See You Later Gators!!

Week 6: October 6, 2007
LSU-28, Florida-24
Death Valley, Baton Rouge

Happy Birthday Lauren!!



Game Recap:
Words cannot describe how great of a game this was. It will go down as one of the greatest ever played inside Death Valley. Maybe it will come to be called the 4th down game, after LSU converted 5 of 5 on 4th. LSU needed every single one of them to secure a win. It was certainly a gamble, especially when a field goal ties the game and sends you to overtime in your own stadium with all of the momentum. Les Miles will forever be known as Coach Lesticles after this game. With his reputation and coaching legacy on the line, he shows the nation that he is playing for a title. So far this season, he has out-coached Frank Beamer, Steve Spurrier, and Urban Meyer. Yes, he out-coached all of them despite having a better team. If you’re not yet on the Les Miles bandwagon, you’re about to miss the bus.

Tiger Stadium was at its best Saturday night. Another record crowd of 92,910 watched the game inside the insane-asylum known as Death Valley. Let me tell you something, it was LOUD! Really really freaking LOUD! The great atmosphere was seen across the country as CBS drew the highest tv rating of any college football game on any network this season. Also, LSU campus police estimated the on-campus crowd to be between 160,000 and 170,000 people. That’s insane!

As for the game itself, it was a fight to the death. LSU trailed the entire game and finally grabbed a lead with just over 1 minute to play. The offense once again relied on the running game to move the ball. The offensive line was able to get a good push and played great. The running backs, especially Jacob Hester, pounded the ball consistently. The passing game was ok. Flynn had a few bad throws, but had a good night. It appeared as though his ankle injury had no affect on his game. Lafell continued to drop passes but he did make several big catches on 3rd downs. Demetrius Byrd continues to improve each game and I’m excited to see him develop. I hoped Terrance Tolliver would have played more but the true freshman is not ready yet. Defensively, LSU bent but did not break. With the exception of one blown coverage, LSU’s defense dominated Florida in the second half. They again had trouble containing Tebow, who is a machine. LSU did hold Florida to 162 yards below their season average, which is great. Several big turnovers proved to be the difference in this game.

Game Stats:

Rushing: LSU-247, UF-156
Passing: LSU-144, UF-158
Total: LSU-391, UF-314

Play of the Game:
If I had to choose just one, it would be the 4th down touchdown from Matt Flynn to Demetrius Byrd. Flynn was flushed from the pocket and rolled around the right side and finally found Byrd who had broken off his route and found a hole in the UF defense.

Game Ball:
I just have to give out 2 game balls this week. Coincidentally, these are my two favorite players on the team.

The offensive game ball goes to Jacob Hester for his absolute refusal to go down when the game is on the line. Hester had 106 yards on the night. Had he only 105 yards, LSU would have lost the game. Les Miles owes this man a steak dinner. Hester definitely improved his draft stock on Saturday.

The defensive game ball goes to Craig “The Steltz Bomber” Steltz. He had 13 tackles and provided a few huge hits. He has been dropping bombs all season. If he’s not an All American, I don’t know who is.

Week 6 Games of the Week:
Stanford def. (2) USC, 24-23
Illinois def. (5) Wisconsin, 31-26
(10) Oklahoma def. Texas, 28-21
(15) Virginia Tech def. Clemson, 41-23
(4) Ohio St. def. (23) Purdue, 23-7
(11) South Carolina def. (8) Kentucky, 38-23
Tennessee def. (12) Georgia, 35-14
(17) Missouri def. (25) Nebraska, 41-6
Notre Dame def. UCLA, 20-6

Did you know?
The injury to Jacob Hester at the end of the game was fake. Yes, he faked the injury to allow LSU more time to find his replacement on the PAT after his chin strap broke. So in addition to the game ball, you have also earned an oscar.

Did you know Part II?
Timmy Tebow’s phone number was released to the LSU fans two days before the big game. He received several calls and text messages. I’m sure they were just to wish him luck and encourage him for the game. Tebow acknowledged the calls after UF’s first touchdown when he ran to the student section and made several phone gestures. The student section returned a few gestures of their own. Don’t stomp on our eye, and don’t taunt the student section. You will pay a high price.

New Top 5:
LSU is now the unanimous choice for #1. LSU also holds the longest winning streak in the nation at 13. Here is the top 5:
1. LSU
2. California
3. Ohio St.
4. Boston College
5. South Florida

Tailgating record broken:
I don’t have any official stats, but Bailey Lynn Mackles has set a new record as the youngest tailgater ever. At 9 days old, young Bailey has been officially crowned as the most hardcore tailgater ever. Too bad she slept through the whole experience.

LSU vs. Auburn:

The game next week has been picked up by ESPN for the 8 pm spot. Another long day of tailgating.