Upset Saturday

Week 5: September 29, 2007
LSU Defeats Tulane, 34-9
New Orleans Superdome

Game Recap:
We all watched the game. It doesn’t take a sports genius to figure out that LSU was not mentally prepared for this game. I could write for days about LSU’s troubles in the first half, but let’s not. Instead, let’s just call Saturday’s game a learning experience and move on.

Although Flynn had another bad game, he did throw for a career high 258 yards. He could have had a lot more if he hadn’t missed wide open receivers down field on multiple occasions. He did not have any designed run plays this week, but that was probably for Florida’s benefit. Perrilloux looked good running the ball, but didn’t pass much. Again, this could be to bait Florida next week.

The Superdome could possibly be the worst atmosphere for college football that I have ever witnessed. I was in favor of the 10 year series with Tulane. But after this weekend, I would prefer if we set fire to that contract. The crowd of 58,769 mostly hungover LSU fans was as flat as the team, me included. I just couldn’t get into it. Maybe it was because of the new uni’s, or the 11 am start, or the 11,000 empty seats, or the fact that the outcome was never in question despite trailing at one point. I don’t know.

Bob Toledo and his trick plays didn’t work, but they did excite the Tulane faithful (all 58 of them). Give credit to Tulane for their intensity. They didn’t get the memo that they are woefully inferior to LSU. If LSU had just one percent of the energy and fire that Tulane had, we’d have won by 70 points. Instead, we were flatter than a 2-day old beer. Seriously, the Tulane fans went absolutely crazy on every LSU miscue. They reacted as though they won the Superbowl on almost every play in the first half. It was annoying, and somewhat sad. They honestly believed that they had a chance to win. Of course, that was never the case.

It was kind of like watching a kid’s T-ball game. The Tulane fans were happy just to see their players make contact with the ball and make it to first base. There were countless mental mistakes by LSU. Some of our players were picking flowers in center field and looking forward to the pizza party at Chucky Cheese. The shortstop had his glove on his head and was picking his nose. Meanwhile, the ball is rolling to the fence and Tulane actually takes a lead. What the hell? That’s not supposed to happen. The Tulane fans are climbing the fence and setting off fireworks. I think Bob Toledo got a gatorade bath and a contract extension at halftime. It was the definition of a moral victory for Tulane. And they deserved it for the effort and intensity that they showed throughout the first half. But it’s time now for Tulane to return to their rightful place in college football, an afterthought. You had your 15 minutes in the spotlight and you made the most of it. Congratulations!

Game Stats:
Rushing: LSU-134 Tulane-88
Passing: LSU- 257 Tulane-139
Total: LSU- 391 Tulane-227

Game Ball:
Charles Scott gets the game ball this week for his performance against Tulane. Scott had 6 rushes for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Scott looked especially good on his 35 yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Injuries:
Once again, LSU avoided major injury. The only minor injury that I’ve heard of was Brandon Lafell’s strained achilles tendon. Lafell was able to return to the game.

Also, Marlon Favorite sat out the Tulane game with an ankle sprain. Coach Miles did say that he could have played if he’d been needed. Doucet also sat out with an injured ankle but he may be back for the Florida game.

Wave Buster:
I am happy to report that I single handedly prevented “The Wave” from forming in section 613. Right after the LSU field goal to put LSU ahead 13-9, some idiotic lady tried with all her might to start the wave across several sections. She didn’t know that I would rally the fans in an anti-wave protest. Seriously lady, we’re beating Tulane by 4 points and you want to do the wave??? Not gonna happen on my watch!!

We’re Going Streaking:
LSU has won 12 straight games, good for the 3rd longest winning streak in school history. LSU also has the second longest winning streak in the nation behind Wisconsin (14).

Whack Stats:
- LSU had -11 yards rushing at halftime. That’s whack!
- LSU committed 15 penalties, 11 of those in the 1st half. That’s whack!

Week 5 Games of the Week:
Auburn def. (4) Florida, 20-17
Kansas St. def. (7) Texas, 41-21
Colorado def. (3) Oklahoma, 27-24
(6) California def. (11) Oregon, 31-24
(1) USC def. Washington, 27-24
(8) Ohio St. def. Minnesota, 30-7
(9) Wisconsin def. Michigan St., 37-34
Maryland def. (10) Rutgers, 34-24
Georgia Tech def (13) Clemson, 13-3
Illinois def. (21) Penn St., 21-20
(18) South Florida def. (5) West Virginia, 21-13
Florida St. def. (22) Alabama, 21-14

Upsets:
It was certainly a wild weekend of college football with several major upsets in the top 15. Teams ranked #3, #4, #5, #7, #10, #11, and #13 all lost throwing the polls into disarray. National Title Contenders Florida, West Virginia and Oklahoma lost leaving them with a slim to none chance of making it to New Orleans on January 7th.

LSU is #1:
Perhaps the biggest shock of the week came Sunday afternoon when the AP released their Top 25 poll. LSU has leapfrogged USC and is now the #1 team in the country! This is surprising since USC won their game this weekend. LSU will play a regular season game ranked #1 for the first time since 1959. LSU remains #2 in the coach’s poll. Here is the complete AP Top 25.

1. LSU
2. Southern Cal
3. California
4. Ohio St.
5. Wisconsin
6. South Florida
7. Boston College
8. Kentucky
9. Florida
10. Oklahoma
11. South Carolina
12. Georgia
13. West Virginia
14. Oregon
15. Virginia Tech
16. Hawaii
17. Missouri
18. Arizona St.
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. Rutgers
22. Clemson
23. Purdue
24. Kansas St.
25. Nebraska

Gameday to LSU:
ESPN Gameday will still be coming to LSU for this week’s game against Florida despite Florida’s loss to Auburn last Saturday. I hope they set up near the PMAC and forget about the Parade Grounds location. CBS will also be on campus for a college football preview show of some kind.