First Impressions: LSU v Miss St.

but i have these thoughts…it’s…a cornerback..from LSU..raising the heisman

other than that pretty much my impressions too!

So, I was fairly drunk by the time the game rolled around, but did we seem totally incompetent every time MSU even pretended to hide who had the ball?

This team will win games with the defensive play… not doubt. To say the offense went up and down the field is just looking through the purple and gold sunglasses. We had 264 yards of total offense and 97 yards passing, that will get you so far in the SEC (I don’t care how good your D is). There will be games that our defense does not get 5, count ‘em 5, interceptions to set up the offense in excellent field position. We should have won this game by at least 2 more touchdowns but we didn’t because the offense still has no identity and either the coaches do not have the competence to stretch the field or we truly do not have a quarterback that is capable of doing so. I really do hate to be negative because it is really an impressive win against a pretty good SEC foe but if something doesn’t change big time on the offensive side of the ball we will be hard pressed to make a serious run at ANY championships the year. Isn’t that the ultimate goal?

Anyway, I really do hope I am wrong because with ANY kind of offense this team will be very special.

-Royce

Lots of improvement shown — the defense played with intensity, the offense executed a low-risk gameplan that held on to the ball, which is what it needs to do. Jefferson definitely wasn’t flashy, but he was efficient and well-managed by the playcalling. It’s not pretty but if this team continues to play that way going forward, the execution will improve and the points will come.

That wasn’t a bad defense out there tonight for MSU — particularly on the defensive line.

Yes, the defense is awesome. Yes, that will win LSU games this year (like this one). But take a look at the ESPN Team Stat Comparison. State racked up more first downs, more total yards, more passing yards, had better 3rd and 4th down conversion rates, and held the ball longer. The Bulldogs even nearly had as many rushing yards as LSU. And the teams both had the same number of penalties. The difference in this game was the fact that MSU turned the ball over five times. Period. Sure, several of those were forced by the LSU defense, but Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas won’t do that. Take away, say, three of the turnovers, and the game is close—with State probably winning.

There’s no two ways about it: MSU is an unranked team and LSU managed an anemic 264 yards of offense and only 97 yards passing. Do the same thing next week and the WVU game will go into the “L” column.

My fear now is that Jefferson played just well enough to keep Jarrett Lee sidelined going into the difficult part of the schedule—when his arm will be most needed.

By “only”, I’m assuming you mean only in the final five minutes. Are you aware that MSU quarterbacks threw to LSU players for more yards than Jordan Jefferson did? Yeah, that’s great for the defense, but our 107th ranked passing offense went 40 yards below its already putrid season average. We didn’t run great, less than four yards per carry.

As for driving on offense, forget it. We have exactly one drive this year of more than 60 yards that didn’t include a 65-yard Stevan Ridley run (and I don’t expect him to break away from Alabama or Florida or Auburn’s defense). Let’s be honest, if we don’t force turnovers, or someone doesn’t break a monster play, we’re not scoring touchdowns.

We can sugarcoat it all we want. However, there are four and five-star players at every position on offense, yet we rank in the bottom half of the NCAA in scoring. It’s not going to cut it in October and November. We all want to believe it will get fixed, but history (see 2009) is our guide.

Crowton wants to divide and conquer us with his horrible playcalling so he can stay longer!

Defense wins championships, and ours is damn good. 3-0 is 3-0 people. It’ll be 4-0 next week, WVU almost lost to Marshall, remember? We need to give this team a chance before we throw in the towel as a fanbase. Also, great job to everyone that stayed at the game tonight, the stadium was virtually full until we went up by 22.

… REALLY?!

I mean, really? Are you honestly concerned in this game by that? MSU outgained LSU by 4 yards. And with those four extra yards, they made it to the red zone one time, contrasted to LSU making it five times. Yards are important, but not as important as the destination.

LSU had drives. The first seven drives of the game all resulted in points. To complain about yardage totals from an offense that actually scored on seven consecutive possessions is failing to see the forest for the trees. The point of an offense is not to gain yards. It is to score points.

Also, this offense clearly was running the most conservative gameplan on earth. Jefferson wan’t going to have gaudy stats in this game because the play calling simply wouldn’t let him. And why would you open up the playbook? There was never a reason to.

I’m willing to bet the gameplan against WVU or Florida will be a tad different than the one from last night

The offense at the moment is okay. The defense has been stellar.

Nevertheless, the third and very importarnt part of football is special teams. The return games have been excellent, and we have had very few penalites. Kick off coverage has just ravaged the other teams as well. The punt coverage was just as good in week two. We only pooch punted once last night. We have had a lot of hidden yardage that people never really consider in overall stats. Furthermore, we can’t give enough accolades to Josh Jasper. This season holds more promise with each passing week.