OBSERVATIONS FROM THE NC GAME

[GeauxTigers99]

Zenon, Jackson, Flynn... could I add Jean-Francois? Sure was an unlucky time for their career nights.

Not sure if that was RJF's career night, but it was definitely a great game on the biggest stage. It would have been nice to have him playing all season. Like you said earlier, I'm not sure if it's his individual performance that's so good, or if it's because Dorsey demands so much attention that it frees him up. Either way, no one else has played like that along side of Dorsey all season for LSU. It was big having him back.

 

[CookyPuss]

After the first 2 series, I was very impressed with Flynn. He made a ton of plays with someone in his face. I remember during the game thread, some schmuck posted that Hester sucked. Before I could even respond, he ripped off a 20 yard run. I kept swearing they would have him stopped for no more than 3 and he'd will himself to make it a 6-8 yard gain. The kid has heart that's for sure.

 

[JohnLSU]

Dorsey - Spielman summed it up well. Great player, not on every play. Jean-Francois (perhaps thx to Dorsey) made 4x as many big plays.

Holliday - sick cutback on that 9 yarder, but overall contained pretty well by us slow northerners. Strength, smarts & execution won that game more than speed.

Steltz did not show well, but also didn't get much of a chance to redeem that horrendous angle.

Jean-Francois -- Down here in Tiger Nation, many of us have had big expectations for redshirt sophomore Ricky Jean-Francois (who despite his French surname, is from Miami, FL). He holds the Florida state record for sacks in a game (6.5). Last year, as a redshirt freshman for LSU, he was a TSN Freshman First-Team All-American. And yes, Jean-Francois was the had the best defensive game on the 7th, that's why he was named the Defensive MVP of the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.

Holliday -- Yes, that cutback on that 9 yarder was one of his most amazing plays this year. But I wasn't surprised that he was overall contained pretty well by OSU, that's what usually happens to Holliday. He's too small to break tackles, and although he is fast, its not like he travels the speed of light -- you play your angles correctly, and you have him contained on running plays. What did surprise me about Holliday is how he took a knee instead of returning the kick-offs. I thought a weak spot in OSU's armor this year was their special teams play covering kick-off returns. I imagine that our coaching staff was more concerned with tiny Holliday fumbling the ball rather than our chances of kick-off returns for TDs, and coached him to take a knee this game.

Steltz -- he was an exciting player to watch this year and it was nice to see him be named an All-American. It's a shame he got hurt in the big game. And yes, many Tiger fan did not that he took a horrendous angle on Beanie's long TD run, but I'm sure most of us will push that out of our memory soon :)
​

 

[sluTiger]

Two things stand out.

Flynn owned OSU's defense for 2 quarters. He made all the right reads and managed the game to perfection.

OSU hit emotional bankruptcy when the score was 10-10. Basically they gave LSU their best shot and when LSU did not back down, they did not know how to handle it. The best way to sum it up is what Eddie George said at halftime, "Is this Glendale, Arizona, this feels like last year!". I bet everyone on the OSU sideline was thinking and feeling the same thing. Once that doubt was introduced, the negative motivation that spurred on the bucks in the 1st quarter, became the thing that held them down the rest of the game. Hence all the uncharacteristic penalties and undisciplined play.

 

[Bill Lucas]

Jean-Francois -- Down here in Tiger Nation, many of us have had big expectations for redshirt sophomore Ricky Jean-Francois (who despite his French surname, is from Miami, FL). He holds the Florida state record for sacks in a game (6.5). Last year, as a redshirt freshman for LSU, he was a TSN Freshman First-Team All-American. And yes, Jean-Francois was the had the best defensive game on the 7th, that's why he was named the Defensive MVP of the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.​

Holliday -- Yes, that cutback on that 9 yarder was one of his most amazing plays this year. But I wasn't surprised that he was overall contained pretty well by OSU, that's what usually happens to Holliday. He's too small to break tackles, and although he is fast, its not like he travels the speed of light -- you play your angles correctly, and you have him contained on running plays. What did surprise me about Holliday is how he took a knee instead of returning the kick-offs. I thought a weak spot in OSU's armor this year was their special teams play covering kick-off returns. I imagine that our coaching staff was more concerned with tiny Holliday fumbling the ball rather than our chances of kick-off returns for TDs, and coached him to take a knee this game.​

Steltz -- he was an exciting player to watch this year and it was nice to see him be named an All-American. It's a shame he got hurt in the big game. And yes, many Tiger fan did not that he took a horrendous angle on Beanie's long TD run, but I'm sure most of us will push that out of our memory soon :)​

He took a knee because the kicks were at least 5 yards deep in the endzone. Pardon my language, but not many idiots return kickoffs that are that deep into the endzone. You take it on the 20 and take your chances.

 

[Nutriaitch]

He took a knee because the kicks were at least 5 yards deep in the endzone. Pardon my language, but not many idiots return kickoffs that are that deep into the endzone. You take it on the 20 and take your chances.

For the most part, you're right. But there was one that was o nly about a yard deep that he kneeled on. Shocked the shit outte me when he did it. Of course I'll take that over the time Xavier Carter took a knee at the 1 yard line at UGA a few years back.