http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/6849801 LSU's Saban overshadowed, but don't bet against him Nov. 20, 2003 By Dennis Dodd SportsLine.com Senior Writer There is a reason that Lenny Lemoine left Nick Saban at the bottom of a lake this summer. You may have read about it. For a brief moment, the life of the Louisiana State coach was in danger. A misstep on his boat had caused Saban to fall, hit his head on a dock and sink to the bottom of a lake near his vacation home in Georgia. Thanks in large part to Nick Saban's scheming, LSU leads the country in scoring defense.(AP) "It actually knocked him out," said Lemoine, a close friend and CEO of a prominent construction company in Lafayette, La. "He actually went to the bottom and came to. It happened so fast I didn't realize he hit his head as hard as he did. In 10 seconds, when he wasn't back up I jumped off the boat and I started to dive in." But Lemoine hesitated, not wanting to jump on top of his pal. Then here came Saban floating/paddling to the surface, the immediate present and long-range future of LSU football literally riding on every gurgle. "People ask me, 'Did you save his life?'" said Lemoine, who grabbed the coach and hauled him out of the drink. Saban could have woken up on the bottom of that lake an hour later and he'd still be alive. He's a fighter." It turned out to be nothing more than great theater for a coach who provides little of his own. LSU Nation furrowed a worried brow as it read how close its coach came to tragedy -- and how quickly he rebounded. The story is now almost a forgotten anecdote as the No. 3 Tigers (9-1) speed toward what could be their second SEC title in three years. Never one to linger over anything too long -- including his latest job over a 30-year career -- Saban has spit out the water that filled his lungs that day and moved on. No one is surprised. "When things go bad, are you going to be able to respond to it?" Saban explained this week before one of the biggest games of his career. LSU travels to Mississippi with the SEC West Division title on the line. "When things go well, are you going to be able to focus on the next play and keep your intensity? What I am talking about here is 'intellectual intensity,' not physical intensity." Saban's teams have been noted for that intellectual intensity. His fourth LSU team is a victory away from its second 10-win season in that span. Before he arrived in 2000, the Tigers had won two SEC titles since 1971. Now Saban is on track for its second in three years. "No. 1, I've coached for 42 years and he's not just the best football coach, he might be the best coach in any sport that I've ever seen," said his boss, LSU athletic director Skip Bertman. "There is nothing that he doesn't oversee, yet he doesn't micromanage it. He doesn't miss a trick. He has the gifts, he is intuitive." While the nation watches Ohio State-Michigan and Southern California-UCLA this week, LSU-Ole Miss is The Next Best Thing. If Bob Stoops is the best coach in the country (and he is), then Saban is the next best thing. If Buckeyes and Trojans can scream about their one-loss teams in the BCS, then Tigers everywhere deserve to shout too. But it seems no one is talking about LSU this week. Eli Manning dominates the game-day discussion. The bleatings coming from Columbus and Southern California are clogging chat rooms. And there is nothing wrong with that. Saban, though, is not the kind to let his program do the Otis Day and the Knights routine. Shout. So on a weekly basis it's hard to get a read on Saban, 52. The world didn't know about the lake accident until two weeks later when Saban happened to bring it up in an interview. Twenty-five stitches had come and gone. What's the big deal? He is insistent about not letting the media beyond his often expressionless faceplate. There's nothing there in postgame and weekly sessions, just the same droning one-game-at-a-time mantra. For the most part assistants aren't allowed to speak to the media. That might have something to do with nine assistants coaches leaving Saban's side since he arrived in Baton Rouge. Only three remain -- offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher (rumored to be in line for the Mississippi State job), running backs coach Derek Dooley and receivers coach Stan Hixon. Yeah, he's tough to work for but so are a lot of people. But with most coaches you can crack the code, pull their chain, find out what makes them tick. Not so with Saban. He is a Yankee (although he was born in West Virginia) in King Dixie's Court who constantly seems to have an itch. Before LSU, he had held 11 different coaching jobs over 27 years with eight different teams. That lake bottom should have known: Saban is a short timer for anything he does. He had averaged 2.6 years on the job before landing in Baton Rouge. Of course, the other side of this is that Saban seemingly has found what qualifies as home. Four years ties the second longest he has ever been in one place. While he can't fight off rumors and concern over him eventually leaving for the NFL, he is comfortable for now. "He said, 'Gosh this is tough for recruiting,'" Bertman said. "We said, 'Do you want a coach who is sought after or a coach no one wants?' From our standpoint he's not going anywhere. Not because we pay him so much. He likes the community. His wife likes it. The people love him." In SEC country, there are few things better than winning football. It permeates through the community and makes rock stars out of whistle-toting curmudgeons. It can be intoxicating even for the gruffest of coaches. "Naturally in every community winners are revered, here in football it goes a step further," Bertman said. "He might be knighted." As long his defense stays cutting edge, Saban can Scrooge all he wants. The unit has an NFL look to it -- so sophisticated that it can scramble a quarterback's mind seconds before the snap -- jumping in and out of different sets. Thirty-two-year-old Will Muschamp is the defensive coordinator but no one doubts that Saban has a heavy influence even if he doesn't call all the defensive plays. "He's a genius when it comes to game planning," defensive tackle Chad Lavalais said. "He knows how to scheme against quarterbacks. He has a football savvy mind." This is as close as LSU has come to sniffing the rare air of a national title in decades. If a few far-fetched things go its way during this rivalry week (Ohio State and USC both losing), then LSU could be in line to play for the national championship 60 miles away in the Sugar Bowl. "I'm going to tell you," Lemoine said, "it would be the equivalent of a hurricane hitting the mainland." A Sugar Bowl doesn't seem likely but Saban showing up in Baton Rouge didn't seem likely either. He basically hopped a private plane in late November 1999 with one game left in a 10-2 season at Michigan State and never came back. He was wined and dined, identified by LSU as that next big thing. They were right about Saban but during his four years at LSU it always seems that bigger things were going on. Oklahoma won a national championship. Miami was winning a thousand games in row. BCS this, BCS that. Every day, every week, Saban keeps things on an even keel. It has resulted in a 35-13 record (78-39-1 overall.) "You'll see the Yankee side of him come out, some of the jokes he may tell," Lavalais said. "Coach Saban is just coach Saban. It's a big game to ya'll. It's just another game to us. That's the way we approach every game." Earlier this season, Saban did hand out cigars to a couple of sportswriters who had picked against the Tigers the previous week. A photo last week captured him ranting over an official's call. After an emotional victory over Georgia this year he sprinted to the student section in one corner of Tiger Stadium and saluted the fuel that gets game day up to jet engine-decibel level. That's about as much color as you'll get with the guy. "You don't find Nick in restaurants, in bars, out hob-nobbing," Lemoine said. "He's a great speaker but he limits what he does so that his focus is his family. He very much resents people saying things that have no basis." But the NFL talk won't stop. When you're this good, there is only other place Saban could go and have it be considered a step up. He already is accomplished at the highest level. His 1994 Cleveland defense went from allowing the most points in the NFL to the fewest. The time spent in Cleveland allowed Saban to get close to Bill Belichick. Before Tampa Bay hired Jon Gruden last year, Saban's name came up with the Bucs. "I think Nick Saban is one of the finest coaches that I've ever been associated with," Belichick said during the search. "He taught me a lot about defense. I learned more from him than he learned from me when we were together in Cleveland." In his only year as Toledo's head coach (1990), the Rockets won a share of the MAC title with the nation's No. 12 defense. Under Saban, LSU is leading the country in scoring defense (8.9 points per game) and Lavalais is a finalist for the Nagurski Award given to the best defensive player in the country. In a volatile industry, Saban is a reliable product. He delivers. Michigan State hasn't come close to the 10-win season he helped manufacture in 1999. And if Saban stays happy and the NFL doesn't come calling with an outrageous offer, LSU will continue its rise. "I love when Nick answers the question, 'When you going to win a national championship, coach?' since we win one every other year," Bertman said sarcastically. "He always says, 'Look when LSU is bandied about as one of the top football teams in the nation year in and year out, maybe we'll get lucky one year and put it all together." Until then, "He's always going to be sought after in the NFL, because he's a good coach," Bertman said. Tiger Nation will have to deal with it.
Tigers too good to ignore http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=1665640 By Pat Forde Special to ESPN.com The big argument in college football centers on who most deserves to play Oklahoma for the national title: Ohio State or Southern Cal. And then there's the other one-loss team, LSU, conveniently ignored in that raging debate. LSU's defense leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 8.9 points per game. The dominant storylines in the Southeastern Conference at present are Eli Manning's quest to finally put Mississippi over the top in the West and the three-way controversy in the East between Tennessee, Florida and Georgia. And then there's LSU, holding the highest ranking of any SEC team but not necessarily the highest visibility. When the discussion turns to defense, the talking hairdos gush first and loudest about Oklahoma and Ohio State. And then there's LSU, quietly allowing fewer points than anyone in the nation. If it's possible to go 9-1, be ranked third in America in the human polls and still be overlooked, the Tigers are doing it. Metronomic consistency, a low-wattage nonconference schedule and a lack of individual star power can leave a really good team underexposed. Which is just fine with coach Nick Saban, a longtime devotee to tunnel vision. The big picture says that Saban has done what none of the five LSU coaches since Charlie McClendon have been able to do: build a winner, and then sustain it. Bill Arnsparger won for a while and then got out. Mike Archer won for a while and then lost it and was fired. Same with Gerry DiNardo. In four seasons Saban has gone 35-13, won at least eight games every year, finished no worse than second in the SEC West, won an SEC championship game, been to a BCS bowl and recruited like a madman. The big picture also says that if LSU wins out and gets some help from, say, Michigan, it could end up playing an hour down the road in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. By beating No. 15 Ole Miss, 7-3 Arkansas and the SEC East champion in the league title game -- probably Georgia -- LSU might vault past USC. If that happens and the Wolverines take out Ohio State, the Cajuns take over the Big Easy. But don't try getting Nick Saban to peek at the big picture now. You're talking Jumbotron, he's talking Watchman. He's got Mississippi blinders on. "We are not focused on national rankings or everything else being talked about in college football right now," Saban said. "We're most concerned about the games we have to play, and our next one versus Ole Miss Saturday. Each one is very, very important. We are only concerned with the things that we can control." LSU could significantly raise its profile by beating the Rebels in what shockingly shapes up as the SEC's Game of the Year. (Go ahead and admit it: you were thinking Auburn-Georgia in August, right? Same here.) What once was the showpiece rivalry in the South for a time in the 1950s and '60s is back, and back big. Ole Miss is the more surprising element in this matchup. LSU was expected to be good, then exceeded expectations. Saban had two excellent foundations to build this team upon: the offensive and defensive lines. Around them he has coalesced two exceptional units. Offensively, LSU has what every coach craves: great balance. The Tigers average 175 yards rushing with a rotation of backs, four of whom have had 70 or more carries this season -- none of whom rank in the league top 10 in yards per game. The Tigers average 258 yards passing with super-efficient quarterback Matt Mauck throwing to three big-time receivers: Michael Clayton, Devery Henderson and Skyler Green. They're the home-run threats in an otherwise methodical offense that leads the SEC in time of possession. Defensively, the line is led by tackle Chad Lavalais (six sacks, 12 tackles for loss) and end Marcus Spears, a converted tight end. Saban skillfully mixed and matched players from other positions at linebacker and in the secondary, got some help from a couple of stud freshmen safeties and now has a unit that gives up a nation-leading 8.9 points per game. Not only that, LSU has surrendered more than one touchdown in a game just once, a 19-7 loss to Florida. South Carolina had zero yards rushing against the Tigers. Alabama had 10 first downs. This unit simply doesn't bend, much less break. "Things kind of fell into place defensively," Saban said. "The chemistry has been really, really good. We're maybe a little bit better there than I thought we'd be." Florida coach Ron Zook watched LSU dominate Alabama last Saturday night. His thoughts on the Tigers' defense: "Man, oh man, are they good." They'll have to be excellent to stop Manning. This is one of those great strength-against-strength matchups that should make for highly entertaining viewing: Mississippi's 37-point-a-game offense, 11th most prolific in America, against LSU's 9-point-a-game defense. "Nobody here is naïve enough to think we're going to stop these guys every time they have the ball," Saban said. "... Defenses like to be able to affect any quarterback, get themselves into a situation in their favor in down and distance. "Down and distance has a big effect on quarterback efficiency, and quarterback efficiency is a great determination of how teams perform and whether they have success or not." The matchup will hinge on protecting Manning against the relentless LSU pass rush, and it will be interesting to see who gets the upper hand early. Ole Miss has made a habit of scoring on its opening possession and taking early leads. LSU has only allowed 19 first-half points all season. Something's gotta give. If the something that gives is Ole Miss, there will be no more overlooking and underappreciating LSU. The Tigers will be too good to ignore.
Fanstop.com article http://www.fanstop.com/fanclub/ncaafans/article.asp?team=SEC&id=41577 PATRICK GARBIN, Senior Staff Writer 11/20/2003 #3 LOUISIANA STATE (9-1, 5-1 in SEC) at #15 OLE MISS (8-2, 6-0 in SEC) Saturday, November 22nd at 3:30 ET on CBS MATCHUP: This will be the 92nd time these two schools have played with LSU holding a 50-37-4 series lead. The LSU/Ole Miss rivalry is tied for the 7th longest in SEC history. This will be the 12th time they have met in Oxford with the series tied at 5-5-1. The Tigers have won two of the last three meetings while Ole Miss has won four of the last six. Interestingly, only 30 of the 91 meetings have been decided by seven points or less. LSU’s Nick Saban is 2-1 lifetime against the Rebels while David Cutcliffe of Ole Miss is 2-2 against LSU. This will mark the first time that both teams enter this contest nationally ranked since 1970 when No. 8 LSU drilled Archie Manning and No. 16 Ole Miss, 61-17. Last season, LSU entered their game with the Tigers ranked 21st while Ole Miss was 5-5 and struggling to finish the season with a winning record. LSU’s QB Marcus Randall came off of the bench to toss two touchdown passes as the Tigers were down 10-0 at one point and then 13-7 late in the ballgame. Randall finished completing 13 of 20 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the 14-13 LSU win. Eli Manning of Ole Miss struggled against a fierce Tiger defense, completing just half of his 38 passes for only 218 yards. He did throw a touchdown pass in the 1st quarter but was intercepted twice during the game. After Randall threw his last touchdown pass with slightly more than six minutes remaining in the contest, the LSU defense kept Ole Miss from passing midfield on three consecutive possessions, preserving the one-point Tiger win. As it turned out, it would be LSU’s last win of the season as they dropped their regular season finale against Arkansas and then were defeated by Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The Rebels, however, responded by beating Mississippi State in the annual “Egg Bowl” and finished the season by defeating Nebraska in the Independence Bowl. For this contest, the SEC Western division title hangs in the balance, entitling the winner to a trip to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta on December 6th. Both teams will have abbreviated weeks to prepare for their next games as LSU faces Arkansas next week on Friday and Ole Miss plays Mississippi State on Thanksgiving. As of this writing, LSU is a 6.5-point favorite to beat the Rebels. It marks the seventh time in the last nine years and the 18th time in 24 meetings since 1980 that LSU was the favorite to win this annual game. ABOUT LOUISIANA STATE: This season, a fierce defense and a potent passing game has led the Tigers to a 9-1 record and an outside chance to play for the national championship. The Tigers defense has been dominating and arguably the best unit in the nation. Through 10 games, it has allowed opponents to score just a touchdown or less in six contests while the most points scored on them were 19 by Florida. Remarkably, LSU ranks 1st in the country in scoring defense (8.9 points), 2nd in rushing defense (60.8 yards), 4th in total defense (259.7 yards), and 5th in passing efficiency defense (94.11 rating). Besides Ole Miss, LSU’s air attack has racked up more passing yards than anyone else in the conference. QB Matt Mauck has surprised many with how efficiently he has quarterbacked the Tigers this season. He ranks 1st in the SEC and 12th nationally in passing efficiency (154.14 rating) and has thrown at least three touchdowns in a game four times. Similarly to Ole Miss, the Tigers have a strong return game. They rank 2nd in the nation in team punt return average (15.9 avg.). WR Skyler Green is 1st among individuals averaging a whopping 23.7 yards on 15 returns and has returned two punts for touchdowns. ABOUT OLE MISS: Ole Miss opened the 2003 season by dropping two of their first four games, including a 44-34 loss to Memphis in early September. Since then the Rebels have won six games in a row and represent the only undefeated SEC team in conference play. Much of the success enjoyed by Ole Miss during their current win streak can be attributed to a vastly improved defense and improved play by QB Eli Manning. After allowing 32 points and 488.5 yards per game in the first four games, the Rebel defense yielded just 18.7 points and 336.2 yards per game in games five through ten. Manning, who was inconsistent last season, threw four interceptions in the two losses suffered by Ole Miss this season. During the Rebel winning streak, however, Manning has tossed just four interceptions compared to 12 touchdowns while passing for 23 scores for the entire season. Special teams have also been a bright spot for the Rebels and may play an important role in Saturday’s contest. While PK Jonathan Nichols leads the nation in field goals, Ole Miss ranks 9th nationally in kickoff return average. PLAYERS TO WATCH: LSU- QB Matt Mauck (65%, 2175 pass yds, 21/8 td/int); WR Michael Clayton (57 rec, 835 yds, 7 td); WR Devery Henderson (43 rec, 694 yds, 9 td); LB Lionel Turner (52 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 9 QB hurries); DT Chad Lavalais (43 tackles, 6 sacks, 18 QB hurries); DB Corey Webster (39 tackles, 3 int, 18 pbu). OLE MISS- QB Eli Manning (63%, 2881 pass yds, 23/8 td/int); WR Chris Collins (58 rec, 722 yds, 6 td); PK Jonathan Nichols (23 of 24 FGs, 39 of 39 PAT); DB Eric Oliver (81 tackles, 3 tfl, 4 pbu); DL Jesse Mitchell (45 tackles, 9 tfl, 6 QB hurries). BOTTOM LINE: Besides Oklahoma, in my opinion LSU is the best team in the country. With the exceptions of their loss to Florida and their thrilling seven-point win over Georgia, the Tigers have dominated each of their opponents this season as most of their games have been decided by halftime. Ole Miss has an excellent offense and could score more points than anyone has on the Tigers this season, but it certainly will not be enough to be victorious. Besides the obvious advantage on the defensive side of the ball, LSU’s offensive line outweighs the Rebel defensive line by an average of 42 pounds per man. Plus, Ole Miss lost exceptional offensive tackle Tre’ Stallings to injury versus Auburn and he probably will not return in time for this contest. LSU also has had no problem playing on the road this year as they are undefeated and average 40 points per game while allowing just 7.3 when away from home. The Rebels are the only SEC West team that has not made a trip to the SEC Championship game. They will have to wait at least another year to go to Atlanta as the Tigers will win this game by at least a touchdown. PREDICTION: TIGERS win 27-17
