When people think of LSU football, several words might come to mind.One word may be “championships” — the Tigers are the only team to win two BCS National Titles.Another may be “risk takers” as coach Les Miles has a reputation of rolling the dice with fourth-down conversions, fake punts and fake kicks.But to LSU sophomore quarterback Andrew Hatch, a different word comes to mind.”‘Finish’ is a big word for us,” Hatch said. “We always stress finishing every drill and finishing every practice so that whatever situation you’re in, you have to finish it off.”RED HOTOne of the places where the Tigers have been great finishers this year is in the red zone.LSU has the nation’s No. 18 red-zone offense and has scored on 18 of its 20 red-zone possessions this season. Touchdowns capped 14 of those drives.The only red-zone drives this season to not end in points came when LSU held a lead and ran out the clock, one of which came during this weekend’s final drive against South Carolina.This season’s red-zone success is similar to the Tigers’ numbers in 2007 when LSU scored on 93 percent of its red-zone drives with 65 percent of those drives ending in touchdowns.Hatch said with first-year quarterbacks and a first-year starting running back, the LSU coaching staff has emphasized “doubling up,” and finishing drives with six points instead of three.”In practice, we always work on red zone and goal line, so it’s always a big emphasis for us to punch it in and get six points,” he said. “When we get an opportunity in a game, we go back to what we did in practice to get us touchdowns.”LSU senior offensive guard Herman Johnson agreed with Hatch and said the team’s focus on the goal line is vital if the offense wants to win the rest of the season.”We have to get down there and zero in and get seven points,” he said. “We probably don’t have the explosive offense we’ve had some other years here, so we have to make all of our opportunities count.”FINAL 30 MINUTESAnother place the Tigers have excelled this season and in years past is the second half of games.LSU already has two completed second-half comebacks this season and 13 during Miles’ three-plus year tenure.LSU senior defensive end Kirston Pittman said LSU’s ability to overcome deficits is what enables the team to pursue conference and national championships every season.”The ability to come from behind in a hostile environment against quality opponents is the difference between that 9-3 season or that 11-1 season,” he said. “We’ve been good at winning those toss up games.”‘GOALS IN FRONT OF US’Like drives and halves, the Tigers have also finished seasons on strong notes in the past five years.LSU has an 18-1 November record since 2003 and has won 15-straight Saturday games in November dating back to the 2002 season.Junior halfback Charles Scott said LSU is a second-half team, and the Tigers’ first half 5-1 record is on par with the way he thought the season would play out.”We would have liked to have that Florida game,” he said. “But we weathered that loss and rebounded the next game. Going into the second half of the season, we still have all of our goals in front of us. That’s all you can ask for.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]