This week, not every LSU fan was trying to figure out Les Miles’ contract and what it would take to buy him out at the end of the season. But a lot were doing just that.
Some actually chose to look at Saturday’s opponent and focus on the matchup with Auburn, a team with quarterback problems of their own. While LSU may have solved that issue in Danny Etling (only time will tell), Auburn still searches for an identity (any identity) on offense.
Most LSU fans are confident that their team can go into Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday and prove to be the best Tigers team on the field. And while a low-scoring game is expected for Saturday, LSU fans remain hopeful that Etling can further prove he’s the answer at quarterback and that RB Leonard Fournette can build on his game against Auburn last season at Tiger Stadium.
Here are five key topics that are trending with LSU fans in looking forward to Saturday’s clash at Auburn:
1. Job security – Like Auburn fans, LSU fans remain obsessed with the longevity of the contract with their current coach. The team that comes out on the short end on Saturday will witness a fan base in full meltdown mode, calling for the immediate firing of said coach. The winning team can enjoy a one-week reprieve from such chatter with the knowledge that the moratorium is only temporary.
2. Auburn defense – LSU fans know Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele all too well, and most are fully aware of the job Auburn has done on that side of the football, holding Clemson to 19 points and Arkansas State to 14. LSU fans are hopeful that their team can do what Texas A&M was able to accomplish last week when the Aggies hung 29 points on Auburn with a balanced attack.
3. Rivalry – This used to be one of, if not the most heated rival for LSU for quite a few years. Back before Nick Saban made the quick and wise decision that the NFL was not the promised land that lured him away from LSU, it was Auburn that LSU fans circled on their calendars. From Tommy Tuberville and the “Cigar Game” to the “Earthquake Game” the night the valley shook, to the night “The Barn” burned, this rivalry used to be huge. And though that’s been 20-plus years ago now, LSU fans have long memories and don’t soon forget.
4. Danny Etling – Being touted by more than a few as the savior of the season, fewer LSU fans are pumping the brakes on this Purdue transfer with a tiny sample size with which to make judgment. Perhaps it’s because they recall how Anthony Jennings burst onto the scene only to fizzle out and give way to Brandon Harris, who burst onto the scene only to fizzle out and give way to Etling. Granted, Etling has still looked the part under center. His touchdown pass was a thing of beauty to D.J. Chark, who scored the first time he touched the football for LSU, a 79-yard end-around in last year’s Texas Bowl, and then last week caught his first touchdown pass.
5. Leonard Fournette – LSU fans wonder whether or not Fournette can put on a similar show as last year’s against Auburn in Tiger Stadium. In that game, Fournette averaged a season-high 12 yards per carry, rolling up 228 yards and 3 touchdowns on 19 carries, which ironically tied for his season-low. Only in the 2014 Music City Bowl game against Notre Dame (13.0) has Fournette averaged more yards per carry in one game. The consensus appears to be that Fournette must approach those numbers in order for LSU to have a chance at breaking the stranglehold on this series where the home team has won 14 of the last 16 games.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
