TIGERS RUN RIOT IN AUSTIN

           From the pre-game tailgating burger to the offensive line, everything’s bigger in Texas. There aren’t many parts of the country who do college football like the lone star state. The College Gameday crew were present in Austin on Saturday (complete with A-list actor and UT alumni Matthew McConaughey as a guest picker) for the most eye-catching encounter of this early season. Texas are back, regardless of this highly anticipated week 2 result the men in burnt orange can be proud of their performance against the number 6 side in the country. However, on Saturday night we got to see a whole new side of the LSU we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. Senior quarterback Joe Burrow raised eyebrows nationwide with his outstanding prime-time showing against 9^th ranked Texas. Burrow’s 79% passing (31/39), 471 yards and 4 touchdowns (1 interception) set LSU on their way to a statement 45-38 victory in the Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.

Prior to kick-off several Texas players were seen sporting warm-up jerseys self-identifying their school as ‘The real DBU’, a title LSU also claim as their own. Needless to say, when all was said and done neither side justified ‘DBU’ plaudits. Texas epitomise the true meaning of Big 12 football, fast, entertaining, high scoring but prone to allowing points against. So, I guess a 45-38 shoot-out is not unusual around Austin. What is unusual however? An LSU offense that can score at will. The Bayou Bengals have always been renowned for a tough, hard hitting, no nonsense defence (again, the norm for an SEC school) but what has held them back from more conference, perhaps even national, championships has always been a solid offense. Most notably at the quarterback position. Sure they’ve had some Heisman worthy talents. Leonard Fournette for example was well on his way to the coveted award in 2015 before injury plagued his fine form. New Cleveland duo Jarvis Landry & Odell Beckham JR suited up in the purple and gold together for a couple of seasons but even the two highly rated wide-receivers couldn’t conjure up a national title. Under coach Orgeron however, those fortunes look to have changed.

                With just under three minutes left and already up 37-31 LSU had the ball inside their own half, with Texas clinging on to two time-outs any other coach in college football would simply run the ball. Trying to gain the ten yards needed of course but more importantly milking the few minutes remaining on the game clock. The difference here however, coach Orgeron is not like most college football coaches. It was the great Mack Brown who said it best after Vince Young squeezed past the pylon to clinch an epic Rose Bowl victory in 2006, ‘dance with the one that brung ya’. All night LSU had tormented their opponents through the air, why stop now? An incompletion on 1^st down, sacked whilst scanning downfield for a pass on 2^nd down and on 3^rd and 17 Burrow still looked to make a throw. Back tracking at first before stepping up in the pocket Burrow connected with Justin Jefferson who raced down the side-line and into the endzone to down the Longhorns. A 61-yard touchdown that sent the travelling Tigers back to Baton Rouge with a new outlook on the season. This LSU side could go all the way. Joe Burrow may well be the first legit QB LSU have ever had under centre, the former Ohio State Buckeye Burrow has already seen his Heisman odds fall from 25/1 to 6/1. Burrow looks comfortable and confident, he can’t run like Ehlinger and his arm strength doesn’t compare to Bama star Tua Tagovailoa but he does occupy a number of traits that will already have NFL scouts watching intently. It’s not a one man show of course, LSU are stacked with wide-receivers to help senior Joe Burrow. Junior Justin Jefferson ended the evening with 9 receptions, 163 yards and 3 of the Tigers 5 touchdowns whilst Sophomore Ja’Marr Chase followed closely behind with 147 yards. Sophomore Terrace Marshall JR grabbed a touchdown to go nicely with his 123 yards receiving. Whilst Burrow’s accuracy was on point it’s perhaps his belief in his receivers that were the key to success. Having complete faith that his receivers will first of all be in the right position and second of all control the football makes Burrow’s job that much easier. As the first half wound down LSU regained possession of the ball in their own half with roughly one minute on the clock, three completions later and the Tigers were up 20-7 heading into the interval. Chase and Jefferson each secured a first down leading up to Burrow’s dart into Jefferson at the back of the endzone, the junior wide receiver catching the pigskin whilst sandwiched between two Texas DB’s. In the second half the Burrow and wide-receiver connection was flaunted once more. Ja’Marr Chase leaping like a salmon to ‘moss’ Texas DB Jalen Green, a 41-yard completion that led to LSU kicking a field goal. Orgeron’s side did struggle with their run game, Clyde Edwards-Helaire didn’t really get going and contributed just 87 yards of LSU’s overall 121 on the ground. Texas didn’t fare much better in this department, Ehlinger led his boyhood team in rushing yards on the night with 60 whilst third string QB Roschon Johnson put up better numbers (32 yards) than running back Keaontay Ingram (29). Defensively there are concerns about the Tigers. LSU struggled to contain Ehlinger and his receivers as the game continued to flow. Even Grant Delpit, a projected first round NFL Draft pick, looked mediocre during the Saturday night showdown. We can’t be too critical as they did manage to shut out the Longhorns in the first quarter, which included two stops on fourth and goal, the standard has just been set so high on SEC defences and LSU in particular. Senior line-backer Michael Divinity JR most notably lit up the box score with his 10 solo tackles and single sack.

                Tom Herman has a lot of faith in his young QB Sam Ehlinger and rightly so, the Austin born Ehlinger has ignited something in this Longhorn offense that has the burnt orange faithful dreaming again. When the dust settled, and I reflected on this one I felt myself sympathising with Ehlinger. With the run game taking a blow Ehlinger had to scramble more and whilst it might look like he was trying to fight the battle himself, it was more effective than handing the ball off to the lacklustre Keaontay Ingram. LSU’s defensive line really stepped up and forced the game into a classic gun-slinging QB battle, showing just how much respect this unit has for their QB Burrow. Much like LSU the Longhorns are almost spoilt for talent at the receiving positions. Usual suspect Collin Johnson didn’t play as big a role as we often see (just 3 receptions for 49 yards) but in his absence Devin Duvernay stepped up to the plate. Playing in slot Duvernay torched LSU’s secondary with his safe hands and impressive pace. At 3-0 LSU, late in the first quarter and on a 4^th & goal Texas lined up their receiving corps to the right of Ehlinger. Texas snapped the ball, Ehlinger gave a quick glance to the right before turning to his left and off-loading the ball to a wide-open Ingram. Longhorn cheers were short lived as Ingram failed to secure the ball in the endzone and turned over possession to LSU. Much to Ingram’s delight Texas line-backer Joseph Ossai picked off Burrow on the ensuing drive giving the home team a chance of redemption from a disastrous goal line drive. Texas didn’t capitalise on this opportunity and after finding themselves in yet another 4^th & goal situation Ehlinger kept the ball but couldn’t find a way past the white jerseys that quickly closed him down. Texas finally got into the swing of things in the second half. On a crucial 4^th & 2, down 30-21 in the fourth quarter Duvernay exposed LSU’s DB’s once more in the slot position. The wide-receiver sprinted up the middle meeting Ehlinger’s inch perfect pass before shrugging off some uncharacteristic LSU tackling and taking it to the house to tighten things up. With just over three minutes left the Austin crowd were in jubilation as they thought their side had turned the ball over. Burrow fired a pass into Terrace Marshall JR who looked to have fumbled the ball whilst attempting to escape a tackle, replays showed the receiver was quite clearly down prior to his loss of possession however and on that same drive LSU put the game out of reach. Texas did respond however and a professional drive from Ehlinger ended with Duvernay’s second TD of the day. With scarce time-outs and seconds remaining Texas had no option but to attempt and onside kick. Dicker’s kick surpassed every white jersey on the field and went the required distance for a legal onside kick. Receiver Collin Johnson did well to dive and grab a hold of the football but the referees judged him out of bounds and without full possession therefore gifting LSU the ball and putting the finishing touches to the best game of the season thus far.

Texas didn’t lose this game, nor did LSU have it in the bag, it’s fair to say a combination of both factors ultimately decided the end result. It’s criminal to walk away from not one but two 4^th & goals empty handed, even more so with your opponents up by just a field goal. You either win or you learn and the saving grace in defeat for Tom Herman is that this was essentially just a test. Texas’ first defeat of the year is not a conference loss and won’t influence their pursuit of a Big 12 championship. LSU were the 6^th ranked team in the country for a reason, they are an outstanding football programme who in Orgeron’s 4^th season (3^rd full year) are improving week after week. Texas will learn from their mistakes, not pressing a QB like Burrow for example. Unfortunately there are still people out there (on social media mostly) who base their opinions on results only and not performances. Texas lost to a team the experts believe to be the 6^th best in the country by just one score. Dismiss any ‘Texas aren’t back’ tweets, statuses etc you might scroll past on social media, Texas are well and truly back. Charlie Strong is a distant memory, the back to back losing seasons of 2015 & 2016 (both 5-7) are a thing of the past. This Texas team are on their way to double digit wins and a Big 12 Championship appearance. Oklahoma are keeping an eye on their Red River Rivals. People are beginning to fear Austin, Texas again.

                Saturday nights showing was not a sign of Texas slowing down. Saturday night showed us just how much LSU are speeding up. The Tigers showed determination on their defensive line and ruthlessness on offense. Perhaps not too much to brag about in their secondary but history will tell you they know what they’re doing in that area of the field. Ed Orgeron is coming at the rest of the SEC. Texas A&M and Auburn are currently in the transition phase, Ole Miss and Mississippi State won’t threaten much, and Arkansas are simply out of the question. Sorry Razorbacks! This season is LSU’s best shot in years at finally dethroning Alabama in the SEC West. November 9^th at Bryant-Denny stadium will be LSU’s biggest game since Les Miles was at the helm. The Tigers are coming and boy are they hungry.