Harvard Yard Picks

Here at the yard, we admit it when we are wrong.  And while we were right about a lot of things we said regarding the Tigers/Cocks throw down, we were wrong about the victor.  It looked promising in the first half.  Much of what we predicted was coming true.  LSU’s throwing QB Lee was passing to the wrong team, and its offense, which looked impressive to begin the game, was being controlled by the South Carolina defense.  On the other side of the ball, Garcia looked like he might have his way with the Tigers.  The 17-10 score going in at half was in line with what we expected.  So what happened?  Well it’s fairly simple.  LSU’s defensive line finally lived up to its preseason hype.  The big boys on the line owned the second half.  Throw in some well timed blitzes and the Cock’s offense was stopped dead in its tracks.  With no offense to back it up, LSU’s talented athletes wore down the South Carolina defense, and it was over.  While Carolina did have some turnovers, they were not the game killing type.  No, this game belonged to the LSU D-Line.

So what does it say about the rest of the season for both teams?  The South Carolina offense still needs some work.  They were going to have to play above themselves to win this game to some extent, given LSU’s superior talent across the board.  But you cannot lead the league in sacks allowed and expect to win many games.  South Carolina is full of potential, and they might live up to it by the end of the season, but Cocks fans will probably have to wait till next to really see their team blossom.  This could have been a huge game for South Carolina if they had won.  Losing, however, is not that big a deal.

As for LSU, this was a big win.  LSU still has problems.  It does not have a true quarterback or a true running back, and it even runs the option (how embarrassing).  The secondary is still weak, and if the line can’t get a pass rush, opponents will roll up big numbers through the air.  But last night the D-line did show up, and LSU played as well as it was capable.  It will take that and more to beat some of the teams remaining on the schedule, but LSU is good enough to win them all, though it probably won’t.

And we would just like to say that it pleased us deeply that many LSU fans, immediately following a hard fought victory, chose to visit the Yard to express their joy.  Always a pleasure.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 19th, 2008 at 9:51 am and is filed under LSU, South Carolina, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.