Wednesday Wayback: Perfect Holliday

After Tennessee, LSU helped to drive the nail in the Mike Shula coffin by virtue of LaRon Landry eliminating John Parker Wilson, Bama Bangs The Second of His Name. A week later, LSU beat Ole Miss in overtime in one of the lowkey worst LSU games of the Golden Era. Issue is that this is game took place in the dark ages and was not broadcast in any capacity. (EDIT: Thanks to the recent death of the Geaux Zone subscription service, LSU’s TigerVision broadcast of the game is now available in LSU’s archives, if you can get Silverlight working) So our Football MST3K will be viewing the Arkansas game this week.

Coming into the Friday after Thanksgiving, the Hogs had fully recovered from their opening week blowout against USC. Lead by the two headed hydra of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, they ran the table in the SEC, clinching a spot in Atlanta and a pretty #5 ranking to make the game a top 10 matchup.

The Game

• Before adidas wrapped their tendrils around them and made them downright awful, Arkansas had some Costco ass uniforms. It’s a shade off of Oklahoma’s. Nike is treating them much better.
• Felix Jones immediately takes a sweep for 40 yards and then a quick pass to McFadden put LSU on skates. Gus Malzahn is pulling out all the stops because this game really, really means a lot to Arkansas.
• Remember when the Wildcat was a thing? McFadden makes a perfect throw to former QB Robert Johnson to take it inside the LSU 5. Arkansas goes quick hit and McFadden plows it in. It takes Arkansas 2:30 to score but they shank the PAT. 6-0 Arkansas.
• Shut up, stepdad Gary.
• Remember when Texas and Texas A&M actually played each other?
• Remember when the Big 12 actually had divisions?
• LSU misfires after Keiland Williams take the rock into Arkansas territory, setting up a 2nd and 26 by virtue of a busted swing pass and holding.
• A Dwayne Bowe screen (hey Jimbo!) makes up the difference after Bowe runs over a linebacker. On the next play, Keiland Williams takes a crease to the outside and walks into the endzone. 7-6 LSU.
• Arkansas is forced to punt and LSU chooses to punt on 4th and 1 inside the Arkansas 50. Luckily it doesn’t come back to hurt LSU.
• Russell hits Craig “Buster” Davis for 20 yards after Davis laughs a defensive back off of the field. After a sack, Russell goes back to the well and hits Davis 47 yards downfield who again makes the most of bad DB play and makes a run into the endzone. 14-6 LSU.
• LSU gets bailed out of a 39 yard Felix Jones strike but a pass interference on DMC set up Arkansas again. On 3rd and 8 Dick hits Monk for the first and Monk pulls free of white shirts. Gotta give him credit, Monk ante’d up and made a big boy play. Arkansas goes for two to even it but LSU snuffs it out. 14-12 LSU.
• LSU gets caught on a 3rd and 1 at midfield and goes with a Russell sneak, but the ball comes out and Arkansas recovers.
• Man, it was a fleeting thing but for a short period in time the Wildcat was nigh unstoppable.
• To start the second half, Russell is in jail on 3rd and 10 but he makes the flip to Vincent who takes it nearly 30 yards downfield. Jordan Jefferson would pay homage to this play in the [GAME REDACTED]
• LSU pounds the rock downfield into the Arkansas 10, but the Razorbacks put the clamps down and nearly get an easy pick in the process. LSU has to settle for three. 17-12.
• ***WHEEL ROUTE ALERT***: Russell hits a wide open Hester down the sideline for a 38 yard gain.
• Broussard goes for a second effort trying to get the first, but he loses the football and Arkansas falls on it.
• Arkansas immediately fires back with a Felix Jones reverse that goes for 15 and then again out of the Wildcat for about 11. DMC takes the snap again for 8. He powers forward for the first. Gary Danielson quickly exists the booth for the quarter break to go to the bathroom.
• LSU gets Arkansas into a 4th and 3 and the Tigers dial up the perfect counter play to get a sack to force a turnover on downs.
• LSU goes three and out but on the first play of their next series, Casey Dick makes a bad throw that goes over the tight end and right into LaRon Landry’s hands, who takes it inside the 10. Russell drops the ball over Doucette’s shoulder and he comes down with it for six. 24-12 LSU. Now things get spicy.
• McFadden gets the ball to start the drive on a power and he goes entirely untouched due to his incredible breakaway speed. This was the perfect combination of excellent blocking and superb athleticism. 24-19 LSU.
• ...and then Trindon Holliday erases McFadden’s run with a better one. This is one of my personal favorite plays in LSU history because it’s just an embarrassing display of speed in addition to being an answer to DMC. And if you look at it, the blocking on the return wasn’t even all that great. Holliday just got a seam and turned on the afterburners. There is an Arkansas defender that severely misjudges his speed and whiffs on a dive. I could watch his legs pump at an incredible rate all day, CBS’s 2006 cameras can barely pick them up. Look at how much rubber he kicks up from under the turf just by slowing down. 31-19 LSU.
• Felix Jones tried his best to one up Trindon as he gets all the way to the 37 on a 62 yards return. And then McFadden hits LaRon Landry, which is like that scene in the Avengers where Thor’s hammer hits Captain America’s shield.
• Arkansas scores on a Felix Jones sweep to make it 31-26.
• And now we enter the manball portion of our program. LSU is nursing a five point lead with four minutes left and is looking to run while Arkansas is going to bring the heat. A Hester dive does nothing and Russell sails a second down throw. On third down, Russell finds Bowe to move the chains and keep the ball. A Vincent rush goes nowhere but LSU catches Arkansas offsides. LSU runs twice for five but Arkansas has to burn their timeouts in the process of stopping LSU. Arkansas gets the ball at their 27 with 2:04 left to play.
• Zenon is there to defend a deep pass to McFadden and then he emphatically swats a pass to force third down. Dick has Monk on third down but the pass is wide, forcing a fourth down. Dick goes for the long bombs away despite having Jones and McFadden open short. Chevis Jackson defends the pass perfectly and LSU salts the game away.
• After this, Arkansas would not be able to right the ship, losing to eventual national champions Florida in the SEC Championship and getting nudged by Wisconson 17-14 in the Capital One Bowl.