As LSU senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger stood in the Football Operations Center on Monday night surrounded by reporters bombarding him with question after question concerning his family, hometown and personal life, he wanted to make one thing abundantly clear: this week is not about a homecoming.
Not only is the Georgia native a former Bulldog, his mother has worked for the Georgia athletics department since 1998.
But for Mettenberger, this is just another Saturday, another Southeastern Conference opponent, another obstacle for his team to overcome in order to achieve its goals.
“It’s more about the game and more about this team and the things he has to focus on besides just showing up in Georgia where he’s from,” LSU junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry said. “It’s bigger than that.”
Unfortunately for Mettenberger, his checkered past, family ties and hometown apparently make for more headlines than “Just another game.”
“I’m looking forward to Sunday morning tremendously,” Mettenberger said. “There is just so much put into this game that has nothing to do with the game that actually goes on between the snap and the whistle. The worst part is my mom has to deal with a lot of this stuff too, and that’s just unfair.”
Saturday’s top-10 showdown in Athens, Ga., between No. 6 LSU (4-0, 1-0 SEC) and No. 9 Georgia (2-1, 1-0 SEC) will feature the SEC’s two most efficient quarterbacks in Georgia senior Aaron Murray and Mettenberger, respectively. The two have completed a combined 118 of 173 passes for 2,066 yards and 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
“Aaron is a friend of mine,” Mettenberger said. “He’s a respected competitor and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to go against him. … He’s had an outstanding career at Georgia.”
Mettenberger treads in new water among the nation’s elite quarterbacks. He’s on pace to break LSU’s single-season passing touchdown record of 28 set by Matt Mauck in 2003 and join Rohan Davey (3,347 in 2001) and JaMarcus Russell (3,129 in 2006) as the only Tigers in history to eclipse 3,000 passing yards in a season.
The stats and recognition are nice, but they’re something to look at when the season is over, Mettenberger said.
“That doesn’t really matter for us [Murray and me] in this game,” Mettenberger said. “We’re going to go out there and do whatever we can to win.”
Mettenberger hasn’t just shown improvements statistically since 2012 — he seemingly became a new player during the offseason.
He acts as a leader who shows immense confidence in his receivers, blockers and, most importantly, himself when commanding his team to victory.
“Zach has completely changed,” LSU sophomore running back Jeremy Hill said. “He comes out there and he’s just so confident. On those third downs, you just expect him to complete the pass. That confidence carries throughout the whole offense and we play with that swagger we have this year.”
Mettenberger once had aspirations of running out of the Sanford Stadium tunnel sporting a red helmet with Georgia’s trademark black “G” on the side and basking in all the cheers a starting quarterback of the Bulldogs garners from his home fans.
Destiny had different plans, and instead he will hear the boos that accompany a foe and his helmet will read “LSU” when he runs between the hedges on Saturday.
But Mettenberger seems to ascribe to the popular French phrase “c’est la vie.”
“My life has ended up here at LSU, and I couldn’t be happier with it,” Mettenberger said. “I’m proud to wear the purple and yellow and proud to call myself a Tiger.”
“I’m looking forward to Sunday morning tremendously. There is just so much put into this game that has nothing to do with the game that actually goes on between the snap and the whistle. The worst part is my mom has to deal with a lot of this stuff, too, and that’s just unfair.”
Name: Todd Gurley
Class: Sophomore
Position: Running Back
Height: 6-1
Weight: 232 lbs
Carries: 63
Yards: 377
Touchdowns: 4