Three up
HOLY JARVIS LANDRY: The No. 1 rule of the press box is “no cheering in the press box,” but like my colleague Lawrence Barreca pointed out, that doesn’t apply when the entire place jumps. That’s what happened when sophomore receiver Jarvis Landry made his 22-yard, one-handed jaw-dropper of a snag in the back of the end zone to put the Tigers up by 10 in the second quarter. For a player that seemed unable to catch a ball with two hands earlier this season, he’s come a long way. I, like many in the press box and on Twitter, couldn’t recall a better play by any collegiate player all season.
When it counts: Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson came out of the gate gunning with his arm and his feet, single-handedly moving the ball 62 yards to the LSU 9 on the first drive of the game. Then, junior linebacker Lamin Barrow introduced himself. Barrow’s hit stopped the momentum of both Dennis Johnson and the Razorbacks, who wouldn’t be able to regain any until the second half.
OBJ, Act 2: A week after his 89-yard punt return tied it up and turned the tide late against Ole Miss, sophomore receiver Odell Beckham Jr., did it again with a 47-yard catch-and-run to put the Tigers in position for the game-clinching field goal. With Beckham and Landry coming through late in the season, this passing attack should be fun to watch with another entire offseason to mesh.
Three down
“Here, you can have it”: That’s what the Tigers’ secondary was basically saying to the Razorback passing game all afternoon Friday, when it gave up 359 yards to Wilson. That’s the third week in a row LSU has given up more than 300 yards through the air after not having done it all season. Sure, those performances have been against the No. 2, 5 and 6 passing teams in the conference, but coming after such an efficient performance against Alabama, LSU fans are, and should be, scratching their heads.
¡Olé!: After coming together over the course of what was once a tumultuous season for the unit, the offensive line regressed for the first time in a long time on Friday. Junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger was sacked three times, tying only the Alabama game for the most since Florida, and at least a couple of his passes were affected when he was brushed by a Razorback lineman. Mettenberger’s stats, and the score differential, is much more inflated if the line played like they had lately.
See ya later, John (but probably not): If anything would go his way, Arkansas coach John L. Smith would be the next closest thing to Les Miles, except Miles would’ve went for it on that fourth down inside the 1-yard line. The eccentric, stop-gap hire has definitely seen his last game at the helm of the Razorbacks and maybe his last game at the helm of anyone. That’s unfortunate, since he wasn’t given a very fair shake to begin with.
LSU junior cornerback Tharold Simon (24) sprints down the sideline after picking off Arkansas' Tyler Wilson during the Tiger's 20-13 win over the Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
