No. 6

by Purple Reign on Aug 1, 2008 10:26 AM CDT in Football Comment 4 comments

Okay, it's the preseason, so it really doesn't mean anything (unless it's 2004 and you're Auburn), but LSU comes in at No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. That's the one that counts in the BCS.

I'm a big advocate of coaches not having a poll because -- well honestly, there are a lot of reasons you'll probably hear about throughout the season (see Stoops, Bob, voting LSU sixth last year while trying to eek his way into the national title game). That said, you can't ignore the poll if you're a team hoping for a BCS berth or a national title shot.

Normally I'm a big complainer about the voting, but I really can't find too many faults with this poll. Clemson is ninth, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Auburn is always in the mix, but I'm just not sure if they're the 11th best team in the country. I know they were voted to win the SEC West, but how? They've got a question at quarterback and I don't remember them striking the fear of God in anyone last year to begin with. You can always count on the defense to be strong, but Tony Franklin is going to have to work wonders from the play calling booth to make that offense better. After all that, I can't argue any of the teams ranked below them ahead of the Tigers.

I think Arizona State will end up being better than No. 16, but that's just cause I think Dennis Erickson is a great football coach.

That's just some quick-look punditry at the first pre-season poll. I'm sure there will be plenty to follow.

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I think you have to give Auburn credit

They did beat a good Clemson team w/ only a few weeks to adopt a new offense. And I think Cody Burns will do as well as any other QB in the west this year. He is a unquestionably a good athlete and I think this offense will suit his strengths.

I will admit that I don’t know much about his passing abilities, but I think he definitely has more game experience than either of the LSU qbs.

by Zandor435 on Aug 1, 2008 10:59 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

you're probably right

Burns actually prefers to be a pocket passer, but he definitely has the athletic ability to be a real threat in the spread. He was able to get some game experience last year, but I wouldn’t label him a sure-fire solid quarterback yet by any means.

As for the Clemson win, I never put too much stock in bowl games. They’re a completely different animal than a regular season game. Nobody has played in a month and they’re really just glorified exhibitions on a neutral field. Teams and coaches just react differently than a regular-season conference game with an intense atmosphere.

by Purple Reign on Aug 1, 2008 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't see ranking LSU ahead of Auburn

Tony Franklin threw up some pretty good numbers last year against SEC teams he faced at Troy. The athletes at Auburn are better, so I expect their offense to be at least as productive as Troy’s was last year.

Having said that, I’m not sold on Burns yet and AU’s offense is going to live and die by him. He’s a great athlete but until he can complete a game that he starts without getting pulled against New Mexico St. (or whoever he started against last year) I’m going to go ahead and say that Auburn is in as bad of a situation as we are at QB. If we were playing AU at home this year, I’d easily pick us to win that game, but it’s in AU and we all know how those games go.

by LSU Jonno on Aug 1, 2008 3:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I look at rankings differently than you ...

... at least in the preseason. I don’t look at them as a, “where will they finish.” In the preseason, I would vote based on if every team played the exact same schedule, all on neutral fields, i.e., what teams I think are the best teams. Period. Once into the season, you have to go based on results.

As for Auburn, I’m not sold on their offensive line as much as I am LSU’s. And when you have a quarterback question, the line is your best friend because it strengthen’s your running game and gives a QB time to throw. I do agree that Tony Franklin is very talented as an offensive coordinator and Auburn’s offense should reflect that. But I still don’t see them being No. 11 in the country, or better than LSU.

by Purple Reign on Aug 3, 2008 6:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs