Welcome everyone to another of edition of #4Downs!
1st Down: DB-Who?
Outside of an interception, LSU’s self proclaimed DBU was virtually nonexistent with WKU’s QB Brandon Doughty going 37-61 for 325 yards, three scores, and the aforementioned pick. And several of those plays were thanks in part to busted coverage. To put it bluntly, the Tigers secondary played a lot like what the field looked like on Saturday: sloppy. But I’m going to give WKU’s receivers some major props because of their fantastic hands. Several passes that an average wideout might have dropped were able to be completions thanks to great hands. But allowing 300 yards and three scores is something that needs to be taken care of during the bye week.
2nd Down: Harris continues to prove haters wrong
After last week’s win over Florida, Brandon Harris stated that he was hearing all of the big time analysts saying that they were a one-dimensional team. Well, another week, another career-high game. The sophomore QB went 11-20 with 286 yards and three scores. What’s even more incredible is how even under pressure Harris can find the receiver and get the pass to him. It’s scary how good Harris has gotten over the last year. Harris is apparently going to let the haters hate and keep doing his thing.
3rd Down: Did Fournette fall below expectations?
Perhaps it’s because everyone knows that Leonard Fournette is a monster and can go off for a big run if there’s a hole, but it seemed like Fournette was unable to go off for big runs yet again. Not saying that he didn’t have an amazing game, but him going for only 150 yards is below the expectations that many people have for the Heisman candidate. Perhaps it’s because of the fact that he has had several of these monster games, that anything less than 200 yards is considered a bad game for him. When you look at what the Hilltoppers have allowed so far in 2015, they’ve allowed 172.7 rushing yards a game. Overall, I’ll say that Fournette performed well enough considering how much help he received from another fantastic performance from Harris.
4th Down: LSU controls it’s own destiny
After this week thanks to USC upsetting Utah on Saturday, the Tigers should be moving up into the top four of the Top 25. With a bye week before the LSU-Alabama matchup, the Tigers are in control of their college football playoff destiny. During the broadcast of the LSU game, the commentators stated that perhaps LSU and Alabama would both make it to the College Football Playoff and face each other, much like in 2012. They couldn’t be further from the truth. I’d be willing to say that no conference will have more than one representative in the CFP. Unless there’s a few major upsets as we head closer to the end of the regular season, the playoff will have a representative from the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and ACC. Only time will tell.
-Clint Domingue