As I hinted at in my last post, Tulane does not have a good football program. And LSU, as you would expect, dominated the Green Wave on Saturday night.
As a Tiger fan, it was fun to watch the replay early this morning. Although the Tigers stalled a couple of times, and the Greenies moved the ball a couple of times, the game wasn't even remotely in question.
The offense seemed to be running on all cylinders. Jefferson, although he threw a pretty bad interception, had another strong overall performance. Charles Scott had well over 100 yards rushing. Russell Shepard generated some excitement and a touchdown. And Stevan Ridley gave everyone a glimpse of our possible starting TB next year.
The defense was swarming, and the Tigers actually had a pass rush again. Patrick Peterson picked one off to stop a potential scoring drive. Rahim Alem pressured the QB all night long. And the LSU linebackers - all four of them - were lights out. Absolutely fantastic. Even the backup defensive linemen, like Lavar Edwards, got to shine a bit.
And special teams, minus the punting itself, were outstanding. Even with unusually short kickoffs, the coverage remained rock solid. Daniel Graff blocked a Tulane punt, leading to Shepard's eventual score. And Trindon Holliday twice reminded the nation why most teams prefer to punt out of bounds when he's back to receive.
Great game. But let's keep it in perspective. Tulane is very bad, particularly on defense. The Tigers, minus a couple of errors, should've put up another 2-3 touchdowns.
Next weekend, the Tigers face a challenge of the opposite kind. Alabama has a very strong, very talented defense coached by a great staff. They will be every bit as athletic, deep and well-coached as LSU. And the game is on their home turf.
I can't wait. The talk has already begun on the internet sites about the defensive struggle next Saturday in Tuscaloosa. And it's an understandable expectation. But I'm not buying it. Bama has a very strong defense. Very talented. In fact, I think Bama's defense is better than Florida's. But, if Jordan Jefferson has a good game, I think LSU's passing weapons can open things up against Bama, expose some vulnerabilities, and score points. Jefferson doesn't have to be phenomenal. But, for my prediction to happen, he has to give a good performance in terms of ball security, confidence, and not getting rattled by sacks and a pick.
Don't expect 400 yards of offense on Saturday, Tiger fans. But I think, based on LSU's very strong turnover ratio (+10 at the moment) and a receiving corps that could start for any team in the nation, LSU has a great chance to ruin Bama's scoring defense stats at least a little bit.
Just don't let last night set you up for next Saturday. Because the difficulty of the two games could hardly be any more different.
Showing posts with label Tulane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tulane. Show all posts
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Shit I Didn't Know About Tulane
Basically, I'm from New Orleans. I mean, not the city, but what some consider an outer suburb of the metropolitan area. I used to go to Tulane games in high school because (a) we got in for $1 with our high school IDs, and (b) Baton Rouge was not even close to my allowable driving radius as a 16 year old.
I used to pull for Tulane. The high school QB that I played with was recruited and played there. I really want to like Tulane. Despite some of their irrationally arrogant fans.
So, in an effort to give this game and Tulane a little respect, I read their game notes for the LSU game.
Here's some shit I didn't know.
The goal on Saturday has to be to put 50 up on the board. It's nothing personal against Tulane, but LSU needs to blow out some teams to get some voter attention. Sorry - but Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops ALMOST have it right (they go too far). Miles needs to keep the starters in until he hits fitty.
Anyway, now that LSU will no longer have to play Tulane every year, maybe I can spend a little time developing a fan's interest in the Green Wave. We'll see. They need to start being at least a little interesting, first. If they dropped down into the FBS league, I'd be there in a heartbeat!
I used to pull for Tulane. The high school QB that I played with was recruited and played there. I really want to like Tulane. Despite some of their irrationally arrogant fans.
So, in an effort to give this game and Tulane a little respect, I read their game notes for the LSU game.
Here's some shit I didn't know.
- LSU All-American LB Greg Jackson (85-88) is Tulane's Safeties/Kickoff Team coach.
- Tulane is 52-5 against Louisiana teams that are NOT LSU. Including....Camp Beauregard? WTF?
- Half of Tulane's team members getting playing time are either first or second year players. The Greenies have played 18 true freshmen this year. By contrast, I believe LSU has played somewhere around 8.
- Tulane ranks in the bottom half of nearly every statistical category in Div 1A, and in the bottom 20 in 11 of 17 categories. They are dead last in the NCAA in net punting and tackles for loss.
- Tulane wears a black oval sticker on their helmets with the number 16 on it in honor of kicker Andrew Villar, who died this past April of unknown causes.
- Tulane has gotten 6 sacks this season so far. Tulane has been sacked 21 times.
- Tulane averages about 28,500 fans in the Superdome. I wonder who subsidizes that losing proposition?
- In 3 years, Bob Toledo has only won 8 games at Tulane. The same number of wins in his first year at UC-Riverside (1974). Ouch.
The goal on Saturday has to be to put 50 up on the board. It's nothing personal against Tulane, but LSU needs to blow out some teams to get some voter attention. Sorry - but Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops ALMOST have it right (they go too far). Miles needs to keep the starters in until he hits fitty.
Anyway, now that LSU will no longer have to play Tulane every year, maybe I can spend a little time developing a fan's interest in the Green Wave. We'll see. They need to start being at least a little interesting, first. If they dropped down into the FBS league, I'd be there in a heartbeat!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
SUNDAY SOAPBOX: LSU 34, Tulane 9
LSU’s 34-9 win over Tulane was far uglier than the score. If you hadn’t watched the game or reviewed the statistics, you might think LSU glided to an easy out of conference win, saving the big guns for next week’s showdown with Florida. But that’s obviously not what happened. The Tigers - mostly the offense - struggled mightily against an opponent that Vegas gave 40 points. Loyal Tulane fans with gambling tendencies made some money last night to ease the pain of what might have been…actually it was never going to be, but you can’t tell a fan that.
There will be much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands this week among the Tiger faithful - and for some valid reasons. LSU had 15 penalties, one resulting in a safety! Flynn was sacked six times and hurried another 12 or so. He looked harassed and immobile and he threw another long interception into coverage. The offensive line looked lost all of the first half and most of the game. Brandon LaFell pulled up lame after a long reception and played injured the remainder of the game. So, now our starting QB and our best two receivers are hurting. And the defense played tough but gave up above average points and offensive yards against, let’s face it, a team that ought to be playing in 1-AA. And next week, Florida comes to town with a talented team that will be hell bent on an upset to prove that their loss to Auburn yesterday was a fluke. Certainly we’d rather have had an overconfident Gator team coming to Baton Rouge next Saturday night than an angry, focused, desperate team.
There is, however, a very silver lining to yesterday’s results. I mean, besides the fact that a win is a win is a win.
First of all, LSU played what is arguably their worst football game in two years - and won easily. The depth, strength and conditioning of this team allowed them to withstand a firestorm in the first half and eventually wear the Green Wave down. Emotion can elevate a team’s play, but is almost impossible to sustain. LSU kept it’s collective cool and allowed the firestorm to burn itself out. Then, they beat Tulane in a business-like manner.
Second, the LSU defense continues to create opportunities and turnovers. Tulane punted TEN TIMES. That says two things to me: the LSU defense played a lot of football, and they played very well. Tulane also attempted a plethora of trick plays, mostly in the first half, none of which worked. Craig Steltz delivered another series of punishing hits. And the defensive front was stingy again, allowing only 88 yards rushing. Nine points is a fine result. Considering that two of those nine were given up by the offense, yesterday’s score looks even better from a defensive perspective.
Third, the running game eventually showed up. Once that happened, the offense was only stopped by themselves. Charles Scott looks very good. And who knew Trindon Holliday could not only break tackles but drag guys with him. Does he even weigh 150 pounds? What a fighter! I still think our offense is building up steam for a well-timed peak around the Kentucky game, plus or minus a game. If the line can stop killing themselves with penalties and protect the QB a little better, then I think we’re going to see an offensive surge in the second half of the season.
Fourth, although I’m not pumped about having to play a wounded and angry Gator team on Saturday, I am very pleased that we might not have to play them twice this year to make it through the SEC championship game. At this point, I’d much rather tempt fate with South Carolina or Kentucky. All of them are strong teams, but Florida is talented and dangerous, specifically on offense. And Tebow, as goofy as he is, is a dangerous QB - the kind of runner that can make the LSU defense look fallible.
So, my advice to the Tiger faithful is to look at the positives - LSU played what I hope will be its worst game of the season and won easily. Now that they’ve got that out of their system, the Tigers can chalk up a series of solid victories against a strong SEC lineup. Don’t participate in the orgy of worry that is bound to persist until next Saturday - beat it down wherever you find it.
This is a great team, with a great coaching staff. They believe in themselves and each other and they are taking this season one game at a time. The Tulane game is over. Those stupid uniforms are over. Now it’s Florida on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. It doesn’t get any better than that.
There will be much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands this week among the Tiger faithful - and for some valid reasons. LSU had 15 penalties, one resulting in a safety! Flynn was sacked six times and hurried another 12 or so. He looked harassed and immobile and he threw another long interception into coverage. The offensive line looked lost all of the first half and most of the game. Brandon LaFell pulled up lame after a long reception and played injured the remainder of the game. So, now our starting QB and our best two receivers are hurting. And the defense played tough but gave up above average points and offensive yards against, let’s face it, a team that ought to be playing in 1-AA. And next week, Florida comes to town with a talented team that will be hell bent on an upset to prove that their loss to Auburn yesterday was a fluke. Certainly we’d rather have had an overconfident Gator team coming to Baton Rouge next Saturday night than an angry, focused, desperate team.
There is, however, a very silver lining to yesterday’s results. I mean, besides the fact that a win is a win is a win.
First of all, LSU played what is arguably their worst football game in two years - and won easily. The depth, strength and conditioning of this team allowed them to withstand a firestorm in the first half and eventually wear the Green Wave down. Emotion can elevate a team’s play, but is almost impossible to sustain. LSU kept it’s collective cool and allowed the firestorm to burn itself out. Then, they beat Tulane in a business-like manner.
Second, the LSU defense continues to create opportunities and turnovers. Tulane punted TEN TIMES. That says two things to me: the LSU defense played a lot of football, and they played very well. Tulane also attempted a plethora of trick plays, mostly in the first half, none of which worked. Craig Steltz delivered another series of punishing hits. And the defensive front was stingy again, allowing only 88 yards rushing. Nine points is a fine result. Considering that two of those nine were given up by the offense, yesterday’s score looks even better from a defensive perspective.
Third, the running game eventually showed up. Once that happened, the offense was only stopped by themselves. Charles Scott looks very good. And who knew Trindon Holliday could not only break tackles but drag guys with him. Does he even weigh 150 pounds? What a fighter! I still think our offense is building up steam for a well-timed peak around the Kentucky game, plus or minus a game. If the line can stop killing themselves with penalties and protect the QB a little better, then I think we’re going to see an offensive surge in the second half of the season.
Fourth, although I’m not pumped about having to play a wounded and angry Gator team on Saturday, I am very pleased that we might not have to play them twice this year to make it through the SEC championship game. At this point, I’d much rather tempt fate with South Carolina or Kentucky. All of them are strong teams, but Florida is talented and dangerous, specifically on offense. And Tebow, as goofy as he is, is a dangerous QB - the kind of runner that can make the LSU defense look fallible.
So, my advice to the Tiger faithful is to look at the positives - LSU played what I hope will be its worst game of the season and won easily. Now that they’ve got that out of their system, the Tigers can chalk up a series of solid victories against a strong SEC lineup. Don’t participate in the orgy of worry that is bound to persist until next Saturday - beat it down wherever you find it.
This is a great team, with a great coaching staff. They believe in themselves and each other and they are taking this season one game at a time. The Tulane game is over. Those stupid uniforms are over. Now it’s Florida on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
WHEW! LSU 34 Tulane 9
Rather than waste a lot of time on this mess of a game, I think it's best to just get to the point of it.
15 penalties for 91 yards! WTFO?
6 sacks for 44 yards lost! WTFO?
It's tempting to launch into a long diatribe about the first half, and the offensive line, and the dropped balls, and the crappy passing, etc.
Instead, consider this: LSU had 15 penalties and 6 sacks and still beat Tulane 34-9. And it could have been 55-9, but Coach Miles decided to play respectfully rather than like Florida or Oklahoma. Let's say that again - 15 PENALTIES - OMG! Damn near 100 yards in penalties?
More analysis later, but for now - let's enjoy a win and hope this was the most undisciplined play we'll see all year - because the schedule from here on out is a bit challenging....
15 penalties for 91 yards! WTFO?
6 sacks for 44 yards lost! WTFO?
It's tempting to launch into a long diatribe about the first half, and the offensive line, and the dropped balls, and the crappy passing, etc.
Instead, consider this: LSU had 15 penalties and 6 sacks and still beat Tulane 34-9. And it could have been 55-9, but Coach Miles decided to play respectfully rather than like Florida or Oklahoma. Let's say that again - 15 PENALTIES - OMG! Damn near 100 yards in penalties?
More analysis later, but for now - let's enjoy a win and hope this was the most undisciplined play we'll see all year - because the schedule from here on out is a bit challenging....
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I will NOT look past Tulane; I will NOT look past Tulane; I will NOT look past Tulane...
I am having a helluva time mustering the self discipline not to launch head first into two weeks of Florida. But, hell, Tulane is there. We have to play them - in this well-intentioned but Gawd-Awful uniform, at a Gawd-awful hour. So I might as well pay attention, just in case the team gets food poisoning and we're forced to play the scout team...
Tulane's Schedule So Far (1-3)
The Greenies lost to MSU 38-17. After staying even at 17 with the Bulldogs at halftime, Tulane was held scoreless in the second half. The Greenies lost two fumbles and threw 1 pick returned 47 yards for a TD in the first quarter. Tulane was able to pass for 199 yards but only managed 44 net yards rushing against a team that doesn't rank in the Top 50 in rushing defense. On a good note, they were able to sustain 3 drives over 65 yards on MSU for scores.
Tulane lost to Houston 34-10, and were never really in the game. Once again, Tulane's ground game suffered, with a net gain of only 85 yards against a Houston defense that gives up about 160 yards rushing per game. The Greenies put the ball on the ground 3 times without losing a fumble, but threw two interceptions. Like the MSU game, they punted seven times. Houston lost to Oregon in their season opener, but has beat Tulane and Colorado State.
Tulane beat Southeastern Louisiana 35-27, largely by scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter. They trailed Southeastern 20-14 at halftime. Matt Forte had a career day, rushing for every one of Tulane's 300 yards and scoring every Tulane point that didn't get kicked through the uprights. Southeastern stayed in the game, and the stats show it was a battle. One of the Lions' touchdowns came from the return of a blocked punt. This was coach Toledo's first Tulane win.
Analysis - Sort Of
It's very difficult to seriously attempt to match up these two teams. In a sense, Tulane is like MTSU in that comparisons based on skill positions (their defensive front against our offensive line, thier receivers against our secondary, etc) are nearly impossible to make. I'm tempted to just compare our respective MSU games, but that's not even fair. The Bulldogs rebounded nicely after getting bludgeoned by LSU, and were effectively a different team altogether.
I think the best road to take for this analysis at this point is to just talk about schedule and results. The Green Wave have given up about 400 yards total offense per game to weak opponents, the strongest of which so far appears to be the MSU team that LSU crushed and held to 10 yards rushing. Conversely, LSU has manhandled two high quality programs (Va Tech and South Carolina), crushed a weak MTSU, and shut out the same MSU team that put 38 points on the Greenies.
Like every opponent LSU faces this year, Tulane will have to outplay LSU on special teams, beat LSU on turnover ratio, and hope to leverage LSU's offensive injuries to keep the score low. LSU's defense won't be giving up more than a touchdown and maybe a FG, worst case. Expecting the Greenies to hold LSU's offense to less than 10 points is a bit on the crazy side.
So, even with a heinous turnover ratio and some really big plays for the Green Wave, I don't see them seriously contemplating an actual upset. Now, a moral upset would be staying within 2 or 3 touchdowns and besting LSU's awesome defensive stats. That would correlate to a positive post-game locker room and a bounce going into the meat of their conference schedule.
From LSU's perspective, I look for Coach Miles and his staff to have the team focused yet again on the task at hand. Playing in the Dome and the uniform gimmick will help with that, as will Forte's 300 yard outing last week. I think we'll see a purposeful return to our passing game, with far fewer trick plays and a lot more success on special teams.
Bottom Line
This one will start ugly and get worse, as LSU plays tons of it's second-eleven on both sides of the ball. I think the coaching staff will resist the urge to run up the score, out of respect for our in-state rivalry. However, Tulane doesn't seem to have much on defense, so perhaps it will be tough to keep the score from creeping into the 50s and beyond.
LSU 55, Tulane 3
Tulane's Schedule So Far (1-3)
The Greenies lost to MSU 38-17. After staying even at 17 with the Bulldogs at halftime, Tulane was held scoreless in the second half. The Greenies lost two fumbles and threw 1 pick returned 47 yards for a TD in the first quarter. Tulane was able to pass for 199 yards but only managed 44 net yards rushing against a team that doesn't rank in the Top 50 in rushing defense. On a good note, they were able to sustain 3 drives over 65 yards on MSU for scores.
Tulane lost to Houston 34-10, and were never really in the game. Once again, Tulane's ground game suffered, with a net gain of only 85 yards against a Houston defense that gives up about 160 yards rushing per game. The Greenies put the ball on the ground 3 times without losing a fumble, but threw two interceptions. Like the MSU game, they punted seven times. Houston lost to Oregon in their season opener, but has beat Tulane and Colorado State.
Tulane beat Southeastern Louisiana 35-27, largely by scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter. They trailed Southeastern 20-14 at halftime. Matt Forte had a career day, rushing for every one of Tulane's 300 yards and scoring every Tulane point that didn't get kicked through the uprights. Southeastern stayed in the game, and the stats show it was a battle. One of the Lions' touchdowns came from the return of a blocked punt. This was coach Toledo's first Tulane win.
Analysis - Sort Of
It's very difficult to seriously attempt to match up these two teams. In a sense, Tulane is like MTSU in that comparisons based on skill positions (their defensive front against our offensive line, thier receivers against our secondary, etc) are nearly impossible to make. I'm tempted to just compare our respective MSU games, but that's not even fair. The Bulldogs rebounded nicely after getting bludgeoned by LSU, and were effectively a different team altogether.
I think the best road to take for this analysis at this point is to just talk about schedule and results. The Green Wave have given up about 400 yards total offense per game to weak opponents, the strongest of which so far appears to be the MSU team that LSU crushed and held to 10 yards rushing. Conversely, LSU has manhandled two high quality programs (Va Tech and South Carolina), crushed a weak MTSU, and shut out the same MSU team that put 38 points on the Greenies.
Like every opponent LSU faces this year, Tulane will have to outplay LSU on special teams, beat LSU on turnover ratio, and hope to leverage LSU's offensive injuries to keep the score low. LSU's defense won't be giving up more than a touchdown and maybe a FG, worst case. Expecting the Greenies to hold LSU's offense to less than 10 points is a bit on the crazy side.
So, even with a heinous turnover ratio and some really big plays for the Green Wave, I don't see them seriously contemplating an actual upset. Now, a moral upset would be staying within 2 or 3 touchdowns and besting LSU's awesome defensive stats. That would correlate to a positive post-game locker room and a bounce going into the meat of their conference schedule.
From LSU's perspective, I look for Coach Miles and his staff to have the team focused yet again on the task at hand. Playing in the Dome and the uniform gimmick will help with that, as will Forte's 300 yard outing last week. I think we'll see a purposeful return to our passing game, with far fewer trick plays and a lot more success on special teams.
Bottom Line
This one will start ugly and get worse, as LSU plays tons of it's second-eleven on both sides of the ball. I think the coaching staff will resist the urge to run up the score, out of respect for our in-state rivalry. However, Tulane doesn't seem to have much on defense, so perhaps it will be tough to keep the score from creeping into the 50s and beyond.
LSU 55, Tulane 3
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