SOAPBOX: Shotgun Blast

Peach Bowl: LSU wins. LSU's defense will suffer, but not submit. LSU's offense will awaken. This will be the beginning of LSU's run at the next crystal football. LSU 34 Georgia Tech 28

Quarterback: Jefferson will start. If he doesn't stink the joint up, he may see most if not all of the snaps. Georgia Tech has a weak defensive backfield. If LSU can exploit that, and Jefferson can throw accurately and smartly, this game could get out of hand in LSU's favor. If Jefferson can't do the job, Lee is available.

Defensive Coordinator: Looks like Chavis from Tennessee. Good. It would have been disappointing to me to see LSU go after Walker from UCLA. Walker will probably be a great college coach one day. But LSU needs the defense to DEFINITELY recover, not possibly recover. Chavis is a known quantity. Tennessee has had very good defenses for a long time. Walker is far more of a "gut feel" kind of hire. I'd rather take the known quantity.

The Orgeron: Sounds like he's coming to LSU as well. Interesting. There are few moderate opinions about Ed Orgeron. But you cannot deny his pedigree. And he's supposedly a great recruiter.

Recruiting: LSU already has one of the best recruiting classes in the school's history on the books. It appears that the Tigers just might take that up a notch. In fact, LSU may get close to the best recruiting class in the history of classifying such things. 8 five star signees is not out of the question. 2009 will be a great year. 2010 will be THE year.

Basketball: Did you see any of the Washington State game the other day? No? Geaux to LSUSports.net and watch it (it's free!). Great game. Frustrating, but great. Here's what you'll be glad to know. The Tigers play great, aggressive defense. Marcus Thornton is fun to watch offensively and defensively. And this team does not quit. They are fun to watch, and this is going to be a turning-point season for LSU basketball. Johnson has LSU playing very well.

Happy New Years, Ya'll

GEAUX TIGERS!