I contend that our run D will be back to its devastating style of play with a healthy Steltz, Dorsey and Beckwith. Wells will never get it going, Boeckman will be forced to do too much and will make his mistakes along the way, allowing LSU to score a couple of times on a short field. LSU does indeed need to stay away from those senseless penalties. That's by far our biggest buggaboo. Secondly is the return coverage. I am not sure if OSU has a huge threat in the return game, hopefully an OSU fan can chime in on this. Home field advantage can't even be measured. It's gi-normous. Pelini will leave nothing on the table. Absolutely nothing. There will be no complaints after this game that we didn't blitz enough. On 2nd and 3rd and long, look for us to bring the kitchen sink. Boeckman will have 2 choices....burn us or get burned.
I agree 100%. Particularly with the slow start and special teams play. If we allow Ohio State to grab the momentum in the first half, it could be a long night for the Tigers. But if we play for 60 minutes we should win it.
As for the return game, Hartline broke the school record with an 89 or 90 punt return, made a good move, and picked up a few great blocks to score. Many tOSU fans were laughing the whole time about how much longer it took him to reach the end zone than Ted Ginn. he's sure handed probably not a gamebreaker, but should be effective. Other than that, they've rotated a lot of players in the return game, and it's been a bit of a mixed bag. I would look for Ray Small to be the dangerous returner. He played at Cleveland Glenville, under Ted Ginn Sr., who was quoted as saying that he had more football speed than TG. Brandon Saine also broke TG's Ohio State high school 100M record and was Ohio's Mr. Football last year for State Champ Piqua (not sure which div. they are). We've got some guys capable of making some big plays, but as for the production, it's been decent, but not great.
I think islstl is right. I trust Pelini to do everything he can to prepare for and win this game. He's leavin' for a new job. LSU ain't gonna fire him if things don't go well. Carrying a ring with him back to Nebraska only helps his credibility and confidence. I think he'll get it done. Having healthy players gives him more options.
cant help but think that all the controversy surrounding the no blitz on 4th and 10 may come back to win us a championship. like goldengirlfan said...Pelini is on his way out....he aint got nothing to lose. NO WAY the defense doesnt pin their tails back the entire game in this one.
Well, we will find out if it was Stoops or Pelini that layed the egg in the Orange Bowl a few years back. My guess is it was Stoops!
