By Fred J. Demarest
LSUsports.net
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For a team that has won only three SEC games in the past two seasons, the LSU Tiger football team appears extremely confident.
“We’re not as far off as people think,” said LSU offensive tackle Louis Williams at SEC “Kickoff 2000” in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday.
Williams makes his argument on the basis that over the past two seasons the Tigers have lost seven games in which they either led or were tied in the fourth quarter.
Take last season for example. LSU finished with a 3-8 record, but three plays separated them from a team with one win in league play and a team that was bowl eligible.
1) October 2, 1999- Athens, Ga. – Georgia linebacker Will Witherspoon bats down a Josh Booty pass on a two-point conversion with :18 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs hold on to defeat the Tigers 23-22.
2) October 23, 1999- Starkville, Miss. – Rod Gibson of Mississippi State plunges for a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal for the game-winning touchdown with 1:39 to play to give the Bulldogs a 17-16 lead. Replays,
however, show that Gibson’s knee was clearly down before he reached the end zone.
3) November 6, 1999- Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Alabama’s Marvin Constant and Reggie Myles combine to stop Josh Booty inches from the goal line on the final play of the game to preserve a 23-17 victory for the Tide.
Three plays, none of which went LSU’s way, that were the difference between 3-8 and a possible winning season. To compound things further, Georgia and Alabama went on to New Year’s Day bowl games, while Mississippi State also went bowling. Clearly the Tigers had the ability to compete at a high level, what they couldn’t do was sustain that level for 60 minutes.
“Last year we broke down in the fourth quarter both physically and mentally,” said Williams. “It was a combination of conditioning and just not knowing how to finish an opponent off. The new coaching staff has made both a priority and they’ve restored a great deal of our confidence.”
Williams credits new strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt with an invaluable program that will keep the Tigers fresh for 60 minutes.
Offensively Williams oozed with enthusiasm in anticipation of the more wide-open approach that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher will likely take this year.
“With the weapons that we have I think Coach Fisher will open things up a little bit more,” said Williams. “Nowadays you have to be able to score a lot of points in the SEC and we have all the weapons to be able to do that if we use them.
“We have three great candidates to start at quarterback, whichever direction they choose to go, we’ll be successful. We have as many solid receivers coming back as you’ll find in the conference. Dominack Davis could really break out this year in the backfield, we’ve got some weapons and we intend to use them.”
In 1998 when the Tigers went to Birmingham for media day, all the questions were about expectations and that LSU was the team to beat in the SEC West. The Tigers answered none of those questions on Tuesday.
“We’re quite content being a dark horse in the SEC West,” added Williams. “There are one or two teams that have received a lot of attention, and justifiably so, but don’t take us lightly because we’re going to surprise people. We may not win every game this year but with our new attitude and approach, every team we play will know they’ve been in a game with us when they leave the field.”