COMMENTARY: Bringing Back Boring
MUNDANE ITEMS WILL PLAY ROLE
Saturday, November 28, 2009
LITTLE ROCK — For a solid week, Arkansas vs. LSU has been couched in terms of intangibles and everybody has a take.
The Tigers are deflated; the Tigers are united. The Razorbacks have more incentive than LSU; the Razorbacks are not the same team on the road. On and on ad infinitum.
The suspicion is that something much more mundane will determine the outcome: something as boring as blocking and tackling. Neither fundamental has received much attention since Les Miles’ nonsensical explanation of the final seconds in Oxford.
The idea that the LSU huddle will be permeated by a hangover from the 25-23 loss to Ole Miss doesn’t fly. Does quarterback Jordan Jefferson get the play from the bench, relay it to his teammates, and then add, “Miles called that and he’s an idiot?” Or does linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, who has recorded eight or more tackles in each of the last six games, step aside and allow a big gain by Dennis Johnson to belittle his coach?
Not likely.
So, we’re back to the boring stuff, plus another old standard — the play of the quarterbacks. Neither Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett nor LSU’s Jefferson has been effective in his team’s losses.
Mallett’s 12-for-whatever vs. Alabama, Florida, and Ole Miss has been cited often, but he was also 2-of-10 in the fourth quarter of the Georgia game after hitting 19-of-29 for five touchdowns in the first three periods.
Jefferson only attempted 71 passes in the Tigers’ losses to Alabama, Florida, and Ole Miss and more than half of those occurred last week. His 40 completions in those three games netted only 460 yards, a clue that the passing attack has yielded few big plays despite the presence of highly regarded wide receiver Brandon LaFell and others.
Mallett is more likely than Jefferson to hit a home run in the passing game, and that leads to two related components:
Can LSU make Mallett uncomfortable? Given time, Mallett will hit some big pass plays. The Tigers don’t have a dominant defensive tackle such as Glenn Dorsey from the recent national championship team, but the LSU front might be better than those doing the blocking.
Can LSU run the ball consistently? In Baton Rouge, who is part of that question. A fractured collarbone ended the senior season of Charles Scott, the sixth leading rusher in LSU history, in early November. Senior Keiland Williams suffered a broken ankle in the loss to Ole Miss.
During his lengthy news conference early in the week, Miles was asked about using Stevan Ridley, Trindon Holliday, and Russell Shepard. He acknowledged all three and, oddly, tacked on Dominique Allen.
Ridley has 19 carries this year, all in the last four games. At 5-foot-5, 161, Holliday is not an every-down back. Shepard is a quarterback who has not thrown a pass, but has run the ball as many as six times in a game. Allen is a 5-foot-11, 255-pound freshman who has not played.
The defense has carried LSU this year and will be on the spot again this evening. It is diftcult to imagine LSU winning if Arkansas scores 30 or more.
Long before the season began, a 7-5 record was identified as nice progress in Bobby Petrino’s second year. That still holds true.
HARRY KING IS SPORTS COLUMNIST FOR STEPHEN MEDIA’S ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU.
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