LSU Tigers

LSU fans almost forgot what a regular-season loss felt like for a bit. Considering the undefeated 2011 regular season and the 10-2 seasons that bookended it in 2010 and 2012, the Tigers haven't had to deal with defeat too often recently.

That's what made two huge miscues so glaring in LSU's 14-6 loss to Florida on Oct. 6 -- it was the first time the Tigers hadn't overcome their setbacks in 18 months.

Tuesday's post trumpeted Odell Beckham Jr.'s heroics against Ole Miss, so it's only fair that today we recall perhaps the biggest play of the Tigers' loss to the Gators, in which Beckham made a monstrous play that quickly turned into a disaster.

With LSU trailing Florida 7-6 late in the third quarter, Zach Mettenberger found Beckham on a 3rd and 7 from the LSU 21. Beckham took off along the west sideline for a 56-yard gain -- all the way down to the Gators' 23 yard line. The gain would have set the Tigers up in the Florida red zone with a chance to take the lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Instead, Florida safety Matt Elam interjected. The junior caught up to Beckham and ripped the ball from the receiver's grasp, and the Gators recovered.

That would have been a major turning point all on its own, but Florida wrested control of the game following the turnover. The ensuing possession was a smashmouth 11-play, 77-yard touchdown drive that featured nothing but running plays. Gators running back Mike Gillislee plowed into the end zone six minutes later to put Florida up by eight with just 13 minutes to play.

LSU had three more possessions in the game, and not one of them crossed midfield -- Beckham's fumble ended the Tigers' final scoring threat.

In a game where LSU managed just two field goals, this was the second time the Tigers goofed up a chance at a game-changing touchdown. A fumble by Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel set LSU up on the Gators' 7-yard line with two minutes until halftime. A Spencer Ware run got the ball down to the 4-yard line, but that was as far as the Tigers could go.

After Mettenberger threw incomplete on second down, the Tigers called two timeouts in a row. The third down play looked destined to be an unlooked-for jump pass from Terrence Magee, but the receiver wasn't there and Magee plowed forward for no gain. The Tigers settled for a field goal and did not come close to the end zone again.

Plenty of fans questioned the playcall at the time, especially considering a touchdown would have given LSU a 10-0 lead at half. The loss was the first of two painful setbacks for LSU in 2012.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, we'll take a daily look at a key LSU player. We'll examine how he has done and what his challenges are for the Clemson game.

Odell Beckham, WR, Sophomore

Accomplishments: Beckham emerged as LSU's primary big-play threat, catching 40 passes for a team-high 673 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had the team's long catch of the year, a 56-yarder. An elusive speedster, Beckham's talents translated to special teams, where he returned two punts for touchdowns. His 89-yard return for a score against Ole Miss was a key play in The Tigers' come-from behind win, salvaging senior day for LSU. Beckham averaged 9.7 yards per punt.

Shortcomings: Even after the departure of Rueben Randle, Beckham did not become a significantly more prolific pass catcher in his sophomore season. He hauled in 40 passes as a true freshman starter for the Tigers, but only had one more catch in his 12-game sophomore season, though his yards-per-catch average increased. He went through an early slump, particularly in the season's second game where he struggled with fumbles and drops against Washington. He seemed to regain his confidence late in the season.

Against Clemson: While LSU's passing game surged in the last four games of the regular season, Beckham didn't see much increase in production as Jarvis Landry seemed to be a the main beneficiary of Zach Mettenberger's new-found passing proficiency. He had 27 catches for 420 yards in the first eight games and 14 for 253 in the last four. He'll look to become a bigger part of the Tigers' resurgent passing game in the bowl.

 

At the Shrine Bowl, Miller Safrit talks with LSU commits Greg Gilmore and Lewis Neal to discuss their respective futures in Baton Rouge.

Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News has an analysis of the 2012 college football attendance figures, and any guesses on who had the largest increase this season in the SEC by percentage?

It was Vanderbilt, which won eight games for the first time in 30 years. The Commodores averaged 37,860 for home games, which was a 15 percent increase.

The largest decrease for an SEC school was Kentucky, which averaged 49,691 fans and dropped 17 percent. The Wildcats finished 2-10 and fired coach Joker Phillips.

Tennessee also experienced a 5 percent drop in attendance. The Vols averaged 89,965 fans in what was their fourth losing season in the past five years. Derek Dooley was fired after three years on the job.

Even Florida, which went 11-1 and is headed to the Allstate Sugar Bowl, saw its home attendance drop by 2 percent.

The SEC led the nation in attendance with an average of 75,444 fans per game, but that was the league's lowest mark since 2007.

As Solomon points out in his piece, a face-value ticket for an SEC game reached $100 for the first time this season. The most expensive SEC ticket four years ago was $65, and that was the Alabama-Auburn game.

Below is a rundown of attendance figures for all 14 SEC schools:

• Alabama: 101,722 (minor decrease)
• Georgia: 92,723 (minor decrease)
• LSU: 92,626 (minor decrease)
• Tennessee: 89,965 (5 percent decrease)
• Florida: 87,597 (2 percent decrease)
• Texas A&M: 87,104 (minor decrease)
• Auburn: 82,646 (4 percent decrease)
• South Carolina: 80,001 (1 percent increase)
• Arkansas: 68,046 (2 percent increase)
• Missouri: 67,476 (9 percent increase)
• Ole Miss: 57,066 (1 percent increase)
• Mississippi State: 55,628 (minor decrease)
• Kentucky: 49,691 (17 percent decrease)
• Vanderbilt: 37,860 (15 percent increase)

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, we'll take a daily look at a key LSU player. We'll examine how he has done and what his challenges are for the Clemson game.

Bennie Logan, DT, Junior

Accomplishments: Stout and with long arms, Logan is an established run stuffer who has some ability to make an impact in the passing games. Fairly active for a 4-3 tackle, Logan had 36 tackles -- five for loss -- broke up three passes and picked up two sacks. He has a knack for getting his hand on footballs, with three passes batted down plus a blocked kick this season. A second-team all-SEC pick, Logan projecs to be a possible first-round draft pick in the 2013 draft.

Shortcomings: For a potential first-round draft pick, Logan isn't dominant as a pass rusher. In fact, when LSU goes to a three-lineman look on passing downs, it's usually Logan who gets subbed out for the extra defensive back. He has hardly put up the classic LSU dominant defensive tackle numbers players such as Glenn Dorsey and Drake Devis up up before him.

Against Clemson: This is a last chance for Logan to make an impression before he likely leaves for the riches of the NFL. That should give Logan plenty of motivation heading into the Chick-fil-A Bowl. A dominant performance in Atlanta can go a long way of improving Logan's draft status, making him a player who could safely fall in the first round. If he has a shaky game, it could send him to the second round.

It wound up being the night that the college football world turned upside down. Just one week after the SEC's national championship hopes had been declared dead, upsets of Oregon and Kansas State changed everything and gave fan bases across the South at least a glimmer of hope.

The mayhem of Nov. 17 might have extended to Baton Rouge if not for the heroics of LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who rescued the Tigers from an embarrassing setback to Ole Miss.

The Rebels got the better of LSU for three quarters, as they rode a four-touchdown performance from quarterback Bo Wallace and a staggering 161-yard day from wide receiver Donte Moncrief. Wallace connected with Moncrief on their second touchdown of the game -- a 30-yard score -- to break a tie and again to put Ole Miss ahead 35-28 with 11 minutes to play. To make matters worse, Zach Mettenberger left the game with an apparent injury as the Tigers went three and out on their next possession.

That's when Beckham took over to make the play of his season. The LSU defense forced an Ole Miss punt with nine minutes remaining. Beckham fielded the ball at his own 11-yard line running to his left and slipped an Ole Miss tackler. From there, he reversed field to the right and dodged another man at the 25-yard line. With a convoy of blockers, the sophomore reached the east sideline and was off to paydirt -- teammates waving him all the way home.

The touchdown knotted the score at 35-35, and LSU would not trail again. Five minutes later, with Mettenberger back in the huddle, the Tigers marched 64 yards to a game-winning Jeremy Hill touchdown run.

Any LSU punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss is going to draw comparisons to Heisman winner Billy Cannon and the Halloween punt return against the Rebels in 1959, but the similarities between Beckham and Cannon are downright eerie. Both touchdowns camp against the same opponent, they both unfolded from south to north at Tiger Stadium and they both went for 89 yards.

More importantly for the Tigers, Beckham's return salvaged what was left of the high hopes for LSU in 2012. Had the Tigers lost, their (admittedly small) stake in the SEC West race would have been finished, and their odds of reaching a BCS bowl as an at-large bid would have been miniscule. Neither of those goals was realized by the end of the season, but Beckham's punt return extended them into the final week of the schedule.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, we'll take a daily look at a key LSU player. We'll examine how he has done and what his challenges are for the Clemson game.

Jarvis Landry, WR, Soph.

Accomplishments: LSU's leader in receptions (52) and co-leader in touchdowns (4) saw his production go way up in the last third of the season. In the Tigers' last four games, Landry caught 29 passes -- more than half of his catches -- for 320 yards and three of his touchdowns. Among his scores was the one-handed, 22-yard touchdown grab against Arkansas that showed he has grown past his reputation of just a sure-handed possession option and moved into the "playmaker" category. Landry is also a tremendous perimeter blocker and a good special teams player, both as a blocker and in kick coverage.

Shortcomings: In the Tigers' first eight games, he had just 23 catches, mostly for modest gains as Odell Beckham, Jr. held the role as the Tigers' primary deep threat. At times, Landry appeared to be in a funk, just as prone to dropping passes as any of LSU's other struggling receivers. It's yet to be seen whether Landry has truly become a big-play threat or if he was going through a hot streak.

Against Clemson: Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his staff will have had more than a month to digest Landry's increased role in LSU's passing game when the two Tigers meet in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Landry and quarterback Zach Mettenberger might have to make subtle adjustments if they are to continue their connection in the bowl game. A big performance in the bowl will have Landry earning plenty of preseason accolades entering his junior year.

GeauxTigerNation will be counting down the five biggest moments from LSU's 2012 regular season. This is the first of five.

It all seems a bit surreal now -- LSU was coming off a 14-6 loss to Florida in which the Tigers ran for a mere 42 yards. South Carolina was riding into Tiger Stadium on an all-time high after walloping Georgia, 35-7. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 3 in the country, and the outlook for the Tigers' offense was grim.

Of course, with their backs against the wall the Tigers' offense exploded for 408 yards in a 23-21 win against South Carolina. Zach Mettenberger threw for a good-but-not-great 148 yards, and Drew Alleman connected on three of four field goals.

(Read full post)

Four-star prospect Ricky Seals-Jones (Sealy, Texas/Sealy), the nation's No. 1 athlete and top recruit in Texas, will announce his commitment at 10 a.m. CT today. Seals-Jones will choose between Texas A&M and LSU. RecruitingNation reporter Sam Khan Jr. will be at Seals-Jones' announcement.

Follow his updates below.