1. Finally we got to see some second-string offensive linemen. Collin's looked especially good. I think Stud should rotate more offensive linemen in every game. It works for the defensive linemen, were we have better depth because of it. 2. Gore never really cut loose, but he looks like he could be gone if he finds a hole. But he seems kind of small to take the pounding as an SEC running back. 3. Northwestern was overmatched, but they played quite well and played very hard. They did not roll over and we did not totally dominate. Peveto may have fond his niche. 4. The Northwestern Band was large and played very well at halftime. Their flag corps was a bit unusual with about a half-dozen very large women and 3 or 4 males. 5. We still need to find a kicker who can kickoff to the goal line. 6. The backup punter did well, averaging 41 yards and he did a beautiful pooch punt inside the 10. 7. We got far too many offsides penalties on defense.
To point #5... Found this interesting in the paper this morning... "Wing hurt, kicking changes LSU punter Brad Wing was held out with a leg injury. He was seen on the field after the game with his left (kicking) leg in a protective stocking. D.J. Howard, a senior walk-on from West Feliciana, took Wing’s place and averaged 41 yards on three punts with a long of 53. Howard also took over kickoff duties after place-kicker Drew Alleman had trouble getting the ball deep in LSU’s season opener against Oregon. Howard did a bit better, averging 62.5 yards on eight kickoffs against the Demons while Alleman averaged 60.1 yards on eight kickoffs against Oregon." I had no idea Wing was hurt last night. The announcers were pretty clueless most of the night and I didn't mention hear them mention that Wing was out - they even made a big deal about how Wing's father played in the NFL, etc... Well, Howard did an outstanding job for us IMO. I especially liked how we were finally getting some kick-offs deep to the goal line and in the end zone. My hope is that we keep Howard on Kick-offs and keep Alleman on for FG's and PAT's. I think it's really important that LSU gets a kicker to the point of getting Touchbacks on a regular basis. Other SEC teams can do this and LSU has had a history of having short kick-offs that tend to kill momentum and puts our Defense on their heels a bit. This would be 100% eliminated with a Touchback - hopefully Howard is the guy to do it! PS - that 53-yard punt that Howard booted towards the end of the game was a beauty! The only thing better was seeing Simon CREAM that poor soul when he tried to field it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
