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| SJS College Football Extravaganza |
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| Boughter's Bluster | ||
Saturday Night in Death ValleyA few weeks ago, ROBERT and myself paid a visit to Baton Rouge to check out the LSU-Kentucky football game. It was certainly interesting to watch a college game in one of the most ballyhooed venues of the South; unfortunately, the excitement of the evening was tempered by the fact that the Tigers lost. Anyway, here are some details of the trip: We got into BR Saturday morning, and checked into the Hotel Radisson, where interestingly the Jackson State Football team was also staying (they were in town for a game with Southern University that night). Later that week the Hotel would be overrun by former POW�s in town for the annual POW convention, but that�s a different story. Once we were settled in, we realized that we had ample time before the 8:00 kickoff, and naturally what better way to spend the time then by watching some other college football games? Of special interest to ROBERT was the locally televised Tulane � Louisville tilt (In case you don't know, ROBERT has been on the Tulane bandwagon all season). What a great game�Both teams went back and forth, and the first half highlight was a brutal hit on Louisville QB Chris Redman. ROBERT immediately pointed out the torrent of blood that had spilled down the front of Redman's jersey. Anyway, clinging to a six-point lead in the waning moments, Tulane could not put the game away with about a 40 yard FG try, whereupon Louisville quickly marched down the field but could not score from the 2 yard line on two final, last-second plays. A good win for Tommy Bowden�s club. Onto Death Valley. We get to campus at about 7:30 or so, and after driving around for a while looking for parking, ROBERT scores a big spot in right in front of a fraternity house, deftly executing the parallel park. Into the stadium, we�re on the visitor�s side all the way up, one row from the top, at about at the 25 yard line. All in all the view of the field is pretty good. A bonus feature is about 7 vocal Kentucky fans sitting in the section immediately to our left. As the game begins I realize I�m sitting directly in front of the loudest guy in the stadium. This tiger fan, a beefy red-faced purple-clad guy in his 30�s knows all the lines of the PA announcer by heart ("Welcome�to Saturday night at Tiger Stadium") and shouts them out for the benefit of us way up in the stands. Quickly I hope for an early Kentucky lead to shut him up. My prayers are answered as the LSU kicker clanks a FG try off the upright and Tim Couch drives Kentucky for two fast scores. Meanwhile LSU sputters, but that doesn�t stop the Loud guy from screaming out his expert predictions on what plays LSU will run (e.g. "Faulk for the Touchdown" he yells before the play � Faulk then get stopped for a two-yard loss). The second quarter highlight is when Kentucky blocks an LSU extra point and takes it all the way back for the 2 points. Halftime brings a marching band and a plate of Nachos that tastes like pieces of cardboard with melted plastic poured on them. At the break, Kentucky is up 16-13 but I�m not sure which team is lucky � On one hand LSU is looking inept, lucky to be within 3 points, but on the other hand they could actually be up 17-13 if they convert the FG and extra point. When scores from around the country are announced, I stand up and cheer for both FSU and Tulane, which seems to make ROBERT uncomfortable Second Half � Into the third quarter, Kentucky looks sharp and the loud guy takes off. With each play, ROBERT starts to show his true Kentucky colors, not standing up and cheering but discretely clapping his hands, getting progressively excited about the Wildcats' chances for the upset. ROBERT says he has family from Kentucky, in case you�re wondering. As for me, I�m ambivalent about the outcome, I�m just excited about being there. But with each play I�m becoming more and more of a Tim Couch fan. The Kentucky QB is absolutely phenomenal, later I�ll read that he throws for 391 yards. But to me, sitting up in the stands, what�s amazing is the accuracy and velocity of some of his throws. He throws two 3rd quarter TD passes into our end zone that are just about perfect passes, thrown in a perfect parabola so the receiver hauls them in just before he steps out of bounds; the coverage by LSU on both TDs is OK, it�s just that Couch throws the ball right where it needs to be. Furthermore, th e 6�4" Couch proves just about unsackable; about 6 times LSU gets a great pass rush but Couch incredibly manages to twist away; a lone sack comes on botched snap, but even then I think Couch just about gets back to the line of scrimmage. Unbelievably, LSU blocks an extra point in the second half and they take it back for the defensive conversion�You won�t see that happening twice in many football games! Anyway, UK is up and it looks like LSU is done. But the Tigers get it going, and the fans get loud again. Tyler makes a throw that sets up a touchdown when the defender falls down. Tyler scores on the keeper, then runs in another one to tie the score at 36. Tyler basically proves to be the whole offense for LSU in this game. UK contributes to the comeback when Couch gets called for intentional grounding twice in a row on one series. The first call is good, the second is BS. Anyway, UK gets the ball back with a little over a minute to go�2 running plays and it looks like UK will be content to go to overtime, which I think is a good strategy as they have looked more potent than LSU all night. But this is where the LSU coaches� brains leave to beat the traffic � they have all their defensive backs up near the line on third down, and Mumme makes a brilliant call - an end-around that goes for 38 yards. In the next few plays, Kentucky improves its field position and winds down the clock � they kick the winning FG as time expires. The disappointed crowd files out of the stadium. Outside, I hear some students say, "I can�t believe we were ranked #6 a few weeks ago�Now we�ll be out of the top 25 (after losing their third straight). The interesting thing about the postgame fallout that week in Baton Rouge was the severe criticism of the coaching staff. One local commentator, when pressed, admitted that he thought LSU would not be able to get to the next level with Gerry DiNardo as head coach. Excuse me, but DiNardo inherited a program that had six straight losing seasons, went 7-4-1, 10-2, and 10-3 in his first 3 seasons as head coach, essentially resuscitating the program, even beating Florida last year and returning the Tigers to national prominence (witness this year�s top 10 preseason rank). Never mind the fact that the 2 of the 3 losses were by a combined 4 points, and the other was a tough 22-10 loss at Florida (since then they have lost again to Mississippi - I imagine the "for sale" signs have been planted in DiNardo's yard). Some people are never satisfied. Where the hell do these fans think they�re going to find these instant miracle worker coaches that will take their programs to the "next level"? It get s really old sometimes�but that�s the subject of some other commentary. |
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