Under Les Miles, LSU has been known for its run-based average offense and stellar ball-hawking defense.
All of that changed in the 2013-14 season.
Following the hiring of Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator, the LSU offense — especially senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger — reached new heights. The Tigers averaged 37 points per game, up from 29.8 in the previous season.
Going into the 2012-13 season, Mettenberger had unusually high expectations for a quarterback who had never started a game in the Southeastern Conference. While he wasn’t quite able to live up to the hype, he exceeded even the most optimistic expectations this season.
Mettenberger became just the third quarterback in LSU history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season, while leading the Tigers to a nine-win season.
Miles said the praise for Mettenberger was well-deserved and the signal-caller was doing what he needed for the Tigers to win.
“What he’s doing is facilitating victory,” Miles said. “His contribution is going to be based on how well we do and what the final scores are. Some days, throwing for 250 is not enough. It’s based on what’s needed for victory. I can’t imagine he won’t be motivated right through this season with the idea that there are opportunities for this team to achieve and achieve greatly.”
Unfortunately, the season ended prematurely for Mettenberger, as he suffered an undisclosed knee injury in his last game in Tiger Stadium against Arkansas.
The Tigers’ season almost ended in tragedy after Mettenberger was lost to injury, as they fell behind to a three-win Arkansas squad. But freshman Anthony Jennings was waiting in the wings, and led the Tigers on a 99-yard touchdown drive to clinch a victory.
The drive was capped by a 49-yard pass to fellow freshman Travin Dural, perhaps a sign of things to come.
“He was calm. He was in a bigger spot than me,” Dural said. “Being that he was calm and very collected in the huddle made me relaxed, because it made me feel like he was going to deliver a good ball regardless if he threw it to me, [junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry] or [senior wide receiver Kadron Boone].”
Mettenberger and Jennings were helped along the way by Landry and fellow junior wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The two juniors came into the season sporting obvious talent, but seemingly never having the ability to convert that talent into a consistently great season.
However, both eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season, and cemented themselves in Tiger history.
Landry, known for his propensity for preposterous catches, upped the ante this season, snatching some that will surely make season-ending highlight reels.
While Beckham converted his other-worldly athleticism into 2,222 all-purpose yards, just missing the single-season SEC record for all-purpose yards on the season.
“Focus was one of the biggest things for me [in the offseason],” Beckham said. “Throughout the summer, I just focused on everything: the small details, catching, running to the end of the routes, just everything. Just try to fine-tune it, and I still have a lot more learning and growing to do.”
The Tigers’ running game wasn’t far behind the passing attack.
LSU had four running backs rush for more than 300 yards, while keeping their yards per attempt above 4.5.
Sophomore running back Jeremy Hill was able to continue his excellence from last season, rushing for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Baton Rouge-native upped his efficiency from last season, averaging nearly 7 yards per attempt.
But junior running back Terrence Magee was the surprise contributor of the backfield.
After receiving only one attempt in the previous season, Magee finished the year with 614 yards on only 79 attempts, good for 7.77 yards per attempt.
Miles said while he knew Magee was talented, the junior exceeded his expectations for the season.
“Basically what you ask Terrence Magee is, ‘Hey, Terrence, I need you to do this.’ He says, ‘Yes, Coach,’ and he just does it,” Miles said. “And does it with everything that he has and every ability and talent.”
Revitalized: Tigers’ offense exceeds expectations
By Trey Labat
December 8, 2013
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