Its not much, but Tigers can still celebrate
Published 2:19 am Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Scooter Hobbs
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Somewhere, perhaps, LSU 2019 was snickering, maybe poking fun.
Never mind.
This is 2020.
So current LSU football was celebrating on a typically dreary, misty Saturday afternoon here like the Tigers had really done something.
My gosh. Did you see them?
It bordered on frolicking and rolling around on the turf — this after rallying late to beat Arkansas 27-24, even needing a blocked field goal to close the deal. Barely tipped, was actually more like it, but it did the job, so it was party on.
Even in a socially distanced world, it called for hugs all around.
Yeah, for beating Arkansas.
The clincher was probably when a few of the huskier Tigers gleefully hoisted up that gargantuan monstrosity, The Boot, and gave the trophy of this non-rivalry a few pumps at the crowd before lugging it back to the locker room en route to Baton Rouge where it normally resides.
Somehow they resisted the urge to crank up the Bring on Bama chant, but they were going to celebrate no matter who was watching or what they thought about it.
But, oh yeah, the 2019 15-0 Tigers, now scattered about the NFL, might like a word right now.
Got it back to .500, did you — 3-3? Well, congratulations and whoop dee doo. That was Arkansas, you know. And the proper thing to do with The Boot is to ignore it or at least toss it in the closet in the oversized trinkets folder.
Yeah, last year LSU would have been conserving their energy for the extra laps that would surely come due for a victory like this.
Well …
Pay them no mind.
If you haven’t noticed this is not last year.
The Boot, silly as it is, may be the only trophy LSU wins in this disjointed season.
You take your victories where you find then, and lately it’s been tough for LSU to find a game, let alone a win.
Granted, it wasn’t the most aesthetic victory you ever saw.
It was often awkward, mostly a struggle, never smooth, occasionally ugly.
But give LSU credit. Nothing comes easy for this team.
Not even Razorbacks, not even an Arkansas team that, though much improved, came in somewhat depleted by coronavirus quarantines.
LSU desperately got a win the Tigers had to have.
No matter how they went about it.
And there was progress.
Maybe you don’t want to dissect it too closely, but it appeared the three-week hiatus was well spent.
Other than special teams, capped by the block that saved the day, no one unit really jumped out at you.
The offense got its act together long enough for the game-winning drive. The defense sort of came up with enough of a stop to set up the block kick.
But that wasn’t the most impressive thing.
Granted, there is still plenty to work on with four games remaining. A lot still needs cleaning up.
But LSU answered the biggest question when they came out and played with real fire and intensity, didn’t get down when things went awry and persevered through an often frustrating game.
“Played with their cleats in the ground,” is the way Orgeron put it.
Win or lose Saturday, there would have been no questioning the effort.
Granted, that doesn’t sound like much to ask for.
But this is a team that over the first half of the season often seemed to be under the impression that they could roll their helmets out there and the College Football Playoff committee would soon be on Line 1.
They were in for a rude awakening, of course, and there were fears they might mail in whatever remained of the season.
But Orgeron kept them focused. Apparently, rather than pouting, there was some honest soul-searching that went on during the long break.
Even the maligned defense made some strides. There was the one typical, wide-open 65-yard meltdown in the first half, but for the most part the defense at least looked like they knew what they were trying to do.
For the game they had seven 3-and-outs, mostly by keeping the Hogs 0-10 for thirddown conversions.
But it’s like 2020 stepped in and said, OK, not bad, but let’s see how it works with both starting cornerbacks out. Just for grins.
Eli Ricks was shown the exit after a targeting call. No malice intended, but it was the correct call. Then All-American Derek Stingley apparently took a knee to his head on a punt return and was unable to return. Details to come.
But it left LSU with the shaky combination of Cordale Flott, Dwight McGlothern and Jay Ward to try not to shake in their cleats in their absence for most of the second half.
The starters have had their adventures. That trio might as well have had blinking lights on their helmets.
Why Arkansas didn’t borrow from the Mississippi State playbook and just start chunking it deep on every play is between the Razorbacks and their own conscience.
As it was, the big plays came predictably enough for a Return to Lost in Space secondary — four completions of 50 yards or more.
But the Tigers played on, played through it, mostly played their tails off when things didn’t always go their way, and somehow overcame their own mistakes to grit it out and put together a game-winning drive with freshman quarterback TJ Finley.
And then they got the one defensive stop that they had to have.
If they want to celebrate it, I say drop the confetti.
•
Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics. Email him at shobbs@americanpress.com
Michael Woods