LSU Alumni - Las Vegas

Knowing the Enemy - BCS National Championship

Game 14

Alabama (11-1)
LSU (13-0)

Absolutely Nothing
by Bryan Follins

At this point there is nothing left to say about LSU vs. Alabama. Both teams know everything it is to know about each other. The fans know about all it is to know about each other. But maybe there is just a little bit more to bring to light. On Monday, January 9th, 2012, Alabama will the play the Purple and Gold for the BCS National Championship. Right?

Fail

Why?
Because the LSU Tigers are 13-0. They have done everything necessary to win the national championship. Absolutely nothing can change that.

Why?
No matter who the Purple and Gold would be playing, they would still be the national champions, by virtue of the BCS' own raggedy point system. Absolutely nothing changes that.

Why?
Alabama has lost once to LSU. Even if Alabama wins, all it would mean is that each team has beaten each other once. In addition, the Purple and Gold have played an extra game, called the SEC Championship, and beaten a good team in the process. Absolutely nothing changes that.

Why?
After watching Stanford vs. Oklahoma State, does anyone really think any of those two teams would have a chance against the Purple and Gold? It would be like someone taking a peashooter to a gunfight. It would have been interesting to watch however. But we will never know, thanks to the BCS. Note: It must be stated that if Oklahoma State would have been playing in the crumbling Big 12 Conference in prior years, there would have been a Big 12 Championship game. A victory there would have put them in the national championship. But, we will never know. will we? Absolutely nothing changes that.

Why?
Both the BCS and NCAA are bumbling, stumbling, fumbling, inept, money grubbing entities. Schools are moving around and changing conferences as fast as greased lightning. At the moment none of these entities seem to have the power, or even care, about stopping it. Note: The SEC has three schools with an identical mascot, if you humor Auburn. At the moment absolutely nothing is changing that.

Why?
How do say the 2011 national champions of major college football?
The LSU Tigers. And nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, will change that.

Out.

More Bowl Madness--Bowling in 2011

More Bowl Madness--Bowling in 2011
by Bryan Follins

Mediocrity continues to ruin the NCAA major college bowl picture, as 6-6 teams continue to go Bowling. However, more maddening is this year a 6-7 team was invited to play in a Bowl.

On Dec 31st, at 3:30 PM Eastern Time, Illinois (6-6), will face UCLA(6-7) in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco. Instead of fans paying to see that game, Bowl officials will probably have to pay fans to see the game.

How does a 6-7 team get into a Bowl? How does a 6-7 team which fires its head coach get into a bowl? If the school has fired its head football coach, who will coach the team in the game? Who will want to watch a 6-7 team? Who, on the 6-7 team even wants to play in the game? To make matters worse, anyone who has lived in the Bay Area knows how schizophrenic the weather can get up there this time of year. The day of the game can be bright and sunny, or it can be a day which makes Transylvania look like Miami Beach. Who wants to take a gamble going to a game like that?

It is a mad mad world.

Why should the lunacy stop there? Our crack staff has made a pitch for yet more Bowls. They are as follows:

The 0-12 Bowl--Sponsors, date, place, and teams of the game to be determined. This Bowl is for the two worst football teams in major college football. The BCS should be forced to choose the teams.

The Crackpot (or Crack Pipe) Lunacy Bowl--Sponsors and teams to be determined. The contest will be played on Dec 30th, at night in Bozeman, Montana. There used to be a time when all Bowl games were played in Southern and Western cities, where the weather would be decent. Not any more. Bowls are now being played, outdoors in December, in areas like Idaho, Washington D.C., and New York City. So why not give Bozeman a crack, if you will pardon the pun. The reward for the winners will be the world's biggest crack pipe, or the world's biggest stash of synthetic marijuana. Or, better yet, just pass out the stuff to everyone in the stadium before the game, because it can get real brisk in Bozeman on a December night.

Police Blotter Bowl-Penn State vs. Penn State. Enough said.

Disintegrating Conferences Bowl--Sponsors, place, and time to be determined. Teams from the crumbling, and crummy Big Twelve, Mountain West, and Big East conferences will be chosen for this Bowl.

Is not it amazing how so many Bowls can proliferate on a major college level, yet nobody can come up with a sane solution to determine a national champion at the major college level?

Of course we ALL know the real reason for these Bowl games. M-O-N-E-Y. Check out the payouts at the links below:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Rose_Bowl

blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2011/11/bowl-payouts-projected-around-281-million.html

Imagine going to sunny Southern California to play in the Rose Bowl for a 21.8 million dollar payout. Who cares about winning, especially a Big Ten school. Laying out on a Southern California beach for 10 days beats digging from under two feet of snow in Wisconsin, Michigan or wherever. The winner and loser takes the money and runs, or limps home.

It's a mad, mad world.

Knowing the Enemy - Georgia SEC Championship

Knowing the Enemy
Game 13
Georgia
by Bryan Follins

Georgia Record (Overall 10-2, SEC, 7-1)

The Georgia Bulldogs are the SEC East champions. They have won 10 straight games. They are 7-1 in the SEC. With all the talk going on about an LSU-Alabama rematch, the Bulldogs have mowed down the SEC East.

Georgia is second in total offense in the SEC, averaging 404 yards per game. They are averaging 223 passing yards per game.
Sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray is second in the league in total offense averaging 236.9 yards per game, and fresh off a great performance against Georgia Tech, where he threw for four touchdowns.
One of his favorite targets is freshman Malcolm Mitchell, who is second in the SEC with 73.7 receiving yards per game.
Freshman running back Isiah Crowel is third in the SEC in rushing, averaging 85.8 rushing yards per game. Crowel has been fighting an injured ankle lately. He did not play in the Georgia Tech game. Crowel and fellow freshman running back Carlton Thomas have also had disciplinary problems this year.

Georgia is fifth in the country in total defense. Two big reasons for that are sophomores Jarvis Jones and Baccari Rambo. Jones has 13.5 sacks on the season, which rates third in the nation. Jones is also tied for seventh in the country in tackles for losses with 13 on the season.
Rambo has seven interceptions on the season. This is good for second in the country.

Jones and Rambo are play makers. It would behoove the Purple and Gold to know where these two are at all times.

One more step to take, one more test to pass for the Purple and Gold.
Flea collars...check
Rabies shots...check
Win the game...do it.

Sources:

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2011&div=IA&rpt=IA_playerpasssacks&site=org&div=IA&dest=O

Knowing the Enemy - Arkansas

Knowing the Enemy
Game 12
Arkansas

by Bryan Follins

Arkansas Record (Overall, 10-1, SEC 6-1)

The Petrino Machine

Arkansas comes to Tiger Stadium Friday with a chance to cause total anarchy in the BCS, if the BCS is not already in total anarchy. The men from Fayetteville, AR are riding a seven game winning streak.

The Petrino Machine is not as good as LSU or Alabama defensively, but it has been good enough to put itself in position for a shot at the national title. This was Auburn's formula last year.

The Petrino Machine is seventh in the SEC in total defense, mainly because of its rushing defense. It gives up 166 yards rushing per game. It yields four yards per rush. It gave up 291 yards rushing against Auburn, 222 yards on the ground against Vanderbilt, and 197 rushing yards to Alabama.

The Petrino Machine's favorite gadget is the pass. Currently it leads the SEC in total offense, including scoring offense and pass offense.

Junior quarterback Tyler Wilson is the SEC's total offense and passing leader. Wilson averages 269 passing yards per game, and has accounted for 13 touchdowns. He can spread the ball around. His two favorite targets are seniors Jarius Wright and Joe Adams.

Wright leads the SEC in receptions and receiving yards per game. He averages 5.3 receptions per game and 78.6 yards in receiving per contest.

Adams should be familiar to fans of the Purple and Gold, for he has terrorized the Tigers in the past with big plays. Adams is second in the SEC in punt return average at 11.9 yards per return.

Anybody in the Petrino Machine's passing attack is dangerous, including Greg Childs.

Junior running backs Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo share time in the Petrino Machine's running scheme. Both can catch the ball. Johnson is second in the SEC in All-Purpose yards, averaging 150 per game. He can catch passes and return kickoffs very well. This is something the Purple and Gold should be very aware of on Friday.

The Petrino Machine has a good kicker in Zack Hocker, who is in a dead heat with LSU's Drew Alleman as the league's best kicker.

Sophomores Travis Swanson and Alvin Bailey anchor the Petrino Machine's offensive line.

Swanson is a center and Bailey is a guard.

As odd as it sounds, if the Purple and Gold does not win this game, their national title hopes, as well as BCS Bowl game hopes, may go up in smoke. That would be a shame, because they have played so well all year.

And, it should give them added incentive to through one big monkey wrench into the Petrino Machine.

Knowing the Enemy - Ole Miss

Knowing the Enemy
Ole' Miss
Game 11
by Bryan Follins

Record
(2-8 Overall, 0-6 SEC)

Rock Bottom

There is really not much good to say about Ole Miss. They have won two games all season, and they sport a five-game losing streak coming into the contest Saturday. Three of those five losses have come on their home field. A few weeks back, they managed to give Arkansas a scare, before losing 29-24 at Oxford.

Ole' Miss has started 37 freshmen (24 true, 13 redshirt) at one time or another this season. Freshmen make up at least 40 percent of their roster.

How did Ole' Miss become so bad? Just two years ago, it looked as though the Johnny Rebs were ready to become a force in the SEC West. Some bad recruiting led to a fall off in talent, and the ultimate demise of current head coach Houston Nutt, who was fired at the end of this season.

As a team Ole' Miss ranks at or near the bottom in every team statistical category in the SEC.

Senior running back Brandon Bolden, one of the team's and league's brightest players two years ago, has fallen off the map, with the rest of the team.

The main challenge of the Purple and Gold Saturday is to focus, and not give Ole Miss any reason to think they will win.

Source:
http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-footbl/ole-m-footbl-body.html

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/2011/Internet/conf%20stats/2011000000911PD.HTML

Knowing the Enemy - Western Kentucky

Knowing the Enemy
Game Ten
by Bryan Follins

Western Kentucky
Record: (5-4 Overall, 5-1 Conference)

Western Kentucky comes to Tiger Stadium with a five game winning streak. The Hilltoppers are currently third in the Sun Belt Conference. They will arrive in Tiger Stadium Saturday with the fourth leading rusher in the nation.

Senior running back Bobby Rainey has rushed for 1169 yards this season. Rainey averages 130 yards rushing per contest on the ground, at 4.48 yards per carry. He has rushed for 4,016 yards in his career.

WKU also brings a good defensive player. Sophomore linebacker Andrew Jackson is tenth in the nation in tackles for losses with 17, 10 unassisted. He leads the Sun Belt Conference in total tackles, and has been the team's leading tackler in seven of nine games.

The big prize is right front of the Purple and Gold, if only they take it one game at a time.

Knowing the Enemy - Alabama

Knowing the Enemy
Game Nine
by Bryan Follins

Alabama (8-0 overall, 5-0 SEC)

Stare Down

Here it is. The Purple and Gold will face the best team it has faced all season. Alabama will face the best team they have faced all season. It is what it is.

Alabama, like LSU, wants to dominate their opponents at the offensive and defensive line of scrimmage. Both teams are very good at doing it.

Alabama has four players on the offensive line who were starters in the 2010 season. They are: center William Valachios, 6'5, 330 pound right tackle D.J. Fluker, a 2010 freshman All-American, right guard Barrett Jones, a 6'5, 311 pound 2009 freshman All-American, and 6'6, 320 pound left guard Chance Warmack. These fellows make it a lot easier for the rest of the Tide offense.

Junior running back Trent Richardson is the seventh leading rusher in the country. He averages 6.6 yards per carry, and 125.6 yards per game. Richardson leads the SEC in all-purpose rushing at 155.5 yards per game. He is second in the nation in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game. He is a brutal down field runner. It may be best to try and turn him into a horizontal runner.
Richardson's backup, Eddie Lacy, is not bad, averaging 8.0 yards per carry. Lacy has had leg injuries this season.

Senior wide receiver Marquis Maze is third in the league in receptions per game, averaging 12.4 yards per catch. He is also a dangerous punt returner. Fellow senior wide receiver Darius Hanks averages 12.8 yards per catch this season.

All of this makes sophomore quarterback A.J. McCarron's job easier. McCarron is third in the SEC in total offense. Like most quarterbacks in Nick Saban's system, McCarron is not spectacular, but very efficient.

Alabama is number one in the nation in total defense. They are first in the land in rushing defense, scoring defense, and pass efficiency defense. Over their last nine games, they have allowed a total of 311 yards rushing, and two rushing touchdowns.

The Alabama defense is good because they use three space eating defensive lineman: 6'1, 310 pound senior noseguard Josh Chapman, 6'4, 319 pound junior defensive end Jessie Williams, and 6'3 285 pound junior defensive end Damion Square. These three tie up offensive linemen, allowing linebackers Donta Hightower, Nico Johnson, and Courtney Johnson to run wild on defense.

Mark Barron is a strong defensive back, who like most Alabama defensive backs, is strong and physical.

A few things the Purple and Gold should remember:

Getting the W is the most important thing. It does not have to look pretty, just get the W.

Also, the loser of this game will not be out of the national title hunt. It will all depend on what the BCS wants to do with Boise State.

So, here it is, the ultimate stare down. Who will blink first? We will know Saturday.

The NGOC Doctrine

THE NGOC Doctrine
By Bryan Follins

Due to the severe disgust and angst building about the lack of LSU night football games, we thought it may be a good idea to create a new football conference. It would be called “The Night Games Only Conference” (NGOC). Schools in this conference will play football games only on Saturday nights. LSU should initiate this project by breaking away from the SEC, and CBS, while they are at it. Everybody else is breaking away from one conference or another these days, why not LSU?

Prerequisites for prospective conference members (including LSU):

Games WILL ALWAYS be played on a SATURDAY NIGHT! This rule should be made a federal, state, and local law. If possible it should be inserted in ALL BOOKS of worship. An additional amendment to the U.S. Constitution should be created. Any conference member or athletic official which breaks this rule should be put out in a buoy in the Caribbean, at the HEIGHT OF HURRICANE SEASON.

The location of the school does not matter, just so long as the games are played at night. If a team does not like playing at night, they may be convinced to do so out of sheer greed.

THE NGOC should have as many networks as possible: TNT, TBS, Lifetime, the SciFi Channel, HSN, QVC, WGN, HBO, Showtime, SpikeTV, TVLand, the Weather Channel, AMCTV, and ION TV for starters. All games will be broadcast simultaneously over each network. Broadcasters are optional. Instant replay, halftime highlights, and a scoreboard show are mandatory.

In the NGOC the, NCAA and BCS are obsolete. Theyareobsoletetheyareobsoletetheyareobsoletetheyareobsolete.

Prospective teams:

Brigham Young—Each conference should have a team everyone else utterly despises. So, BYU, TAG YOU’RE IT!! LOLOL. Note: Only the BYU football team should be allowed in the NGOC. All other BYU sports teams should be banned. BYU has this nasty habit of not participating in any sports activities on Sundays, i.e. basketball, track and field, baseball, golf, tennis, etc. This can cause havoc with other teams in the conference, not to mention the loss of possible revenues.

Tulane—Every conference should have a conference patsy. So Tulane, TAG YOU ARE IT!! Note: Tulane should be let in on one condition, that they play LSU once every 67 years.

Florida-They seem to like night games.

Kansas City Chiefs—with apologies to ex-LSU players on the team

University of Texas—Hereafter known as “Greedy Texas.” It should be noted that Greedy Texas has great football tradition. But Greedy Texas also has another tradition, just being plain greedy. The problem here is that Greedy Texas wants the lion’s share of their conferences’ profits. This may explain why the old Southwest Conference (where they played), and the Big 12 (where are they playing), has either crumbled or is crumbling. Maybe Greedy Texas can convince everybody else to be greedy, and that would solve the whole problem.

Navy—Every conference needs a strong Navy.

Notre Dame—Another team everybody hates, but they do have NBC, which would give other conference members even more exposure, while kicking ND’s butts at the same time. Can you imagine a yearly BYU-Notre Dame game? It would be like one of those Ultimate Cage Fighting contests. People would pay to see that.

The NCOG is still excepting member applications.

Copyright 2011 Bryan Follins. Republication of this doctrine for a profit is prohibited. Any violators will be ridiculed, flogged and chased around the field by Mike the Tiger, at halftime, during a SATURDAY NIGHT GAME, at Tiger Stadium.

P.S. The conference championship will always be played ON A SATURDAY NIGHT!!

Knowing the Enemy - Auburn

Game Eight
By Bryan Follins

Auburn Overall Record (5-2), SEC (3-1)
Fourth Week of Deadly October

Big Game before the Big Game

Auburn invades Tiger Stadium this Saturday with a chance to create a log jam in the SEC West. The Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagles are only one game behind the Purple and Gold and Alabama in the SEC West. One more victory makes Auburn bowl eligible. From a statistical point of view, Auburn is not a good defensive team. But they were not a good defensive team last year either. The Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagles are ranked 10th in total defense in the SEC. They give up 182 yards per game rushing, and 4.4 yards per run.

In their loss to Clemson this season, they were outscored 31-3 in a critical stretch of the game. In their loss to Arkansas, they gave up 31 straight points in one stretch, even though that was in part to offensive turnovers. So, when they give up points, they have given them up on a grand scale.

They do have some good players on defense. One of them is sophomore defensive end Corey Lemonier. Even though Lemonier is not at the top of the SEC pile in overall tackles, he is second in the league in tackles for losses with ten. Lemonier leads the league in sacks with six. Defensive back Neiko Thorpe leads the Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagles in tackles with 50, 27 solos. This is not a good sign when a defensive back leads a team in tackles. Thorpe is a senior. There are not too many seniors found in the Auburn starting lineup.

Offense is another story. Auburn actually runs the ball better than the Purple and Gold. Their big problem is at quarterback. Hopefully it will stay that way for another Saturday.

Besides the quarterback position, dangerous players abound. One is sophomore Michael Dyer, who is third in the SEC in rushing with 752 yards on the year. Dyer averages over five yards per carry. Last season, as a freshman, he was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player in the BCS national championship game. He rushed for 143 yards against Oregon. Another potentially lethal player is running back Onterio McCalebb, who also averages over five yards per carry. McCalebb is also a good pass catcher.

Junior Emory Blake led the team in touchdown receptions last season with eight. This season Blake has 333 total yards in receptions. He averages 17.5 yards per grab. Another player to watch is junior tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen, who seems to have a knack for making big catches in big football games. He lines up in unusual formations in the Auburn offense, which allows him to sneak out on routes with minimal coverage.

Auburn is third in the SEC in rushing, piling up 197 yards per game. They have playmakers, but fortunately their biggest playmaker is quarterbacking the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. But, they should not be taken lightly.

Sources:

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/2011/Internet/conf%20stats/DIVISIONB.HTML

http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/2011-media-guide.html

What college football team has the ONLY electronic comic strip in college football?? The LSU Tigers of course!! See what the “Eye of the Cat” has in store for Auburn Saturday at:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eye-cat-tiger-footbal-2011/id457405456?mt=8

A Letter from Joe Alleva

Dear Tiger Fan,

It is truly unfortunate that, for the first time in 76 years, LSU will not play a Southeastern Conference game at night in Tiger Stadium the entire 2011 season.

Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium is a tradition for our fans, a staple in college football and one of the unique experiences in all of sports. It is the hallmark of LSU football, a brand for our athletics program. It is revered by football pundits and feared by Tiger opponents.

But with success comes a price, and in this case the price is afternoon kickoffs instead of night football. CBS will always take the game it deems to be the most interesting and that will often involve teams that are playing at the highest level. LSU is ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings at this moment and that puts Tiger Stadium in the cross-hairs of any TV network.

LSU is fortunate to be a member of the Southeastern Conference. It is the most successful and prestigious conference in America. It is the home of the last five college football national champions – and numerous national champions in other sports – so Tiger fans regularly get to witness the very best college football has to offer.

I am sure you are aware of the many recent changes in conference alignments. LSU is fortunate to be in a viable, stable and successful conference and not in the volatile situation many high profile universities find themselves in right now.

As a conference member, LSU must abide by the television contracts that have been negotiated by the SEC. The financial benefit of being a member of the SEC helps make the LSU athletics program as successful as it is while also remaining self-sufficient – using no state tax dollars and no student fees. Without the television revenue from the SEC, this would not be possible.

It is important for you to know two things:

1. LSU cannot refuse to move a game. If we are requested to move a game for television, under the existing TV contracts, we must do so.

2. LSU receives no additional money for playing a game in the afternoon. Whether kickoff is in the morning, afternoon or night, LSU receives the same money from the SEC.

I think I speak for everyone at LSU that we would rather play all of our games at night. But to remain a competitive program we must be a member of a conference and therefore must abide by its TV contracts. So I hope you will come to Tiger Stadium on Saturday afternoon and make it just as loud and intimidating as it would be after dark. There is no place like Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, but there is no place like Tiger Stadium on Saturday afternoon, either.

As always, we welcome your comments at athletics@lsu.edu. Unfortunately we cannot answer every e-mail we receive, but please be assured they are all read.

Geaux Tigers!

Joe Alleva
Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics