I'm not gonna lie, I felt better after the narrow escape against UNC than after a 24-point blowout win over Vandy. UNC was just one bad quarter against a pretty good team. This was just an ugly game that LSU finally put away in the fourth quarter. I'm not in any way pleased with how the game went. Random thoughts before watching a replay or checking the boxscore...
-- I hate Gary Crowton. I hate him so much. The end of the first half was the perfect opportunity to try out the two minute offense, and instead he got the chance to screw it up twice. Our continued insistence on running the option, or even trying to be a power run team, boggles my mind. Crowton has called some bad games since he has come to Baton Rouge, this may have been his worst.
-- Jordan Jefferson was terrible. Like I said, I haven't checked the numbers yet, but I'm sure they are terrible. He didn't pass the eyeball test. He threw an interception in the end zone that defies description. Just throw it away, man. He continually tried to throw the ball through a wall instead of trying to put any touch on the ball. Just no feel for the game whatsoever. Even worse, the coaches feel the need to keep calling running plays for Jefferson. Can we admit he is not a running quarterback?
-- The defense was awesome. Once again, no numbers yet, this is just off of feel. LSU absolutely dominated Vanderbilt's offense. Yes, it's just Vandy, but that was a great team effort. This has all of the makings of a truly dominant defense.
-- Stevan Ridley is the starter. No questions. Alfred Blue has staked his claim as the #2 back. I don't want to say the competition is over, but it sure looks it. Murphy just can't find space and everything we heard about Ford not building off his spring game seems to be true. Neither were impressive.
-- Russell Shepard is an unstoppable force of nature. Really, he cannot get enough touches.
-- This game was the opposite of UNC. Lethargic for three quarters, and then one awesome quarter to blow the game open. That's better than awesome for three and then sweating out a terrible fourth. It was good to see the team finish up strong.
-- Once again, remember my mantra: I do not care about moral victories, therefore I give the team the courtesy of not caring about moral losses. A win is a win is a win.