Photo by Bill Feig, via media.2theadvocate.com

I watched the game again this morning, keeping a close eye on the line play, but I couldn't help watching the ball a little bit more.  

I think in all the well-justified hoopla over the play of Jarrett Lee in the 2nd half, we need to be extra vigilant in praising the play of Charles Scott.  Does everyone realize that Charles Scott is the first ever LSU runner to rush for 100 yards at Jordan-Hare Stadium?

Let's repeat that, with emphasis.  Charles Scott is the first ever LSU runner to rush for 100 yards at Jordan-Hare Stadium.  

He didn't get on the scoreboard, but we would not have gotten those touchdowns but for Auburn having to stack the box to slow down Scott.  Even with 8 in the box, they had a hard time keeping him contained, as he ripped 10 yard run after 10 yard run throughout the 2nd half.  Sometimes he was stopped cold, but more often than not he seemed to rush for between 7 and 12 yards.  

That kind of production from Charles opened up the play-action passing game, which is what ultimately killed Auburn in this game.  With them having to focus so much on Scott, our play action game was extremely productive in the second half, and was the reason Lee was so effective.

But back to line play.  Our offensive line was dominant on run plays, but allowed a good pass rush entirely too often.  I can't single out any one lineman for giving up a pass rush, and I think it may just be a matter of Auburn being good at it and us not being able to stop it every time no matter what we did.

Our defensive line was the opposite.  Auburn could never open up a running lane on us, but we rarely got pressure without blitzing until the 4th quarter when our depth ensured that we had fresh bodies while Auburn's blockers were worn out.

Our depth was quite possibly the deciding factor in this game.  We substituted liberally on the defensive line, with 8 linemen getting substantial playing time.  No defensive lineman played the whole game.  Auburn had 68 offensive plays, and I doubt any lineman on our side of the ball played more than 50 snaps.  Ricky Jean-Francois played the most, and he played very well, but even he went out for a few series.  I once looked up and saw that at least 3 backup defensive linemen were in the game, and they were doing well.  Keeping those linemen fresh paid off in the 4th quarter. 

Rahim Alem, Tremaine Johnson, Marlon Favorite, and Al Woods all did admirable jobs in filling in for the starters.  As a senior, Tremaine Johnson is really getting his first meaningful playing time of his career and he is making the most of it.  I don't think Pep Levingston or Drake Nevis got in the game, but I could be wrong.  

For what it's worth, I think Rahim Alem should come into the game on ever 3rd and long situation.  He gives us that speed rusher that we lack otherwise.  Cousin Kirston is a good overall defensive end, but in Alem we have a passing down specialist.

Another area where we got some separation from Auburn was in special teams.  Our punting and kickoffs were outstanding.  We even got a touchback on a kickoff for only the 2nd time since the 2006 season.  When we didn't get the ball to the end zone, we got nice, high kicks and our coverage units got down and made the play.  This may be the best kickoff coverage team I've seen at LSU.

Back in 2006, we lost field position whenever LSU and Auburn traded punts, and Auburn's superior punting game may well have been the difference in the game.  Last night, it was the other way around.  We gained field position when we traded punts, and in a close game like that, every little advantage is magnified.

And one final thought on the game action.  Let's give it up for Chris Mitchell getting his first touchdown as a Tiger.  He couldn't have picked a better time.

Every team has vulnerabilities, one of them being susceptibility to injuries.  While we have a lot of talent all over the field, there are positions where lack of depth will make us particularly vulnerable.  If we have to replace a key player with a true freshman, that will be a problem.  Here is my list of the 5 players we can least afford to lose significant time:

1.  Ciron Black, OT:  He's quite a good left tackle, and we currently have little idea who his backup is.  Plan A for backing up Ciron "CB" Black was sophomore Jarvis Jones, but he was expelled from the team and is now at Oklahoma.  That leaves LSU with only one experienced backup offensive lineman, Ryan Miller.  He backs up every position except left tackle.  The depth among young players is admirable in the interior line, but not at the tackle positions, where the loss of Marc Snyder to injury really hurt.  If Ciron Black gets hurt, we'd probably have to move Joseph Barksdale over from right tackle, his natural position, and insert Miller at right tackle.  Or, we'd have to play a true freshman a lot of snaps.

2.  Colt David, PK:  He's developed into an All-SEC field goal kicker, and the two sophomores behind him have been disappointing at kickoffs while not attempting any actual placekicks for points.  If David is somehow lost, which I know would be unusual for a kicker, but not unheard of, extra points and short field goals could become an adventure.

3.  Darry Beckwith, LB:  He's our best linebacker, and our most experienced starter.  He's the only linebacker on the team that is unlikely to come off the field while a game is still in doubt.  The backup (Jacob Cutrera) is actually pretty experienced, but the drop-off in skill is substantial, and Beckwith's leadership at the linebacker position is essential.  Unfortunately, Beckwith has a history of injuries, and we would be fortunate to have him healthy for the entire season.  Stranger things have happened, though.

4.  Ricky Jean-Francois, DT:  The depth here is very solid, but Jean-Francois is definitely the playmaker of the group.  While his replacement would be pretty good if he were to get hurt, his replacement wouldn't be anywhere near as disruptive as Ricky Jean-Francois.  He's expected to be one of the key playmakers of the defense, and one of the ones who can get consistent pressure on a quarterback.  He needs to be on the field as much as possible, while still of course rotating him out enough to stay fresh, as I've preached many times for defensive linemen.

5.  Richard Dickson, TE:  The big passing target is going to be an important outlet for our young quarterbacks all season long.  If they struggle to get the ball to the outside, Dickson will be there finding holes in the zone and giving them a big target to throw to.  There is no receiving tight end to speak of behind him, and no receiver quite like him on the team, so he is going to be an essential part of the offense.

So, that's my five.  I could have easily picked a couple of other players instead, but if you're going to go with the round number of five, this is my group.  Honorable mention include Curtis Taylor, Brandon Lafell, and Tyson Jackson.

The defensive tackles are the foundation to the defense.  Every play starts with the defensive tackles battling the interior linemen on the opposing side.  I think so highly of defensive tackles that I once listed defensive tackles as both the 1st and 4th most important positions on the defense.  I'm not kidding.

The top two are probably Ricky Jean-Francois and Charles Alexander.  I say "probably" because Charles Alexander's 2007 season was cut short by a knee injury and there is no guarantee he'll be completely healthy for the 2008 season.

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