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LSU facing rougher waters this season
Questions on both sides of the ball abound for Tigers
LSU's Trindon Holiday (8) runs for 20 yards as he is chased by Florida's Brandon Antwine, left, and Carlos Dunlap during the second half of their game Saturday.
John Raoux/AP
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 10.14.08
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Tigers at Gamecocks
WHO: LSU (4-1) at USC (5-2)
WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday
WHERE: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia
TV: ESPN (cable channel 26 in Columbia area)
RADIO: WNKT-FM 107.5, WISW-AM 1320
LINE: LSU by 2.5
After flying home the previous night, LSU coach Les Miles met with his staff around dawn Sunday. They had to start early to figure out how many things went wrong during a 51-21 loss at Florida.
“It was a little bit less enjoyable to show up at 6:45 in the morning to review a game where you were unsuccessful,” Miles said Monday during his weekly news conference.
It had been 12 years since LSU had given up 51 points. The Gators again were the perpetrator on that occasion and their coach was Steve Spurrier, whom LSU faces this week when it faces South Carolina on Saturday.
Miles has been immensely successful in his four seasons at LSU, going 39-7 with a national title last season. But after his worst loss as Tigers coach, he prepares to enter USC with a struggling quarterback and a defense that lacks the stats of last season.
That was exposed in the loss to Florida, which knocked the Tigers down 10 spots to No. 13 in this week’s AP poll. But after meeting with his players, Miles claimed his team was still in good mental shape.
“Our team’s resolve and want to prepare is pretty strong. I liked what I saw this morning,” Miles said.
Monday was the one-year anniversary of LSU’s first loss last season, an overtime defeat at Kentucky. The Tigers also would lose to Arkansas, but they stayed in the national title hunt thanks to a stifling defense and an offense that had two steady quarterbacks.
This year has been a different story.
The defense ranks ninth in the SEC. The secondary has yielded 195.4 passing yards per game, and has been hampered by blown coverages. The line has been solid against the run but has nine sacks, tied for 10th in the league.
Miles attributed the struggles to young players at key positions who were not “in a groove at this point.”
“The veterans are playing the way they should be playing and a (there are a) couple of guys who need some adjustment to be made as we go forward,” Miles said. “I think the defense can return to the style of defense that we’ve played here in the past.”
The quarterback situation has been more uneven, with true freshman Jarrett Lee taking most of the snaps and Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch playing in spurts.
Lee has taken care of the ball, but he has yet to have a breakout game. That was fine for LSU in its first five games as junior tailback Charles Scott led the SEC in rushing.
But Florida shut Scott down, and the rest of the LSU offense did not pick up the slack. Lee attempted a season-high 38 passes and finished with 208 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“He wasn’t really comfortable early on at all, and at a time where we didn’t have the run greased and ready to roll,” Miles said. “We kind of expected a quarterback to hit a pass or two to keep a drive alive, while we get it fixed and start making the adjustments that we need to make so we can rush the football. He was uneasy, and we were getting three-and-outs.”
South Carolina also will be starting a freshman quarterback Saturday. But in a switch from last year, it’s the Gamecocks who now have the highly-rated defense.
“They’re playing with great effort and enthusiasm. I think they get to the ball,” Miles said. “I think they are big, strong, capable men, and I think they made a change at the coordinator spot on defense, and it’s really benefited.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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