Should be a good game. I don't think it will be a blow out and I think SC hangs around and makes it a game till the 2nd half. TC did make a good point about Jarred Mitchell and returning punts. He muffed one against MTSU didn't he that went out of bounds. That worries me a little, a new inexperienced WR returning punts. I don't underestimate Spurrier and have lots of respect for him, and he will come up with a good game plan and the players will be ready to play. But in the 2nd half LSU pulls away. I have a feeling though that turnovers are coming our way. LSU has hardly had any TO's and I'm a little nervous about that. Maybe we can get them out of our system in the Tulane game.
I just don't see USC scoring much on this defense. They've managed 28 against USL, 16 at UGA, and 38 against S. Carolina State. Not very impressive. This defense will rattle Mitchell. They'll be lucky to get more than one score on this defense. I'm a little more worried about the offense with Flynn questionable and Doucet out. While RP played well against MTSU, I'm not so sure he'd have the same success as a starter against a decent SEC defense right now. He stared down his WRs all night, which is fairly common for a young QB, but a problem nonetheless. Doucet being out will allow the defense to take away Lafell and force the young WRs to step up. I think we'd manage to score enough to win, but not a dominating performance. The other issue is the potential for heavy rain. Anything can happen should it rain throughout the game. Defense will do its job. Offense will be good enough. A comfortable win ... LSU 24 USC 3
I tend to agree w/ TC...not so much w/ the Florida point, as that game is still 2 weeks away. Anyway, I see S. Car scoring at least 13 to 17 pts. They should be able to put together enough "conventional" drives to produce 1 TD and 1 FG. Since we're facing OBC, I predict 1 TD or 1 FG made possible by some sort of misdirection trick play, something that works b/c of over-pursuit by the defense. 27-14 sounds about right. If it rains heavily, however, it'll be more like a 20-9 LSU win. No S. Car TDs in the rain, as there is now way they'll run the ball down the field and sustain a drive.
I think SC will make it a fine game. Darth Visor has the stuff and gets the most out of his teams and they want the SECCG this season really badly. LSU should prevail but I don't expect a blowout. Our strength of schedule requires our opponents to remain in the top-20 for a good BCS ranking. We need to win convincingly, but not blow everybody out of the water and out of the rankings.
Spurrier said in his press conference that this is not a must win for his team, and that they are still in the chase if they lose. That tells me that Spurrier will save any misdirection plays for his East opponents. The rushing game is the only thing South Carolina's offense has going for it so far this season, and LSU is allowing less than 2 yards per carry. I see 10 points being the absolute most that South Carolina's offense will put up against us.
TigerWins made a good point about RP staring down WR's. It was obvious. I think he could be the type like JR and try to force it in there. JR did this a lot in his first year of starting. Hopefully RP will get out of that habit. I'm not worried about the defense. Just the offense is a cause for concern. The Oline still has to perform like they did with Vtech, no offsides in a hostile stadium, the running game must be established since we my rely on RP and we are short of WR's. I really kind of hope Flynn starts for a series or 2 and then is taken out by CLM. I don't see how a high ankle sprain can heal that fast. He doesn't need to tweak it and not be 100% for UF. We had no running game against UF last season, and that killed us. We don't need be short a starting QB.
Just a note to those on the board who say there's no way USC scores 17 on the Tiger D. I foresee USC having a few short fields because of turnovers. A Perrilloux INT and a Mitchell muff may be what the doctor ordered for Darth Visor. Also, watch the Tiger penalties. They tend to be mentally sluggish during the day. Anyone recall the 2003 day game in Death Valley vs. the Gators?!
You're paranoid about this. We are 28-2 at home since the start of '03. One day game loss to Florida and one night game loss to Tenn.
