Saturday was another typical LSU-2011 game.....wear down the opponent, and pull away to an easy win in the second half. I felt a little un-easy early in the game (as usual). I was complaining about the play calling (as usual), as the game stayed close thru the first half. Then, at the end, I laughed at myself for being so uptight. Typical. That being said, with a trip to Tuscaloosa looming, have we been tested enough. Within SEC play, LSU's wins have been impressive, but they have had to overcome no adversity whatsoever. It's great to be able to impose your will on lesser opponents, wear them out, and throw dirt on their graves. But against Bama, it's going to be an all out battle....on the road....with huge NC implications. Blowouts are great, but are they helping ...if we find ourselves down 14-3 in Tuscaloosa?
We have been tested. Four of our seven games have been on the road. OU was nuetral site but still away from home against a tough team. Moo st., WVU, Tenn. all road games. We have played most during the day which is not part of our regular routine. We lost a qb for 4 games and WR for 3 and switched OC right before the season. We have been carrying the #1 Moniker all year and have been getting everyones best effort. I would say we are more tested than anyone we have to play. This team seems more focused than the usual team we put on the field and I think it is the rough waters we went through that has caused it.:thumb: Oh and the two qb's we have played from behind before. If anyone can rally the troops it will be these guys.:geaux:
The OU game seems so long ago. Yes it was a big win. But we haven't trailed in the second half since (am I correct?). The #1 moniker does add pressure for sure. But we haven't had that "need a drive", or "need a defensive stop" in the second half moment yet.
Well ... I'll take this chance to publish my work ... The answer to your question is ... YES ... more so than Bama. Through Week 6. (working on update to this last weeks games) LSU, stength of schedule (SOS) is 96.53. Bama, SOS is 93.01. When you look specifically at offenses, LSU has faced a relative strength of 4.24, compared to Bama's 3.04. What these numbers tell you is that LSU's defense has faced stiffer offensive opponents than has Bama. Adjusting Bama's "Points Against" by the factors above, Bama's "7" rises to a 9.76 Points Against, compared to LSU's 11.7. Thus, you can pretty much sum up that these two defenses are essentially the same. AND .. this does not take into account that LSU is bad about letting teams score garbage points late in the game, whereas Bama is less prone to do so, and is more inclined to run the score up, like we saw this past weekend against Old Piss. I'm guessing that the addition of these last two games is going to hurt Bama, as Old Piss is a minus, even compared to TN. I'm next going to work on the strength of our offenses. :thumb: But .. yeah .. our defense has been sufficiently tested in regards to your worries about Bama.
I guess when I say battle tested.....i'm referring more to crunch time. I want to see them in a second half, pressure packed close game. That's when you really see what you have.
But our QB has. And with virtually all the same players. They learned how to play close games last year....and Lee has led us downfield for the winning drive (Tenn. and Florida specifically). Our offense isn't as "lost" either. They have an identity and a belief in one another and TONS more confidence than ANY point the past 2 seasons. Defensively....same thing as the offense, but on a smaller scale. We just lack the experienced ball hawks at LB. But other than that, our defense is virtually the same, too.
We are battle tested, but I really think our team is just that good. We haven't needed to come from behind since the 2nd quarter of the first game of the season, and that's a good thing. Les Miles' teams, however, have always been terrific in a close game, and we've won far more of those than we've lost. One thing to note if it helps ease the OP's concerns. Any time this year that the other team has gathered even the slightest momentum on offense, our offense has come right back with a score. Think about it: WVU, Florida, Tennessee.
