Here Come the Tigers

An Ode to LSU, The Best Team No One’s Talking About

By Chris Landers

It’s been a very long time since LSU managed to do anything under the radar. They’re one of college football’s standard bearers, winners of two national titles in the past decade, helmed by a lightning rod of a coach who may or may not have some black magic hidden underneath that hat of his.

 

Bill Feig/Advocate

And yet here they sit, 4-0 after a convincing 35-21 home win over an improved Auburn team to kick off conference play, and the nation can’t seem to pay attention long enough to notice. This isn’t LSU’s fault, really. Any other league in the country — heck, any other division in the country — and they’d be kings, on anyone’s shortlist for a national title.

But the Tigers play ball in the SEC West, the land of big talent and even bigger personalities: mortal enemy Alabama is in the middle of what may end up as the most successful run of any program in history, and the cultural thunderstorm that is Johnny Football keeps making defenses look silly and generating headlines. All of which is to say that you’d be forgiven for not noticing as the Tigers creep up on the best conference in the nation. Make no mistake, though: Les Miles’s crew is built for the long haul.

In a lot of ways, it’s the same as it ever was on the Bayou: a seemingly endless stable of talented backs — oft-suspended Jeremy Hill looked downright explosive yesterday, rushing for 184 yards and three TDs — doing work behind a massive front line, and a defense that never has trouble reloading after the NFL poaches most of its playmakers. So yes, this is still your older brother’s LSU. But there’s reason to believe this squad may be different — squint your eyes and tilt your head a little, and you just might see the beginnings of one of the most dangerously balanced offenses in the country.

The Tigers have seemingly discouraged the very concept of the forward pass for years under Miles. (The horrifying image of Jordan Jefferson against Alabama is still seared in our collective memory; stay strong, America.) But in February, passing guru Cam Cameron quietly made his way down to Baton Rouge to be LSU’s new offensive coordinator, and he may be the answer in Death Valley.

The last time we saw Cam, he was being fired by the Baltimore Ravens in the middle of last season after seemingly forgetting that Ray Rice was on his roster. But it would be a mistake to dismiss him, recent reputation aside. For all of his flaws, he’s always been a talented play-caller (he oversaw those monster Chargers offenses in the mid-2000s) and the LSU offense has been firing on all cylinders so far in 2013.

Quarterback Zach Mettenberger has always looked the part — massive arm, NFL build — and it seems to finally be clicking for him under Cameron’s tutelage. Gone are the archaic LSU offenses of old: With Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry wreaking havoc on the outside and stretching the field, this team can chuck it all over the lot if they have to.

And the odds are good that they will have to, because the Tigers are staring down the barrel of a brutal schedule. Next week is a trip between the hedges to face Georgia, and home dates with Texas A&M and Florida loom — not to mention the annual titanic clash with the Crimson Tide. But the Tigers are coming, a more complete team than ever, and it won’t be long before America has to take notice.