BATON ROUGE, La. -- It was Oct. 22 of last season, the last time LSU and Auburn met, that we found out just how deep LSU really was.
The Bayou Bengals were without three key players that day in running back Spencer Ware and defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon, all suspended for one game for violation of the school's drug policy.
Instead of it being a devastating blow, LSU simply shrugged it off. Ron Brooks, starting for Mathieu, had an interception he returned for a touchdown. Derrick Bryant, a rarely-used senior, took the fifth defensive back role and had a sack. Little-used true freshman running back Kenny Hilliard took Ware's role as LSU's physical runner and rambled for 65 yards on 10 carries.
The Bayou Bengals were without three key players that day in running back Spencer Ware and defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon, all suspended for one game for violation of the school's drug policy.
Instead of it being a devastating blow, LSU simply shrugged it off. Ron Brooks, starting for Mathieu, had an interception he returned for a touchdown. Derrick Bryant, a rarely-used senior, took the fifth defensive back role and had a sack. Little-used true freshman running back Kenny Hilliard took Ware's role as LSU's physical runner and rambled for 65 yards on 10 carries.
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Gary Laney
Gary Laney joined ESPN.com in 2012 after spending a year and a half as online sports editor of the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate. Before that, he covered LSU sports for the Advocate. He has also been the sports editor at the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise and covered McNeese State athletics for the Lake Charles (La.) American Press. Laney currently lives in Baton Rouge. Email him at glaneyespn@gmail.com