*CB Ahmad Carroll ankle Questionable for Friday's game *DE Wes Murphy knee Questionable for Friday's game ILB Sam Olajubutu suspension Questionable for Friday's game QB Michael Robinson wrist Out for the rest of the season. TB Dedrick Poole hamstring Out for the rest of the season. FB Brandon Holmes knee Out for the rest of the season. DE David Thompson knee Expected to miss the season. LB Jimarr Gallon legal Has been dismissed from the team. LB Clark Moore broken leg Sidelined indefinitely. ____________________________________________________ State of the Hogs: LSU By Clay Henry Date: Nov 24, 2003 Here are some thoughts from the publisher on this week's trip to Baton Rouge. State of the Hogs is sponsored by Arkansas National Bank. Defensively, I worry about LSU's running game gashing us with our thin and inexperienced linebackers. Even Caleb Miller could be dubbed inexperienced because he's playing middle linebacker and not strong linebacker now with Sam Olajubutu out. Desmond Sims can be had with counters because he hasn't totally gotten to the point where he sticks with his keys and keeps his eyes from straying because of fakes. LSU has not been a solid running team this year. It has done more damage with the pass than with the run, but that can change if it thinks we are vulnerable to the run. I thought we were vulnerable against Mississippi State but the Bulldogs just couldn't sustain any drives because of turnovers. They did find running lanes, though, and gashed us there in the first half. The game got out of hand because we got the last possession of the first half and the first in the second and scored touchdowns both times. From there, MSU just began to throw and that was fine with us because we got to play our preferred package, the nickel and dime sets. However, until then, MSU was able to run on our base set, our eight-man front. Will Sam Olajubutu play against LSU? That to me is the key to the game. He is solid against the run and gives us the ability to play two solid inside linebackers. I do not think Desmond Sims is quite ready to play against LSU's running game. That's a tough issue for a coach wanting to make a statement in regards to the drinking issue. Does he give in and protect the team? Or does he stick to his guns and discipline Olajubutu for another game in hopes of sending a message? Of course, the other key question concerns the health of Ahmad Carroll. Can he play this week and play effectively? I don't know the answer and there may not be one until Friday. He sustained a rolled ankle and a bruised knee in the second half against MSU. If anyone can come back from those injuries and do the hours upon hours of rehab and play this week, it is Batman Carroll. Carroll has a great work ethic and is usually the first one to the Broyles Center each day and among the last to leave. He is dedicated to being ready each week and will do what it takes to get himself fit. The Hogs will need Carroll. LSU's three great wideouts -- Michael Clayton, Devry Henderson and Skyler Green -- will be tough for the Hogs to track without Carroll. Whether or not Carroll will be full speed will have a big bearing on how effective the Hogs can be against the LSU passing game.
Arky ranks 47th in the country vs. the run. Run, run, run, run then let Matt get in a groove via play-action, perhaps?
I can see how he would think that. We don't dominate in the running game on offense in many of our games, but we have in a few.
http://nola.com/lsu/spnet.ssf?/default.asp?c=advance&page=cfoot/stat/ncaa-team-rushing.htm Whoa, HOSS! The gentleman does know what he's talking about based on his "PERCEPTION" of what a "SOLID" running game is. Your indifference to the opinions of others is noted and your rushing to "Snap Judgment” of others' posts is in evidence here. The man "CLEARLY" backed up his statement with the fact that LSU has done more damage with the pass ... quite an astute observation as LSU passes for 250 ypg & rushes for 172 ypg. What is a solid running game from this man's perspective? Is it 323 yards per game ----------> Navy, #1 in America? Is it 62 yards per game------------> Army, #117 in America, Is it 172 yards per game---------->LSU, #39 in America? Is it 240 yards per game---------->Arkansas, #5 in America? Aha, the MAN is an Arkansas & Cedric Cobbs fan, and his rushing attack is #5 in America. That is his perspective. He sees LSU as a passing team ... and we are ... we use the run TO SET UP THE PASS ... and strive for balance. I can forgive the man for his use of "NOT SOLID" in defining LSU's rushing attack. But I don't dismiss the rest of his post. The rest of the post was excellent as I learned the following: #1 That Nutt still may play Sam Olajubutu … this is really shocking and I don’t want to speculate here. We’ll see! #2 That LSU could have some inside running success against the backups And, hey, it’s the SEC West Championship game for LSU Sometimes a Man’s life depends upon a small scrap of information … Clint Eastwood “For a few Dollars More” 1965.
Quoted by Sabanfan: LSU has not been a solid running team this year. This statement tells me he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. If we had a solid running game we could've run out the clock against Ole Miss and Eli would've had another opportunity to win the game. I cringe to think how badly we would be beating football teams if we had a solid running attack. We might still be undefeated..........
I think that our incosistent running game has two main causes. Early in the season we did not realize the Vincent was our best back along with the ability of Broussard. Second, our running game needs Mauck to have a good game. When Mauck has an off game like at Ole Miss and Florida, it is difficult to dominate with the run. Three interceptions kill drives and force us to pass to keep up. Incompletions kill drives and put the offense in 3rd and long passing situations.
Keep in mind that the play of the O line wasn't near as good as was in Vincent's and Broussard's coming out games. I think they will be back on track on Friday. I think that the flu had a bit to do with thier poor performance.
