by Chris Macaluso
LSUsports.net
The LSU Football team made history last Saturday.
The Tigers 30-28 win over Alabama marked the first time since 1969 the Tigers have beaten the Crimson Tide in Tiger Stadium. It also gave the Tigers their sixth win of the year, guaranteeing LSU just its fourth winning season since 1989. The win also made LSU bowl eligible for the first time since the 1997 season.
If that was all LSU Coach Nick Saban and his team were playing for this year, there would be no point in playing the two remaining games of the season.
Saturday’s win kept the Tigers hopes of appearing in their first ever Southeastern Conference Championship game alive by tying LSU (6-3) at the top of the SEC West with Auburn (7-3). Both teams have 4-2 conference records, but Auburn holds the tie-breaker advantage by beating LSU 34-17 Sept. 16. Auburn must lose one of its last two games, either at home to Georgia or on the road at Alabama, for LSU to have a chance to play in the SEC Championship Game.
“We all need to decide whether we’re satisfied with where we are right now, or do we want to take ownership of what we have a chance to accomplish,” Saban said.
The next step in the “ownership” process for the Tigers will come this Saturday when LSU travels to Oxford, Miss. to take on the Ole Miss Rebels (6-2,3-2). The Rebels are coming off a 38-24 win at Arkansas Saturday despite being out gained by the Razorbacks on offense 393-303.
“They (Ole Miss) have as hard a playing and as well coached a team as we’ve played all year.” Saban said. “They’ve got some very good players on offense, a good quarterback and two runners, a good offensive line and they’re very good at running down hill on you as a team. I think it’s going to be a challenge for us to be able to stop them.”
Stopping Ole Miss’ offense begins with stopping tailback Deuce McAllister, who is averaging 134.6 all-purpose yards per game. McAllister recorded his third 100-yard rushing performance last week with 131 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas. McAllister leads the conference in scoring with 14 TD’s on the year.
“He (McAllister) is a combination of a guy who is an excellent return man and he has fantastic hands as a receiver, he’s got size and outstanding speed,” Saban said. “He’s not a straight-line guy. He can make you miss. He’s got a little power and if he hits the corner you’re not going to catch him.”
LSU will counter with its potent offensive attack which is ranked third in the SEC after a 408 total yard performance against Alabama. Tiger quarterback Josh Booty earned SEC Player of the Week honors for his performance last week. He completed 18-of-31 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns. Tiger receiver Josh Reed hauled in seven of those passes for 129 yards and two TD’s while tight end Robert Royal caught three passes for 71 yards and the other two touchdowns.
Booty has led the Tigers to three-straight conference victories, the first time and LSU team has accomplished that since the 1988 season.
“We’re happy that Josh was named conference player of the week, he’s played very well for us three weeks in a row,” Saban said. “There were a lot of good plays made by a lot of different players and it was a tough physical game. Our guys played hard and I’m proud of them.”
But Saban said he is looking for improvement. He said he was disappointed his team let Alabama score late in the game to cut LSU’s lead to two points. He said he was also disappointed his team trailed Alabama in the third quarter because of playing “flat.”
Saban said the Tigers can’t afford to make the same mistakes this week, especially on the road. LSU is 0-2 this season on the road, losing to Auburn and Florida. This week’s game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 at 8 p.m.
“I think playing on the road is a psychological disposition of how you have to approach things,” Saban said. “You keep focussing on the process of what you have to do to win. The noise and the crowd and all that doesn’t have anything to do with the game unless you let it.”