Saturday will determine fate of LSU’s season

Published 7:00 am Friday, September 16, 2016

By American Press Staff

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Let me venture out on a limb for a second here.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This is the week you will learn everything you need to know about LSU’s season.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It just sets up too perfectly — good or bad.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Who knows?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But one way or another, Saturday’s game against at home against Mississippi State will be LSU’s perfect stage. The Tigers will declare themselves. They are either going to show they can live up to preseason expectations and play up to their talent level for a steady climb back into the national discussion — or they will serve notice they will squander a veteran team full of future NFL draft picks en route to another Music City Bowl.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yes, this is the weekend.</span>

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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Ignore the silly costumes the Tigers will wear. Try to block out whatever stray cowbells make their way into Tiger Stadium.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This game isn’t even about tailgating.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This is football, pure and simple, and LSU’s declaration of how efficiently it plans to play it this year.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It’s actually a pretty good deal for the Tigers. Mississippi State, after all, is a school the Tigers have beaten 15 of the last 16 meetings, and in some of those LSU appeared to be doing everything it could to lose.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But in this particular instance, we’re also looking for style points. That’s always a dicey proposition with a Les Miles team. Even in the best of times he doesn’t often do style points very well, seemingly living in mortal fear one of his offenses might get revved up and into enough of a rhythm to run up the score on an innocent opponent.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But this is the declaration of a season, remember? I’m calling it.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Let’s see what you’ve really got.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">There’s not even a minimum point differential required. Give Mississippi State some credit. The Bulldogs will have something to say about that.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But, as teams l</span><span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">ike to say, it’s about LSU this game.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The real Tigers, good or bad, will on full display.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This will be the game in which you can tell if it’s OK to start sneaking a peek way ahead to Alabama or just wonder if LSU can stay on the field at Auburn next week.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">One way or another, I’m guessing, you’ll know after Saturday night.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The Cowbells are the litmus test, but it could by any team. State just happened to show up at LSU’s fork in the road.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU really doesn’t have any excuses.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This should be the weekend it all comes together … or maybe the cold, stark reality that it’s just not going to happen.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But you’ll know.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Get the incidentals out of the way early.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The Tigers have had two games under new defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s new scheme, with a few growing pains b</span><span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">ut mostly encouraging results.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Don’t let State coach Dan Mullen’s Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) sideline body language fool you. The guy knows a little offense.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">State is particularly heavy on the read-option stuff, which will be a recurring theme down the road in the SEC.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This is when Aranda gets to show what he can do with LSU’s more talented chess pieces.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But, of course, it’s the LSU offense that will ultimately decide what this team’s personality will be.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Running back Leonard Fournette will be back after missing last week, supposedly at full throttle, but he was also in attendance for the Wisconsin debacle.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But this is the week that LSU’s offense can start figuring out what it wants to be when it grows up.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Mainly, of course, there will be a full game with Danny Etling at quarterback, his first start.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yes, I’m declaring him the starter. Miles did too, sort of, in a roundabout kind of way, if you know what to listen for, but I’m throwing caution to the wind and I’m doing it in plain English.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">YES, OF COURSE ETLING IS STARTING.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Miles may be quirky, he may be stubborn, but he’s not crazy.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Let’s get a whole game’s look at Etling. That will also tell you a lot about the rest of the season.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">If he’s not the answer to LSU’s passing woes, he certainly looks like at least a workable solution to getting some balance.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">That should be plenty.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Remember that during the however many decades it’s been that LSU couldn’t find a quarterback, the common refrain was that they didn’t need a Cam Newton or Drew Brees.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">All you’re looking for is somebody who can distribute the ball to the wealth of playmakers (beyond the first option) and let them do their thing.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Etling surely looked, at the least, like that guy in his debut.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He also looked like he could be trusted, which is a novelty for LSU’s play calling.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Or, who knows, maybe last week was a mirage?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But we’ll find out.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">We’ll see — and learn — a lot come Saturday night.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It will be a preview of the rest of the season.</span>

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