzales jumping Meyer's ship for LSU appears fishy, however. He has been with Meyer since Meyer was the head coach at Bowling Green in 2001.

It's that time of year. Things can change in a minute. After the 2005 season, Earl Lane was driving from Tampa, where he was an assistant coach at South Florida, to Wisconsin for his new job. But LSU coach Les Miles got him on his cellular phone and convinced him to take a left well before Albuquerque, and he became an LSU assistant.

Gator recruits are posting that Gonzales is LSU bound. It could happen. But something new could happen in the next 24 hours.

Stay tuned.

Overlooked sport

2009-12-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

Only in the SEC can men's basketball be an overlooked sport.

But football's dominance in this region -- and let's face it, in this decade it has grown even more -- completely dwarfs basketball.

As it is, basketball has the shortest season in terms of fan attention of any of the three major sports. People around here won't look at a basketball game until after signing day in February.

This season, it may be a good thing for Trent Johnson.

But it is the way just about everywhere in the SEC with the exception of Kentucky.

So when the league flames out in the NCAA Tournament again, fans shouldn't really complain. This is just the way it is in the SEC right now.

UT's Frank Wilson would be great hire for LSU

2009-12-02T14:55:00.001-08:00

BATON ROUGE - The word is that Tennessee assistant football coach Frank Wilson is being considered for the opening on the LSU staff created by running backs coach Larry Porter becoming the head coach at Memphis.

Wilson has only been at Tennessee for one season as the wide receivers coach, but he would be very interested in returning to his home state as the LSU running backs coach, recruiting coordinator or whatever offensive opening there may be - and there will be more.

Wilson is a New Orleans native who would love to be a college assistant close to home. He badly wanted an LSU assistant coaching job in 2003 when he was then the head coach at O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans. He thought he was going to get the job, particularly when then LSU head coach Nick Saban signed three of his kids from Walker. But Saban went "another direction."

Wilson later became a running backs coach at Ole Miss under head coach Ed Orgeron from 2005-07 and was the running backs coach at Southern Mississippi in 2008 after Orgeron was let go by Ole Miss. Wilson, who is known as an excellent recruiter, accepted a job on new Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen's staff after the 2008 season, but he then jumped ship to rejoin Orgeron under new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin.

Wilson is one of the lowest- paid assistants on Kiffin's staff at approximately $150,000 a year. LSU coaches with Louisiana ties have been few and far between. Wilson's ties to talent-rich New Orleans and throughout the Southeast would greatly benefit LSU's recruiting efforts.

LSU coach Les Miles tried to hire Orgeron last season for similar reasons. Hiring Wilson now would be a great move.

Saturday reaction

2009-11-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

So, LSU fans, what will your reaction be on Saturday night in these situations:

1) If LSU goes three-and-out on the first possession?

2) If LSU keeps passing when the run is in order?

3) If LSU mismanages the clock at the end of the first half and wastes a scoring opportunity?

I ask these questions because I have a feeling this game may be as important as any championship game for Les Miles.

No, I don't think Miles is getting fired. But I do think he turned up the heat on his own coaching seat with the debacle in Oxford last week.

It will be interesting to see how LSU comes out and plays against Arkansas. A fast start and an impressive victory and Miles will have some breathing room. Another loss and he could be next year's Mark Richt.

Worse than you might think

2009-11-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

While much of College Football Nation either laughs or is shock at the ending of the LSU-Ole Miss game, there is something even more disturbing than the way LSU lost.

It is this: LSU needed three low-percentage plays (the onside kick, a screen pass in traffic and a Hail Mary) to even get in a position to steal the win.

Except for LSU's bungling of the final minute of the game, everyone would be talking about a defense that couldn't get off the field and an offense that continues to be the most frustrating in the country to watch because there are playmakers everywhere (Welcom Rueben Randle) and a coaching staff with no clue how to use them.

So the Ole Miss loss is really worse than you think. Because the horrific game mismanagement hides the fact that Ole Miss pretty much dominated this one.

Tennessee gaining on Gators in renegade category

2009-11-14T08:18:00.001-08:00

By Glenn Guilbeau
Gannett Louisiana

The Guilbeau Poll

1.ALABAMA (9-0, 6-0 SEC) – Even if Patrick Peterson gets the intercepton and Charles Scott doesn't get hurt, Bama still beats LSU. But if Jordan Jefferson doesn't get hurt, LSU wins.

2.FLORIDA (9-0, 7-0) – The Gators need another player arrest to answer Tennessee's.

3.LSU (7-2, 4-2) – That Peterson no-call makes up for the Corey Webster no-call back in 2004. LSU's Webster clearly pushed an Alabama receiver down before making an interception in the end zone when Bama was threatening to score at a key point in the game. And there was no call. Saturday's game also makes up for a trio of instant replay reviews that went against Alabama in LSU's win in 2007. Forgot about those, didn't you LSU fans. Chad Jones also got away with pass interference in the first half Saturday.

4. AUBURN (7-3, 3-3) - The Tigers are ranked again and could challenge LSU for the Florida bowls.

5. TENNESSEE (5-4, 3-3) - I didn't know they still made pellet guns. This could hurt Tennessee's recruiting in more ways than one.

6. GEORGIA (5-4, 3-3) - Could the Bulldogs find themselves in Shreveport next month?

7. ARKANSAS (5-4, 2-4) - The Hogs look ready to finish strong.

8. SOUTH CAROLINA (6-4, 3-4) - Steve Spurrier Jr. is taking heat as the Gamecocks' play caller. Will his dad get all biblical on him and fire or demote him like he's some quarterback?

9. OLE MISS (6-3, 2-3) - Former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron returns to Oxford as Tennessee's defensive line coach. Guess what song will be playing in the Grove?

10. MISSISSIPPI STATE (4-5, 2-3) - Upset special? Alabama's coming to Starkville after a huge win, and State has been dangerous this season. The Bulldogs also beat Nick Saban and the Tide two years ago.

11. KENTUCKY (5-4, 1-4) - The Bluegrass wonders. Will a win over Vanderbilt count toward bowl eligibility?

12. VANDERBILT (2-8, 0-6) - The Commordores play Kentucky at 11:20 a.m. Saturday. Christmas shopping anyone?

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 3 Alabama at Mississippi State, 6 p.m., ESPN - Mississippi State defeated Alabama in 2006 and 2007. The Bulldogs nearly upset LSU and Houston this season and played Georgia Tech well. The Crimson Tide may be primed for an upset. And it's worth watching just to see if the SEC officials blow another call on behalf of one the league's undefeated. Plus, can you imagine what type of instant replay equipment they must have in a pressbox in Starkville, Miss.? Perhaps a little K-Mart model with rabbit ears.

SATURDAY TELEVISION

Tennessee at Ole Miss, 11 a.m., CBS.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 11:20 a.m., SEC Network.

No. 1 Florida at South Carolina, 2:30 p.m., CBS.

Auburn at Georgia, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Louisiana Tech (3-6) at No. 9 LSU, 6 p.m. ESPNU

Troy at Arkansas, 6:30 p.m.

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Arkansas 33, South Carolina 16

Georgia 38, Tennessee Tech 0

Kentucky 37, Eastern Kentucky 12

Auburn 63, Furman 31

Alabama 24, LSU 15

Tennessee 56, Memphis 28

Florida 27, Vanderbilt 3

Ole Miss 38, Northern Arizona 14

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE - Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett completed 23 of 27 passes for 329 yards and rushed for a touchdown.

DEFENSE - Alabama CB Javier Arenas made seven tackles with four solos and two behind the line with a quarterback pressure.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Florida P Chas Henry punted four times for a 52.8-yard average.

NOTEBOOK

REDEMPTION FOR JULIO: Not only was Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones the guilty party on the Tide's penalty for too many men on the field, ruining a chance for a touchdown against LSU in the third quarter. He also dropped a pass just before Bama quarterback Greg McElroy was stopped for a safety. He made up for both with his 73-yard touchdown catch and run to give Alabama a 21-15 lead in the fourth quarter after a two-point conversion.

"Their guys had been real aggressive coming up on me," Jones said.

"You never expect a short pass like that to lead to a touchdown," McElroy said. "Then again, when you get it to No. 8, you never know what'll happen. I've never seen someone run that fast before."

PASS SET UP RUN: McElroy threw 25 times in the first half for Alabama, seriously breaking a tendency. Then tailback Mark Ingram, who had only 38 yards in the first half, took over the second half with 106 yards through a spaced LSU defense often looking for more passes. Ingram finished with 144.

"It was the way we planned," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "And I thought it worked. As the game went on, we got more and more control of the line of scrimmage."

BORDER WAR: Auburn has 20 players from the state of Georgia looking forward to Saturday's game at Georgia. There is also Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof, who grew up in Atlanta and played and coached at Georgia Tech.

"It makes it fun," Roof said. "It's a fun game."

STAT OF THE WEEK:

The 452 yards given up by LSU to Alabama on Saturday were the most allowed by the Tigers since Florida got 475 in a 51-21 win last season.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"He was a great D-line coach, but he wasn't that great of a head coach."

- Ole Miss defensive end Kentrell Lockett on former head coach Ed Orgeron, who is Tennessee D-line coach now and returns to Oxford, Miss., Saturday.

- Compiled by Glenn Guilbeau with other SEC writers.

-end-

Why Not Start Shepard at QB?

2009-11-13T11:21:00.001-08:00

BATON ROUGE - Sorry, I have not blogged in a while, but I got a stomach flu early this week. The doctor said that is going around and I caught it from another person, but I'm convinced I got it from overexposure to SEC officiating - the laughing stock of the country - and LSU's offense - the most poorly drilled offense in the country.

LSU's offense, which by the way is ranked 103rd in the nation and No. 1 in poorest use of talent, begs the following question. How many false-start penalties would it have if it didn't have so many pre-start penalties?

Discuss.

And how many LSU tight ends does it take to line up in one space? Common sense says one. LSU says two.

Interestingly, LSU's offense is still so skill talented and capable of amazing things. Things such as having too many men on the field after a timeout.

Here's another one. On a third quarter drive, LSU called more timeouts (2) than it gained yards (0) on three plays of that drive.

Apparently, I'm not the only one nauseated. Former LSU nose guard Greg Bowser, who is the best analyst on television not doing live football, said during the second half of the CST replay of the LSU-Alabama game that the main difference in the game since halftime was one thing - the sideline. Alabama's was working, and LSU's wasn't.

At any rate, on to today's topic.

LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson would likely start and play Saturday if the Tigers were not playing a 24-point underdog like 3-6 Louisiana Tech. Jefferson hurt his ankle in the loss to Alabama last Saturday on one of the 24 sacks he has suffered this season. He was on crutches part of the time early in the week before returning to practice on Wednesday. Some say Jefferson holds the ball too long. Maybe he's just choosing which defensive end he's going to get creamed by.

LSU should be able to handle Tech, which does not have the same firepower passing game that Troy had the week after an emotional LSU loss to Alabama a year ago. LSU's defense is also twice as good as the outfit of last season. LSU should be able to run well against Tech provided its coaches can get the plays to their players before two seconds remain on the play clock. So, it would be wise to sit Jefferson out and get him absolutely ready for next week's game at Ole Miss, which is very capable of beating LSU. Rebels' coach Houston Nutt has won his last two against LSU with less talent.

So, word is Jarrett Lee will likely start against Tech. I saw enough of Lee last season and more than enough last week. LSU should give Russell Shepard the chance he deserves. LSU should start Shepard at quarterback Saturday. He can't be any worse than Lee, who got more and more nervous and tentative as the game went on last week. The officials had to pick up a pass interference call against Alabama because Lee's subsequent pass was so uncatchable. He threw one interception and could have thrown two more. He struggled with the play clock and play calling management, which qualifies him for a job on LSU's offensive staff, not quarterback.

But Lee's biggest problem is he cannot run well, and with the way LSU's offensive line has performed this season, that is a prerequisite.

Shepard can run and gain yards whether there is blocking or not. And this would be the opportunity to let him pass some, too.

Shepard has struggled to learn LSU's playbook, but in college football that is the coaches' responsibility. If he is struggling, just teach him a handful of plays. LSU hasn't got past the first two pages of its playbook in most games this season anyway. How about just a few plays this week, coaches? And here's another hint. It's better to call plays than timeouts.
LSU's coaches have had all spring, all August and all season to get Shepard ready. And this week, they had more time than usual with Jefferson out. Hope they didn't waste it trying to get Lee ready. They tried that last season and it didn't work.
Lee is a great kid and has showed toughness in sticking around. But how many chances does he get? It's somebody else's turn. That should be Shepard with some series by Lee in between for good measure.
And remember if 11 players are on the field and another runs on with nobody coming out, then you have 12 players on the field.

-end-

What defines success?

2009-11-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a food-for-thought question for LSU fans?

If LSU ends the regular season 10-2 -- and that is a big if with Ole Miss and Arkansas still remaining on the SEC schedule -- do you consider it a successful season?

Granted 10 years ago at this time LSU fans would have walked on hot coals for a 10-2 season.

But 10 years later, do losses at home to Florida and on the road at Alabama -- the two biggest games of the season -- alter the way the season is viewed?

Does a second-place finish in the West, even if it comes in a 10-win season, sit well with folks after the greatest decade in school history?

I'd be interested to hear what folks think.