DEVILLE: Tigers Take Right Turn At Perilous Crossroads

Les Miles and the Tigers survive potentially program-altering defeat in rally over Troy

by Matt Deville
Tiger Rag Senior Editor

(At left) There weren’t many fans left to see Jordan Jefferson and the Tigers rally back over Troy (Photo by Steve Franz/LSU)

First off, it was cold – really cold.

Then there is the fact it was the final non-conference game of the season, one which was displaced by Hurricane Gustav from week two of the regular season.

Factor in that LSU’s chances of winning the SEC Western Division title were dashed a week earlier by hated Alabama (and even more hated Nick Saban and there were lots of reasons why such a sparse crowd turned out for Saturday’s contest with Troy.

All things considered, it didn’t take a psychic to sense the staleness in the air prior to kickoff with the Trojans, who hail from the Sun Belt conference.

So was there any surprise that the Tigers would feel any different?

It was pretty much understood LSU would likely come out flat against the Trojans. And with all due respect to Troy, who is actually a pretty good mid-major team, it was also understood the Tigers would do what they usually do and out-talent their opponent for a workmanlike 38-13-type victory.

Troy seemed to have other plans.

LSU’s defense showed no signs of slowing down quarterback Levi Brown and the Troy offense. And by the time the Trojans took a 14-3 late in the second quarter, it was apparent the Tigers were in big trouble.

After Troy increased its lead to 17-3 midway through the second period, all that was required to begin a mass exodus of Tiger Stadium was Jarrett Lee’s seventh interception to be returned for an opponent touchdown.

With the Trojans in complete control of the game leading 24-3 at halftime – and temperatures dipping deep into the low 40s, a large portion of LSU fans decided they’d seen enough.

Mobs of disgruntled fans gushed out the gates of Death Valley. Near the elevators under the stadium’s west upper deck, someone bellowed “We suck again,” in a mimicked Cajun accent, the same as “Townie,” Rob Schnedier’s character in Adam Sandler’s hit movie “The Waterboy.”

When the teams re-took the field for the third quarter, Tiger Stadium’s bleachers were so sparsely spotted with fans it resembled the crowds of the Curley Hallman era.

As the third quarter opened, an already impatient LSU crowd grew increasingly more annoyed.

Boos-birds filled the cold night air and when the Tigers would execute a positive playoff any kind, the irritated crowd would sarcastically applaud with phony enthusiasm.

And when DuJuan Harris hauled in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Brown with 11:13 to go in the third quarter for a seemingly insurmountable 31-3 Trojan advantage, a large portion of those fans remaining voiced their displeasure and tramped their way to the exits.

It was truly one of the more surreal moments in not only Tiger Stadium – but LSU football history.

Only 10 games removed from winning the BCS National Championship, the third in school history, the Tigers were being abandoned by their fans while being blown out by 28 points by a Sun Belt team - at home!

You got the feeling it could be one of those program-changing type moments, much like LSU’s 36-21 loss to Ole Miss back in 1997, a loss which doomed Gerry DiNardo.

Remember the 44-3 loss to Miami in 1988 that pretty much ushered in the beginning of the end for Mike Archer?

LSU coach Les Miles looked as if he was getting re-paid by the football gods for his dealing program-altering defeats to Miami and Notre Dame in his first two seasons in Baton Rouge.

Miles and the LSU football program were at a crossroads of sorts. They had dug themselves into a hole so deep it appeared doom and gloom was eminent, much more so than previous ugly losses to Florida and Georgia. This was Troy for goodness sakes!

Much like a 14-3 halftime deficit on the road at Auburn earlier this season, LSU looked dead in the water with no hope of surfacing.

And then it happened.

Quite similar to the second-half rally on The Plains, here came the Tigers. But this time, it was a whole different ball game. The deficit was 28 points, not just 11 like at Auburn.
Tiger fans had booed Lee from the time his name was called prior to kickoff when Dan Borne’ announced the starting lineups.

By the fourth quarter, LSU fans were downright brutal in their berating of the redshirt freshman.

The insertion of true freshman Jordan Jefferson to the lineup brought cheers from the small gaggle of fans remaining, but the Destrehan product was largely ineffective.

However, it was Jefferson who finally found the end zone first for LSU scoring on a three-yard run with 1:26 left in the third quarter.

From that point on, it was if the Tigers couldn’t stop scoring.

Sparked by Jefferson’s touchdown scamper, LSU rattled off 37 unanswered points in less than one quarter of action.

“It’s very hard to believe,” said LSU wide receiver Terrance Toliver. “We told each other we were going to win this game no matter what it took.

“It was a big win. I can’t explain losing by that much in the first half and coming back. It’s a real big win for us.”

Yes Terrance, that is pretty hard to believe. Even as late as six minutes to go in the third period, LSU looked doom for defeat – and it is pretty much a fact, no one in Tiger Stadium thought the game would turn out the way it did.

Miles challenged his team at halftime, especially the defense to bail out the offense buying enough to for Lee and Co. to get on track.

“We go in at halftime, and we tell that defense that you have to come out and play like you finished the first half,” Miles said. “In fact, you’re (the defense) our chance to win this game, and that you guys play just like that for the remainder of this game while we get it fixed on offense.”

The defense did step it up and came up with several big plays to spark the comeback – most notably Chad Jones’ interception and a key fourth down stop near midfield.

The offense found itself long enough to produce a few big plays and take advantage of the short field a number of times to find the end zone and save the game.

On a positive note, this game will be remembered for the great comeback. But playing devil’s advocate, it marks the second time this season LSU has had to go deep into the well to best an inferior team from the state of Alabama. That win at Auburn in September, while at the time was a big deal, has since lost its luster much like those Tommy Tuberville’s Tigers who likely will not even get bowl eligible.

With Troy now thankfully in the past, the focus turns to Ole Miss. The Rebels are a dangerous team with a quality quarterback in Jevan Snead. Houston Nutt’s team can no doubt come into Tiger Stadium next weekend and win.

Then there’s the day-after-Thanksgiving trap game with Arkansas in Little Rock. That one’s never easy either.

However, LSU’s remaining two games are very winnable games and if successful in doing so, the Tigers could go into a January bowl game with a shot at winning 10 games.

Considering where LSU was midway through the third quarter on Saturday, you have to think that’s pretty darn good.

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Matt Deville is the senior editor of Tiger Rag. Reach him at matt@tigerrag.com.