LSU Atlanta

The Fightin’ MAD LSU Tigers

vs.
The Troy Trojans

First, a look back at Saturday and thoughts of what might, no, should have been:

Stinging from a loss isn’t so bad when you know your team gave it their all. The Tigers made the LSU family proud and Death Valley rocked like the Roman Coliseum. Our damn strong team beat the Crimson Tahd in every possible statistic but two: interceptions and points. Unfortunately, the final score is the only one that counts. Bama knows they got outplayed in almost every way and snuck out with a gift win.

Mikey feels badly for a young redshirt freshman quarterback who is trying his best to get up to speed, who shows moments of brilliance and promise, only to plunge into disaster time and again. Jarrett Lee has the heart of a Tiger but he is a cub. It is important that he shows improvement in the remaining schedule or he may be overtaken by others waiting in the wings.

Mikey also feels frustration, anger and a just a speck of pity for another senior quarterback who had the world in the palm of his hand at LSU and let it slip away. The young man could have steered us to consecutive SEC Championships and another trip to the BCS title game and cashed in for millions in the NFL. POOF!

Irony of ironies that his place of exile is at a college in the state of…Alabama.

Time to shake it off. There were many positives to build on from the game. A defense worthy of having “LSU” in front of its name reappeared. We put up enough offense to win the game, but tip your cap to the opposition for seizing on the opportunities they got and for holding the rope when the pressure was on. And no one can say we got outcoached. Circle the game in Tuscaloosa next year when their quarterback position will have a huge question mark.

And if you are like Mike, you are already holding your nose and pulling for the reptiles to chew on the bones of the Dead Bear Society in Atlanta.

Have fun at the Sugar Bowl Tahd. Spend lots of money in the French Quarter and watch out who you kiss on St. Ann Street. Mikey is looking into his two crystal balls and sees none in the future for Bama in January!

But LSU has a lot more exciting football left and hopes for another ten win season with a bowl victory. We look now to our next opponent…

The Bayou Bengals versus the Trojans!

Ah…my mind boggles at that delicious thought. Then I shake myself out of the daydream. Not those Trojans. Pete Carroll will never agree to play LSU home-and-home in the regular season. So I guess the Trojans of Troy, Alabama will have to do. Besides, Petey says the Pride of the Slac Ten has their hands full with “ridiculously tough” conference competition.

Okay, they beat Ohio State. But as for the rest of their conference blowouts, color me unimpressed. And don’t tell me we couldn’t hang with USC this season...or any other season. LSU would play at its best for that matchup.

So we turn to hosting the Southern boyz of Troy. This week’s “Pay To The Order Of” opponent could very well bring on Auburn déjà vu since LSU was a party to the Woe Eagles’ experiment this season with the spread offense a la Tony Franklin. Franklin was Troy’s offensive coordinator before his disastrous short stay on the Plains so there is little that our defense hasn’t already seen, and the overall talent running it is not SEC caliber.

The spread is all about putting the best talents “in space” where they can make plays. But Troy does not have the talent to find enough open spaces in Tiger Stadium. Except, perhaps, in the visitor seating section. And there will be no gimmickery or surprises -that Trojan Horse thingee is too tall to fit through the Visitor’s tunnel.

However, this is a pretty solid 6-3 team with losses to Ohio State, Oklahoma State and (duck Saban!) UL Monroe. QB Levi Brown leads a fast-paced offense with a balanced attack and they should be able to get some points on the board in the early going. Watch for LSU’s adjustments and overall depth to tighten the noose as the game progresses.

Watch for Troy to utilize the “no huddle” strategy in an attempt to limit LSU’s ability to substitute players and to create mismatches with our defense. “No huddle”? Hey Trojan Man, try “no offense.” Mike A. Tiger bets in the 4th quarter you will plop on the bench and mutter “No mas!”

Prediction: The only spread that matters for this game is the point spread. The big question is “Will the Trojans cover?” (Okay, did you really think I could resist at least one condom joke?) Troy is a scrappy bunch and will get a few points but the story will be about Tiger domination. LSU 35, Hell’n of Troy 10.

Hey Atlanta are Tigers! Why watch the game at home when you can come watch and cheer with your friends at either Rio Grande Cantina in Buckhead or at Buffalo Wild Wings in Alpharetta. Use the pay-per-view bucks for food and brew instead!

Your Pal,

Mike