The Tigers are favored by 17 points over Oregon St according Danny Sheridan's early line in the USA Today newspaper. He also has Florida St vs Miami on Sept 6 as a pick em game.
17!! Hate to say it, but I'd take Oregon State and the points. Tigers are notorious for getting off to slow starts offensively early in the season (at least against decent opponents); add in a "new" QB and new starting WRs---plus the best CB tandem in the Pac-10---and my first impulse is to take those 17 points. I wouldn't be upset by a 10-14 point LSU win, but 17...wow. No way that stays that way for long. I see Oregon St. money coming in soon, probably to push the line to at least -14. Hmm... (PS: I'd forgotten that LSU only beat San Jose State 29-21 in 1999's season opener. Ugh, what an ugly game that must have been. San Jose State!)
I was there, and boy was it ugly. Walking back to the dorm that night, I knew Dinardos days were numbered. Before the game, I thought maybe, just maybe 1998 was a fluke. I doubt the line will stay at 17 for OSU. It will probably be more like 11 or so, as the game gets closer. Maybe even 9.
You Guys Worry Too Much This game has complete blowout written all over it. The Beavs are widely considered a middle of the pack team in a conference that that is widely considered the weakest of the 'major' conferences. So what if their corners are the best in their league? Except for Swancutt, their DL is small and inexperienced. They have no LB's to speak of, and their speed on defense is nowhere near what LSU's speed is on offense. Plus, they are going to have major issues on offense with no running game and an inexperienced OL. Have we seen this scenario before? Can you say UGA? Their QB is prone to mistakes under pressure, so LSU should have a field day. LSU will hang 40+ on these guys, and the defense WILL NOT give up a single TD. BOOK IT!
LSU typically starts the season off slowly under Saban. Even in our rent-a-win games, we weren't very impressive. Oregon State is our first game ... this is my biggest concern.
17 sounds about right. If they were playing USC in Los Angeles they would probably be about a 24 point underdog. What's so strange about the Tigers by 17.
I think he meant the Auburn game... 31 - 7. Didn't someone have a Cadillac in that game? He must have scored a few times, what with being so good and all.
Caddy is the real deal, it's the rest of the team that was sub par. He also ran into the best defense in the nation but don't for a second think that he isn't a big time RB. :thumb: :thumb: :wink: :wink: :hihi: :hihi:
