In the Wise Words of Katy Perry…ROAR!

But is a Tiger’s Roar the Swan Song of the SEC?

By Caroline Davenport

Stacy Revere / Getty Images

Disregard the cliche, teenage girl, chart-topping, pop music reference; the roar I'm talking about this week is the Tiger Bowl, where the LSU Bayou Bengals took on the Auburn War Eagle, aka Tigers (which makes so much sense, right?). LSU played a tough game against an undefeated Auburn squad, winning 35-21, and senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger passed for an unremarkable 229 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

This game had the potential to be exciting. LSU came out blazing, scoring 21 points on Auburn in the first half and leaving them with nothing heading back into the locker room. But Auburn did what they do best: weaseling themselves back into games at the last minute to keep things interesting. After scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter and one in the forth, they couldn’t quite seal the deal, and the game ended.

Yawn.

Could it be that there’s a virus going around the SEC? The same bug that Jadeveon Clowney came down with in the first week of the year? No, Alabama and LSU’s defenses are decent.

I’m talking about the offense! So far this season, LSU is ranked 44th over all in passing yards and 35th overall in rushing yards.‘Bama, the number one team in the nation, is even worse, ranked 58th in passing yards overall, and 90th in rushing.

Is it possible that these undefeated SEC teams are…overrated?

Historically, the SEC is known for their defensive expertise and powerful offenses that could annihilate teams. But are the teams of today giving a bad name to the teams of yesteryear?

Not necessarily. Right now, the SEC has a combined record, for the entire conference, of 50-13, with big stars like Johnny Manziel, Aaron Murray, and Jadaveon Clowney.

Comparatively, the Big Ten has a combined record of 63-11, with two less teams in the conference, and stars such as Devin Gardner, an injured Braxton Miller, and Trevor Siemian (who is he you are thinking? ‘Cuse football fans know him as the guy who beat our team up in the second week of the season).

 Granted, the SEC has had more conference games than the Big Ten has had so far, but maybe being unimpressed with Alabama last week was just the beginning of a trend, and LSU is continuing it for me.

As much as I love saying “Geaux Tigers” in a fake French accent and “Roll Tide” like a true Alabamian, I should really start thinking about learning “Hail to the Victors” or the baritone solo in the Ohio State fight song at some point. 

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. 

Gene Chizik: From National Champion to Unemployed

By Jasmine Watkins

You know that “Cinderella at midnight” feeling? Gene Chizik must’ve felt that way when the clock struck 12 on the Cam Newton era.

Two years after leading Auburn to a historic season, the war in his eagle has descended and he was fired by Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs.

 “After careful consideration and a thorough evaluation of our football program, I have recommended that Coach Chizik not be retained,” Jacobs said to ESPN.

The feeling when all the glitz and glam has expired and you’re left with the memory of what was and the thought that it’s never going to be like that again.

Although there were questions raised when he was hired in 2010 even though he had a losing record. That type of patience in a coach doesn’t usually fly in the SEC.

The silver lining, if you choose to see it, is that he will be bought out so he won’t have to go directly into the poor house. Auburn will pay him $7.5 million when it’s all said and done.

The Tigers just haven't been the same these past two years and whether it’s because the SEC is getting harder by the minute, or that Auburn never really had the talent beyond their superstar, either way they’re done too. Texas A&M and Missouri have joined the SEC party and now there is going to be an even tougher task to make it out of the conference. Auburn will not have a chance in the foreseeable future. They have too much to take care of to be competitive next year.

First the coaching staff. They are going to have to look for the best coach available. Tough task. Then whomever they hire is going to have to recruit and do everything short of begging eligible recruits to come to the second best football school in the state of Alabama. Tougher task.

The fact that Newton, Fairley, and the rest of the stars from that 2010 team are gone is not Chizik’s fault. What is his fault, however, is that he failed to recruit a decent class and coach adequately enough to keep his job. The SEC is not for the faint of heart. Taking a coaching job there comes with a hefty paycheck but also headaches and heartaches. The timetable to win is so small that there is virtually no time for anyone to at least attempt to build a dynasty.

It’s a troublesome time to be a coach in the SEC not named Nick Saban or Les Miles. Everybody else can be moved quicker than the tide turns (no pun intended).

“While we experience a tremendous low in 2012, I will always be proud of the incredible highs that we achieved, including three bowl victories, an SEC championship and a national championship,” Chizik said.

At least he is focusing on the positive. But the reality is that he’s back to being the ugly stepchild.