For Tigers all bets are off

LSU focused on winning the game

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Nick Brossette will probably never live it down.

But the LSU running back could care less, and head coach Ed Orgeron said the senior did the right thing at the end of the Tigers’ 24-17 win over Arkansas when he took a knee rather than scoring a touchdown with an open lane to the end zone.

It had no effect on the game. The Tigers ran out the clock and kept their 7-point advantage.

But it had some effect on how a select few enjoyed the game as it kept the Tigers from covering the 13 1/2-point betting spread on the game.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p><span><strong>‘At the end of the day I came to LSU to win football games. I didn’t come to win people’s bets.’</strong><br />Nick Brossette<br /></span><span>LSU running back</span></p>” id=”caf3a36b-be35-46cd-8edf-b187a0925454″ style-type=”quote” title=”Pull Quote” type=”relcontent”}}

“People will say what they want to say,” Brossette said Monday. “But at the end of the day I came to LSU to win football games. I didn’t come to win people’s bets.”

Orgeron agreed.

“He did the right thing,” Orgeron said, noting that keeping the ball out of Arkansas’ hands removed whatever remote chance the Razorbacks would have had in the final minute to score two touchdowns and win or force overtime.

“We call it the ‘winning edge,’ ” Orgeron said. “Nick did it.”

But there was some confusion — and a host of internet conspiracy rumors — as to why the Tigers didn’t just take a knee on the next two plays to run out the clock.

Instead, Brossette got the call again and — again — appeared to slide down at the 1-yard line. The Tigers gave it one more try and he was stacked up short of the goal before LSU let the clock run out.

“We had a huddle (on the sidelines) and I said, ‘I think we can score.’ ” Orgeron recalled.

From the press box, offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger replied over the head sets that, “It’s up to you, coach.”

“So I’m the one,” Orgeron explained. “I’m the one who said, you know what, let’s put seven more points on the board, let’s see if we can score.”

Brossette didn’t get the message, evidently, as he slid down again.

“It worked out,” Orgeron said. “Nick did the right thing as the winning edge. We sit on the ball, we win the game. That’s what we taught him to do, and he did what he was taught to do.”

If the same situation comes up this week, the Tigers will likely have backups entrusted with the “winning edge” as LSU is a whopping 44-point favorite over 1-10 Rice for the final game in Tiger Stadium this season.

The Tigers looked to be covering last Saturday’s spread with ease until a rash of injuries in the secondary no doubt contributed to the Razorbacks’ scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to cut into a 24-3 lead.

At least one, cornerback Kristian Fulton, won’t be back this week and is unlikely to play next week in the final regular season game at Texas A&M.

“He’s out,” Orgeron said of Fulton, who had his leg twisted back just before haltime. “I don’t know how long he’s out, but he’s going to be out for a while.”

Fulton’s place was taken by freshman Kelvin Joseph, who late also had to leave the game, with nickel back Kary Vincent moving over to cornerback.

The Tigers also lost safety Todd Harris, who started the game as a replacement for injured Ed Paris. Jacoby Stevens also played in the spot even before Harris was hurt.

“One of the biggest improvements on our team is Todd Harris and Jacoby Stevens,” Orgeron said. “Those two guys are valuable players, we can put them in any time. The (could be) starters for us and have played like it.”

All but Fulton appeared to be minor injuries, and Orgeron said Paris, who was hurt early in the Alabama game, should be able to come back this week. He dressed out at Arkansas but did not play.

The news wasn’t so good for starting nose guard Breiden Fehoko, who will miss his second consecutive game with an elbow injury.

6:30 p.m. Saturday | ESPNU

‘At the end of the day I came to LSU to win football games. I didn’t come to win people’s bets.’

Nick Brossette

LSU running back

      2a3b1a94-0304-11e8-9cb7-f3b9a50c7a0e2018-01-27T01:48:00Znews/national,newsCalifornia governor pushes for 5 million zero-emission carsAssociatedPresshttps://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/847f947e4dcdd64d23ee1a5459357331?s=100&d=mm&r=gSACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown outlined a $2.5 billion plan Friday to help Californians buy electric vehicles and expand a network of charging stations as part of a goal of getting 5 million zero-emission cars on the road by 2030.

      The ambitious proposal to transform California’s car culture comes as Brown begins his final year in office and works to set the stage for his environmental legacy to continue under his successor. The Democratic governor has positioned California as a global leader in fighting climate change amid President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

      The number of zero-emission cars is a significant expansion of Brown’s goal of selling 1.5 million such vehicles by 2025. It’s a nearly 15-fold increase over the 350,000 zero-emission vehicles already on California’s roads. The $2.5 billion in spending still needs legislative approval.

      Reaching the goal will require that 40 percent of vehicles sold in 2030 be clean, said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, up from about 5 percent now.

      “We think that’s a very reasonable proposal,” Nichols said. “It’s not a stretch.”

      Brown’s plan would extend subsidies to help people buy emission-free vehicles. It seeks to have 250,000 electric-vehicle charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations, an increase from about 14,000 charging stations and 31 hydrogen stations.

      California offers subsidies of up to $7,000 for the purchase or lease of a new electric, fuel-cell or plug-in hybrid vehicle, though most subsidies are smaller.

      Brown’s proposal would offer $200 million worth of subsidies in each of the next eight years.

      California will need to radically reduce pollution from the transportation sector to reach its goal of reducing greenhouse gases 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Pollution from cars, trucks and other modes of transportation account for the largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions.

      The state has successfully reduced emissions from power plants thanks to the widespread adoption of wind, solar and hydroelectricity, but pollution from transportation has inched up.

      Brown proposes using money from a mixture of existing programs at the California Energy Commission and the state’s cap-and-trade program, which caps pollution levels and auctions off permits to pollute.

      The plan faces a number of obstacles. Consumers have been slow to warm to electric cars, preferring pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles. And while the number of electric options is growing, automakers and dealers have not aggressively marketed them to consumers, in part because they’re not profitable.

      Brown administration officials believe demand will increase as the cars become more visible on roadways and people learn more about them.

      Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco also is pushing legislation that would require all new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by 2040 — a goal that automakers say is unrealistic.””

      In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, California Gov. Jerry Brown, right, receives applause from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, of Lakewood, after delivering his annual State of the State address in Sacramento, Calif. Brown called for putting 5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030 in his speech and on Friday issued an executive order and called for a $2.5 billion investment to help reach that goal. 

      AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

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