The dominant storyline for LSU heading into Wednesday’s Outback Bowl is how freshman quarterback Anthony Jennings will fare filling in for the injured Zach Mettenberger, and for good reason.
Aside from tuning in to catch a glimpse of the future from the true freshman’s first collegiate start though, the game just isn’t that interesting.
The matchup won’t be intriguing enough for most LSU fans to fight the New Year’s Day hangover by waking up for the early kickoff.
Don’t take my word for it – take a peek at LSU’s ticket sales for the game.
All reports indicate the Iowa faithful have flooded into Florida and vastly outnumber LSU fans throughout Tampa. Part of that is the weather– the high for Iowa City on Wednesday is 13 degrees – but another shot at LSU seems to have the Hawkeyes fired up.
The Jennings factor is reason enough to set alarms for before kickoff, regardless of how much purple and gold actually files into Raymond James Stadium on Wednesday, all of Baton Rouge will have their eyes focused on him.
Iowa may be boring, but it features a stingy defense that will test the rookie signal caller. The Hawkeyes allowed just 18.8 points per game this season, good for eleventh-best in the nation.
The 99-yard touchdown drive Jennings led to beat Arkansas in the final minutes was an unbelievable start to his career, but a solid performance against a better defense would create momentum for LSU heading into the offseason.
Even though all the attention is on Jennings, all of the pressure is not. Mettenberger may be gone, but the supporting cast that helped him succeed is still present and accounted for – for now at least.
Jennings will have 1,000-yard receivers Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry at his disposal as well as 1,000-yard rusher Jeremy Hill lining up alongside him in the backfield.

It’s hard to imagine a better set of skill position players to surround a first-time starter. Landry has turned bailing out his quarterback with circus catches into an art form, and Beckham is as dangerous as anyone in the nation after the catch. Hill is simply a beast averaging nearly seven yards per carry.
All three are draft eligible and I’d be surprised if Wednesday isn’t the last game any of them play in an LSU uniform. There’s no reason for Les Miles and company not to lean heavily on the trio while they still can in order to keep the pressure off Jennings.
If they do, all Jennings needs be successful is avoid mistakes and get the ball in the hands of his playmakers. Add in the plays he can make with his legs, and the LSU offense shouldn’t experience too much of a drop off from the productivity it became accustomed to under Mettenberger.
If he can’t succeed now with Landry, Beckham and Hill, it will be that much harder for him to do it next season when he’ll be surrounded by uncertainty.
Jennings could be the face of LSU football during the next few years. His performance against Iowa could inspire hope for LSU fans, and that’s reason enough to get out of bed on Wednesday.
James Moran is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Beacon, N.Y.
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