Eating Grass and Taking Names

Published November 12, 2010 - 10:46am

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Apparently, this is the new mantra for LSU and Coach Les Miles. It joins such favorites in the Les Miles lexicon like “My Damn Strong Football Team” and “Have a Great Day.” The victory against Alabama has made Les a media darling not to be poked fun of, but rather a college football folk hero that should be considered a treasure to the sport. It’s funny how winning alters perception. Another example of this…Would there be an inferno in Toomer’s Corner if Auburn was 6-3? Maybe, but, probably not.

Speaking of Auburn, is it too soon to say LSU is undefeated against teams with eligible players? “Camgate” is starting to cast a long and vile shadow across this year’s SEC season and leaving many to doubt the validity of Auburn’s record. I really don’t want to take away what Auburn has done on the field this year, but all the smoke is too hard to ignore. In Louisiana, the venom is starting to boil over as many realize that LSU is probably undefeated and a BCS title contender if Cam isn’t at Auburn. Many are very anxious to see how quickly this plays out.

However, we can’t change the past and LSU must focus on winning its three remaining games against ULM, Ole Miss, and Arkansas. Finishing 11-1 will put LSU in favorable position for an At-Large BCS invite and a top 5 finish. This would wildly exceed the expectations of many who thought the Bayou Bengals would not win more than seven or eight games this year. As for a shot at the title, at the very minimum, Oregon, Auburn and TCU would have to take a loss for LSU to make the game. Stranger things have happened though…2007 anyone?

For any BCS talk to happen, LSU needs to take care of business this week. Coach Les Miles is preparing his team for the Warhawks’ best shot. ULM is not afraid to go at it with SEC teams and took down Alabama at Bryant-Denny in Saban’s first year. This game will give the Tigers an opportunity to build on the success from last week and get in a groove for the remaining SEC games. It will also mark the return of guard Will Blackwell, who was injured in the UNC game. Blackwell was considered the Tiger’s best and nastiest lineman and it will be interesting to see if he can regain that form in time for Ole Miss and Arkansas. Defensive back, Brandon Taylor is out for the game. Although the Tiger faithful would love to see LSU cover the 34 point spread, the staff will do just enough to keep the game out of reach for the Warhawks. Les Miles will get the starters some work in the first half and then work in some younger players and reward some seldom used back-ups with playing time. Aside from winning, the main focus will be getting some solid work done and keeping the starters healthy.

Nevis-tation. Drake Nevis’ performance against Alabama earned him the Walter Camp award for the best defensive player in the nation last week. Nevis registered seven tackles, one sack, forced a fumble, broke up a pass and generally made life miserable for the Alabama offensive line. Not to be outshined, Kelvin Sheppard earned SEC defensive player of the week honors for his efforts against Alabama, which included seven tackles, a half sack, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Tags: Brandon Taylor, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Cameron Newton, Drake Nevis, Kelvin Sheppard, Les Miles, Nick Saban, Toomer's Corner