This is absolutely true. Our defense went down sharply from the week Alexander was lost for the season.
Take that to the bank. Word is, in private 7 on 7 practices, he's been giving the OL fits... He's been lining up against Ciron Black in those sessions and doing quite well, FWIW...
If Al Woods turns it on like we thought he would when we recruited him, look out. So much quality depth. We go 10 deep on the D-line. It's a bit unreal.
The preseason power ratings (Congrove, others) are out. Google it and see for yourself. LSU is the underdog at ONLY the Swamp, by about 3. The Auburn & Georgia games are about even, home field advantage taken. After we are finished whipping Auburn, and teams cannot score on our defense, even the Florida spread will evaporate to zip. After we whip Florida in their house, leaving a befuddled Tebow concussed, contused, and cornfused (Hey coach, did you get the number on that purple truck that hit me), we'll be a solid favorite against an unbeaten Georgia, the college football Game of the year, bigger than USC / OSU, with DEFINITELY A BETTER HALFTIME SHOW and DEFINITELY A BETTER TAILGATE PARTY :milesmic: RULES. HAIL TO THE LSU TIGERS, KING OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Power ratings don't predict scores or winners. We'll just see what Vegas says during the week of the game. Well, if you're predicting the future then you can fantasize all the favorites that you want to.
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=835103 A great article on our Defensive line says it all. I'll listen to the players. They believe they'll be better than last year, and I know they won't give up 20 points a game. collegefootballpoll.com also has the forecast for each game. http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/season_preview.html http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/analysis_sec.html LSU looks like the only team to give Georgia a run based on early power rankings. Fantasy? I don't think so. LSU will open a 42 point favorite over Appalachian State. When we steamroll them and beat them by 50 points with Hatch opening as the starting QB, and looking great, let's talk some more. Again, I don't see two losses on LSU's schedule in 2008. They're just not there.
vegas gets the basis for the initial line with power numbers. then they factor in all the intangible stuff like HFA, weather etc. its just a different person who does them. they will look pretty close to those though.