News#2 LSU Tigers Travel to the Plains to Play Auburn in the Tigers SEC Opener! Saturday 6:00 ESPN
The 2012 LSU tigers have been dominant on their way to a 3-0 record. The 3-0 record however should not surprise anyone. LSU has had a very workable schedule through early September. The first SEC road challenge awaits at Auburn Saturday. While the Auburn tigers have struggled lately LSU must still bring their A game especially since they will be on the road facing a conference opponent.
Auburn still ranks 59th in total rushing yards despite their sloppy play so far in September. The Auburn tigers quarterback is sophomore Kiehl Frazier who has 34 completions out of 67 attempts for 449 yards and 2 touchdowns. Their rushing offense is led by sophomore running back Tre Mason who has 44 rushes for 221 yards and 1 touchdown. Senior running back Onterio McCalebb is a very dangerous player who has rushed 31 times for 214 yards and a touchdown although he is the tigers veteran back with 2,230 yards in his career. He will need to have a big game if the tigers from the plains of Alabama are to stay with the #2 ranked tigers of LSU.
#3 LSU Wins Big Over the Idaho Vandals 63-14
Perhaps the tiger defense should not have given up 14 points to an inferior opponent but its hard to complain when the offense put up 63 points. Lets also include the fact that the tigers seemed unfocused at times and perhaps looking ahead to their first SEC road trip next Saturday.
Freshman running back Jeremy Hill added 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter as the tigers cruised. Kenny Hilliard led the rushing attack with 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. Odell Beckham Jr. led the receivers with 73 yards on 4 catches. Jarvis Landry had a 7 yard reception before halftime and Kadron Boone had a 17 yard catch for the tigers first score. Russell Shepard set a career high with 4 catches for 68 yards.
Zach Mettenberger overcame a interception early to throw for 17 of 22 for 222 yards. Mettenberger threw 2 touchdowns to add to the 222 yards which is a career best.
Third ranked LSU set an NCAA record with 40 straight non-conference wins during the regular season. The tigers are expected to jump up the rankings to #2 in both polls.
#3 LSU Tigers Host the Idaho Vandals a Week Prior to the Start of SEC Play! Saturday 7:00 ESPN3
The tigers again face a highly undermanned non-conference opponent a week before they go on the road and open their 2012 SEC schedule against a struggling Auburn team that fell to Mississippi State a week ago. Before they head to the plains they must take care of the 0-2 Idaho Vandals.
The Vandals are led by junior quarterback Dominique Blackman who has completed 30 passes in 37 attempts for 352 yards and 1 touchdown in the young season. Their leading rusher is senior running back Ryan Bass who has 66 yards on 23 rushes and no touchdowns. They also rely heavily on junior running back James Baker who has rushed for 32 yards on 11 attempts. Idaho is led in receiving by junior Najee Lovett with 10 receptions for 123 yards and also by junior Jahrie Level with 10 receptions for 119 yards.
LSU Blasts Washington 41-3! Tigers Win in a Dominating Performance!
The only points for the high powered Washington offense came after Odell Beckham Jr. fumbled the opening kick off to give the huskies the ball at the LSU 20 yard line where Washington gained 4 yards before kicking a 34 yard field goal. After that the huskies didn’t get any closer to the end zone than the LSU 30 yard line.
Former tigers Tyrann Mathieu, Shaquille O’neil, and David Toms watched as Zach Mettenberger was on target for 12 of 18 throws for 195 yards and one touchdown although many of those that weren’t completed were drops by the receivers. Alfred Blue rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. Kenny Hilliard ran for 2 scores .
Through 2 games Zach Mettenberger has completed 31 passes in 45 attemps for an average of 68.9% for an 8.6 yard average and has 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Alfred Blue leads the team in rushing with 30 carries for 224 yards a 7.5 yard average and has 1 touchdown while Kenny Hilliard has 26 carries for 180 yards a 7.2 yard average and has run for 4 touchdowns.
#3 LSU Tigers Host the Washington Huskies Saturday 6:00 ESPN
Those who know college football say that the most improvement happens from week one to week two. That makes sense because a team gets its first chance to play against another team and not just to scrimmage each other as is done in the spring and in fall practice.
The Tigers now have 1st game mistakes out of the way and are more accustomed to playing at real game speed. Zach Mettenberger got his feet wet against North Texas last Saturday in his first start as a division 1 college football quarterback and first start as a tiger. Several newcomers like Deion Jones, Kwon Alexander, Jalen Mills, Jalen Collins saw their first view of tiger stadium as well. I look to see tremendous improvement from the veterans and the newcomers this week against a pass happy Washington husky team. The defensive backs both the veterans and the young freshman will be tested early and often. Improvement in the offensive line, quarterback play, defensive line, and linebackers should be clear.
The Washington huskies (1-0, 0-0 PAC 12) were less than impressive in their opener against San Diego State. Junior quarterback Keith Price threw for 213 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions last week in the huskies 21-12 victory. Price has also thrown for 3,440 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in his career. Sophomore wide receiver Kasen Williams led the huskies in receiving yards with 6 catches for 75 yards and 1 touchdown while sophomore tight end Austin Seferian Jenkins caught 8 passes for 73 yards. Sophomore running back Bishop Sankey gained 66 yards on 22 carries and had 1 touchdown.