BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive end Melvin Oliver and Grambling State quarterback Bruce Eugene were the voting winners Monday in the final selection of Louisiana Sports Writers Association state college football players of the week.
Oliver paced the LSU defense that held the league’s top rushing team to 200 yards below their season average as the Hogs managed just 35 yards on 34 carries. Oliver led the Tigers with nine tackles and three sacks, totaling 17 yards in losses. Two of his three sacks came in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. The three sacks ranks as the second-highest total for a single-game in school history and gives him eight for the year, seventh in school history.
Eugene quarterbacked the Tigers of Grambling to a 50-35 win over arch-rival Southern in the annual Bayou Classic, while Oliver helped the Tigers of LSU capture the Southeastern Conference Western Division and a spot in Saturday’s league championship game, 19-17, over Arkansas.
Eugene, from New Orleans, and playing in his final Bayou Classic that was forced to Reliant Stadium in Houston because of the Superdome damage, completed 22-of-45 passes for 418 yards, including six scores, against just one interception. He also ran the ball 10 times for 63 yards and a score, earning honors as the game’s Most Valuable Player.