LSU Atlanta

Mike A. Tiger’s Weekly Game Blog

Game 5:

LSU Fighting Tigers
vs.
More Cowbell State Bulldogs

First, a glance back to the Plains. Another classic LSU/AU game for the ages. General Lee is becoming our leader and Charles “Ground Chuck” Scott achieved a milestone in becoming the first LSU back to gain 100 yards at Jordan-Hare Stadium. I expected LSU to be more dominant but we saw the makings of a great team and a great year in that 26-21 comeback. And Les Miles is not just “The Hat,” he is THE MAN.

I predicted a 28-13 score last week, so had it not been for the pick 6 interception I would have been within two points of the actual tally. Which reminds all of us that we must expect some ups and downs as our QBs gain experience in the mini-NFL that is the SEC.

As for Auburn, the jury is still very much out on the Tony Franklin Offense. In fact, Tommy Tuberville has picked up a new product endorsement:

On to the next victim. Clang! Clang-a-lang!! Ye-owww! What the hell was that?

One of Skip Bertman’s sure-fire dinner circuit jokes is that “Starkville is a Choctaw Indian word for ‘trailer park’.” The pastoral paradise in the piney woods of central Mississippi was the first mental image that entered ole Mikey’s head when I set about to ponder this week’s matchup. Even when we play them at home, there’s still a musty tinged odor of propane and cow manure that wafts over Death Valley. While you wait for kickoff here’s some idle entertainment for you on the subject of Great Trailer Homes of Mississippi.

But it is unfair to say that everyone in Starkville (and Auburn, for that matter) lives in a trailer. It’s not true…there’s a waiting list.

The other Clang! signature feature of MSU culture is those Clang!
annoying Clang!damn cowbells. In 2005 the SEC acted with an artificial noisemakers ban that was supposed to cover cowbells. Apparently not. Here's some perspective. Clang!
Clang-a-lang-a-lang!!

However, let’s not look too deeply into the history books this week and fall asleep on this opponent. Regardless of the shellacking the Maroon Oyster Cult took from Georgia Tech last Saturday, this is not your father’s Mississippi State Bulldogs lead by inept or downright weird coaches like Rocky Felker and Jackie Sherrill. Their head coach no longer dresses up as a clown as a hobby and thinks castrating a bull during a team meeting is a great motivational stunt. Yes, Sherrill really did both things. Actually, one might think his clown activity was done to fulfill a community service mandate from a judge, possibly for castrating bulls for fun. But no…he just liked wearing makeup, a fright wig and big shoes and scaring the bejezzus out of sick kids in hospitals. And he saw nothing wrong with his public animal ‘dishusbandry’ displays.

Make no mistake, the new sheriff in Starkville is a man. Sly Croom doesn’t fool around. He’s one of Bear’s Boys who cut his football teeth during the best days ever seen in Tuscaloosa. There was even a player award named for him at Bama. I say ‘was’ because when Croom was overlooked in favor of Mike Shula for the Bama head coaching job a few years ago, and when Croom subsequently took the top job at Mississippi State, the small minds in Tide country removed Sly’s name from the award. Poor Sly deserves better than the fate he is fighting to avoid.

From the purple and gold perspective, we can thank God that the Dead Bear Society did not see fit to hire Croom as he probably could have revived the dead ghost and brought Bama back to national prominence. As it is, he is slowly but surely building a competitive program at Mississippi State and has already pulled off a few shockers along the way, including a victory over his crimson alma mater last year that must surely still taste sweet.

But the road to consistency is a bumpy one for Moo You. The Bulldogs laid an egg in Atlanta last weekend as the Yellow Jackets set a school record for rushing. But a couple of weeks ago the Leghumpers almost pulled off an improbable victory over Auburn in a game that ended in a 3-2 baseball score. Maybe they just needed a little more cowbell. So...which MSU defense will show up in Tiger Stadium? If Croom can get them refocused and confident that they can compete AND LSU’s offense is not mentally prepared and polished, the game has the potential for turning ugly with Tiger turnovers and sputtered drives that could open the door for a Bulldog upset.

The good news is that State’s offense is putrid. They don’t have a quarterback that could lead starving dogs to raw meat.

Prediction: LSU 48, Milkum State 3.

Okay, so after reading this you got the urge for some heavy metal music and need to relive that Saturday Night Live skit again. So here’s your cowbell fix until the southeast stadium visitor section fills up Saturday night.

“I need more cowbell, man.”

Guess what? Mikey’s got a fever and the only prescription is…more crystal BCS balls. Bulldog fans need to Fear The (Purple) Reaper…and metal detectors.

Your Pal,

Mike A. Tiger

LSU Faithful in the ATL: Please join us at one of our two view-in locations to watch Tiger Football this fall - Rio Grande Cantina in Buckhead or Buffalo Wild Wings in Alpharetta. We promise you won’t find a better viewing party with your fellow fans!