(9/4/00)
There are a number of looming questions surrounding next Saturday’s game between the LSU Tigers and the Houston Cougars.
Will this be the first true test for the LSU football team in the 2000 season?
Perhaps. The Tigers obviously out-manned Division I-AA Western Carolina in the season opener. But head coach Nick Saban pointed out in Monday’s media luncheon that he was more concerned with his player’s response to the expectations of effort and execution asked of them.
“The thing that we were most impressed with about our team in the last game was that no matter at what point in the game it was, we played beyond the scoreboard,” coach Saban said.
“I could not tell by watching the film what the score of the game was. That was our goal, it was what we wanted to get accomplished by our team, and that was to have a game both on the scoreboard and a game on the field. The game on the field was to play tough for 60 minutes, whether it meant special teams, offense, or defense. We accomplished that, and that’s good.”
Are the returning players viewing this game as an opportunity to avenge a disappointing loss to the Cougars last season?
Nov. 13, 1999 marked the final game of the Gerry Dinardo era. Houston dominated every aspect of a 20-7 victory last season at Tiger Stadium. LSU could muster only 31 net yards rushing on 17 attempts. In spite of combining for 296 net passing yards, the Tigers threw four interceptions, accumulated five total turnovers and lost in time of possession by almost 15 minutes.
Saban knows that some of his returning players are looking for revenge, but his focus for this week’s game is with his team and helping them to play winning football.
“We’re not worried about anything that Houston did or didn’t do in their first game,” explained Saban. “We’re most interested in what our team needs to do to get better. We can’t control the thoughts of their team. We can only control the thoughts of our players. We’re not concerned about what happened last year. We’re concerned about how this team needs to play, and how we need to prepare for this football game.”
The Cougars are facing a situation similar to the Tigers this year. Houston replaced last year’s head coach, Kim Helton, with first year head coach, Dana Dimel. Dimel spent the last three years as the head coach at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The 2000 Cougar coaching staff returns only two coaches from last year’s staff.
These and other questions will be answered Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. The Tigers will wear purple jerseys for the first time since Nov. 12, 1994, the last home game under head coach Curley Hallman.
Productive and successful seasons are built one game at a time. This weekend’s game is just another stepping stone towards having a successful year and building a successful program.
“What happened in the past will have no effect on the outcome of this game,” Saban said. “Unless we allow it to.”